207th Military Intelligence Brigade
The 207th Military Intelligence Battalion sent nearly all of its soldiers to Saudi Arabia, and had very few attachments compared to other units.
The brigade's main body deployed Dec. 16 and 17 and the advance party moved to the desert Dec. 21. The rest of the brigade closed in its assembly area by Jan. 7.
The brigade's 2nd MI battalion initially flew its intelligence-gathering aircraft to King Khalid International Airport near Riyahd in the early phases of the corps deployment.
Conducting operations
The 511th MI Battalion conducted counterintelligence operations to protect units in the port and during their movement to the tactical assembly areas. The battalion attached one company to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment screening the corps north flank. The battalion's Long Range Surveillance Company, Co. F, 51st Infantry was chopped to the brigade to help set up the initial corps POW interrogation facilities.
Soldiers from the 307th MI Battalion continued providing Cl and staff assistance to the Corps G-2 and G-3 sections, as well as fielding new intelligence and communications systems to corps units. The battalion also provided analysis of information gathered by national intelligence assets, producing some of the first insights into the Iraqi troop dispositions.
Consolidating operations
Late in January, the brigade consolidated at Qaysumah airfield, near Hafar Al Batin. There they received an unmanned aerial vehicle platoon from the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Center and School, Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
Adding to this intelligence gold mine the brigade began to confirm a lack of enemy forces in the western sector of the corps attack area, the hole that proved crucial to successful corps operations after the ground offensive began.
Gaining information
Just before the ground campaign began, the LRSC conducted static surveillance of the corps' eastern flank in front of 1st Cavalry Division. They were placed to give the corps early warning of enemy movements, whether the enemy decided to advance or withdraw.
The UAV platoon also moved forward in the end of January, supported by a task force to keep them supplied and in communication. From their forward location, the platoon launched their drones over Republican Guard positions to begin developing local intelligence on the corps' main enemy.
The actual ground campaign proved anticlimatic for the brigade. The pace of the war and a lack of enemy response to the U.S. movement produced only two key "reads." On Jan. 26, brigade sidelooking aerial radar indicated two major enemy movements. The intelligence gathered helped the 2nd ACR commander develop an effective response to the movement and structure his tactical operations for the day.
When Desert Shield became Desert Storm, the 511th increased its pace of POW interrogations, gaining a clearer picture of enemy morale and equipment. Interrogation operations, which reached their peak in the days immediately preceding the ground offensive, continued as the prisoner flow increased. As the tactical successes became more evident and interrogations became less important, the battalion concentrated on POW evacuation. Similarly, Iraq's quick loss of low-level commandand-control networks essentially eliminated input to the brigade's interception and control and analysis elements.
Monitoring Iraqi developments
After the war, the brigade continued to monitor developments in southern Iraq as civil unrest broke out.
Since it was first activated in 1951 as the 307th Army Security Agency Battalion, the brigade has undergone a number of transitions. They became a part of the VII Corps family in 1977, and in August of 1983 the brigade was redesignated the 207th Military Intelligence Brigade. Before its deployment, the brigade had its headquarters in Ludwigsburg.