Support to Military Operations Support to Military OperationsMILITARY INTELLIGENCE BATTALION (LOW INTENSITY) OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR
The Military Intelligence Battalion (Low Intensity), abbreviated as MI BN (LI), is a singularly unique organization in the Army's inventory. This active duty unit was originally organized in the 1980s to conduct surveillance operations in Central America and report directly to the Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM). The unit is now a contingency force for intelligence and a subordinate element of the 513th Military Intelligence Brigade, Fort Gordon, Georgia. The unit's home station is Orlando, Florida. The unit specializes in aerial reconnaissance using primarily the Aerial Reconnaissance Low (ARL) System. The ARL is an imagery system based on the Dehaviland-7 aircraft. It is supported by three-man Aerial Reconnaissance Support Teams (ARSTs) deployed on the ground with the warfighters, doctrinally one team per division. Each ARST supports the division commander's intelligence gathering effort. Communication and passing of data between the ARL aircraft and the ARSTs is via LST-5 SATCOMM. The ARL can provide: freeze-frame information to ARSTs for the ground commander's immediate use via KU-band satellite; and, real-time video via TACLINK, if within 35 miles line of sight. These imagery products are seen on the ARST's MIT-305, a device slightly larger than a laptop computer. The MIT-305 displays the imagery in black-and-white on its fold-away screen. The only ARL system in the inventory is fielded in the United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) under the auspices of the unit's Delta Company. Also supporting the ARL are two C12s organic to the unit's Charlie Company. In order for the system's use in any other theater, the other theater must request it through the Joint Staff.
The MI BN (LI) was originally notified of participation in OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR in the fall of 1995. The ARL was actually deployed for use in the US European Command (USEUCOM) theater from 28 January 1996 through 19 April 1996, with approximately 60 personnel, including 12 contracted civilian aircraft maintenance personnel from Rayethon, AVTAIL, and California Microwave Industries. During that time, the unit conducted 39 missions totaling 224.1 flight hours of imagery over Bosnia. After considerable coordination, USSOUTHCOM finally released the ARL for a second deployment, this time from 8 August 1996 through 3 October 1996. On the second deployment, the unit conducted 33 missions totaling 197.1 flight hours of imagery over Bosnia. During the second deployment, there were four ARSTs deployed: the British (southwest) sector; the US (northern) sector in Tuzla; the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) in Sarajevo; and the French sector in Mostar. The unit also flew over 700 C-12 hours in support of the imagery efforts.
The MI BN (LI) also deployed with the PREDATOR System for the period 7 March 1996 through 2 September 1996. The PREDATOR is a medium altitude endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, that can stay over the target for up to 17 hours and provide live video feed for commanders on the ground. This system's deployment occurred shortly after it was refitted with synthetic aperture radar. The unit formed a company as a detachment, called Detachment 3. It was a joint unit with personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Marine Corps. Responsibility for the system transferred to the US Air Force's 11th Reconnaissance Squadron on 2 September 1996.
Imagery requests from all three Multi-National Division (MNDs) Intelligence Centers were passed to ARRC. Validated taskings went to the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC), who would then task the aircraft to fly the mission. The request did not identify the imagery system required however, and because of the mobility of the ARSTs, this created problems ensuring that the requester actually received the imagery that they requested. It became evident that the target request should identify for the ARRC and the CAOC that the request came from a mobile operation.
The most significant contributions of the MI BN (LI) and its ARL were: its mobile ARSTs with the ground commander; and, its ability to provide a better, clearer product than the other imagery systems deployed in theater. Those other systems were the PREDATOR, which must fly at an altitude over 15,000 feet, and the Navy's P-3, which must fly at an altitude even higher than that. The ARL, on the other hand, flew at 9,000 feet on the first deployment and only 4,000 feet on the second deployment, thus getting below the fog and low clouds so often associated with European weather.
Prepared by the Army Component
Command Historian Section
OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR, 22 October 1996