528th Sustainment Brigade (United States)

The 528th Sustainment Brigade (Special Operations) (Airborne), 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A), or 528th SB (SO) (A) was activated on 16 December 2008, as part of the overall United States Army Special Operations Forces logistics transformation. The brigade replaced the Special Operations Support Command (Airborne) (SOSCOM) as combat service support and combat health support unit for all Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) units under the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) (1st SFC).[2]

528th Sustainment Brigade (Special Operations) (Airborne)
528th Sustainment Brigade's Distinctive Unit Insignia
Active1 November 1995 – present
Country United States of America
Branch United States Army
TypeSpecial Operations Support
Role528th SBSO(A)'s mission is to assure combat service support, health service support and signal support to Army special operations forces around the world
SizeBrigade
Part of 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne)
Garrison/HQFort Bragg, North Carolina
Nickname(s)Sentinels
Motto(s)"We Support to the Utmost"
Decorations
Valorous Unit Award Meritorious Unit Commendation
WebsiteOfficial website
Commanders
Current
commander		Colonel Summers
Insignia
Brigade beret flash
1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) shoulder sleeve insignia, worn by all subordinate units[1]
Former combat service identification badges

Per the U.S. Army Field Manual No. 4-0, the 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A) sets operational support conditions in order to enable Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) operations. Key tasks include providing tailored logistics management, limited aerial delivery, unique ARSOF surgical capability, signal, military intelligence and command and control of assigned, adjacent, and mission aligned elements. The 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A) is organic to the operational employment of the 1st SFC (two-star operational HQ) and is considered part of the deployed force structure when an ARSOF led special operations JTF is employed. Serve as the lead component for support for 1st SFC with respect to conducting ARSOF logistics, medical, communications and military intelligence operations. The 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A) primary purpose of fulfilling global operational requirements of emerging requirements.[3]

Doctrinal Mission

The 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A) is designed to support special operations forces. It is a unique Army sustainment brigade because it maintains global situational awareness of deployed Army special operations forces logistics support structures. The 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A) sets the operational-level logistics conditions in order to enable Army special operations forces missions. It is assigned to United States (U.S.) Army 1st SFC and focuses on operational to tactical sustainment support. During periods where only special operations forces are operating in a theater, support may be executed under the 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A). ATP 3-05.40, Special Operations Sustainment, provides more details on special operations sustainment.[4]

When deployed, the 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A) acts as the logistics headquarters for a joint special operations task force. The 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A) integrates Army special operations forces support requirements into the Army Service component command support plan and ensures a timely response to Army special operations forces requirements. The 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A) may also control a CSSB in support of a conventional force expansion in the theater of operation until relieved by a conventional sustainment brigade.[4]

Organizational Evolution

The 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A) and its subordinate battalions trace their lineage to WWII, but have taken various forms since that conflict. This section presents the organizational structure of select ARSOF support units over the past 75 years:

-1942 First Special Service Force (FSSF)
-1944 512th Airborne Signal Company
-1987 1st SOCOM
  • 528th Support Battalion
  • 112th Signal Battalion
-1990 U.S. Special Forces Command
-1993 U.S. Army Special Operations Command
-2002 Special Operations Support Command
-2020 528th Sustainment Brigade
  • Special Troops Battalion
  • 112th Signal Battalion
  • 389th Military Intelligence Battalion
  • 528th Support Operations

Organizational structure

The 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A) consists of a brigade staff, a support operations unit, and three battalions: the Special Troops Battalion, the 112th Special Operations Signal Battalion, and the 389th Military Intelligence Battalion.[2][5]

Special Troops Battalion
An ARST conducts jungle extraction training with 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), circa 2013

The Special Troops Battalion (formerly known as the 528th Support Battalion (A)) provides rapidly deployable combat service support and health service support to ARSOF and consists of a headquarters company with an organic rigger detachment, a special operations medical detachment with four Austere Resuscitative Surgical Teams (ARSTs)—formally known as Special Operations Resuscitation Teams (SORTs)[6][7]—the 197th Special Troops Support Company from the Texas Army National Guard, and 1/528th Forward Support Company from the West Virginia Army National Guard.[2][8]

112th Special Operations Signal Battalion
Main article: 112th Special Operations Signal Battalion
An Sergeant from the 112th Signal discusses the Special Operations Forces Deployable Node Light Kit with an instructor at Fort Gordon, 2013

The 112th Special Operations Signal Battalion (A) specialize in communications, employing innovative telecommunications technologies to provide Army special operations task force commanders with secure and nonsecure voice, data and video services. The 112th's signals expertise allows ARSOF to "shoot, move and communicate" on a continuous basis. Signals soldiers assigned to 112th are airborne qualified and are taught to operate and maintain a vast array of unique communications equipment not normally used by their conventional counterparts. To meet the needs of ARSOF, the 112th can deployable on a moment's notice with an authorized strength of five companies: a headquarters company, a Theater Signal Support Company with six geographically focused signal support detachments, and three general signal companies.[2][9]

389th Military Intelligence Battalion

The 389th Military Intelligence Battalion (SO) (A) "conducts command and control of multi-disciplined intelligence operations in support of the 1st SFC, component subordinate units, and mission partners." On order, it deploys and conducts intelligence operations as part of a special operations joint task force leveraging the capabilities of its three organic companies: a headquarters company; an Analytical Support Company with a cytological support element and five geographically aligned regional support teams; a Mission Support Company with a Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination (PED) detachment, a HUMINT and GEOINT detachment, and operations the Special Warfare SIGINT Course for the ARSOF community; and an additional PED detachment stationed at Fort Gordon.[10][11]

From 2015 to mid-2019, the unit operated under the ad hoc name of 1st Special Forces Command Military Intelligence Battalion (A). To avoid being assigned the ‘next available’ number, the Department of the Army Force Management, U.S. Army Center of Military History, and USASOC History Office worked with battalion leadership to determine a unit designation that reflected a legacy of military intelligence support to ARSOF and carried forth the wartime honors of a past military intelligence unit. In July 2019, the 389th Military Intelligence Battalion (A) was activated and provides 1st SFC with a deployable, operational-level intelligence capability with the motto “Illuminate to Action!”.[10]

Support Operations

Support Operations embed in each regional theaters' staff to support planning and coordination with theater Army, Special Operations Command and Army Special Operations Command to ensure support during operations and training. As a theater Army staff member, these officers and non-commissioned officers' knowledge of theater-specific requirements and capabilities assist units in coordination with the theater.[2] Support Operations consists of four detachments: current operations which manages five geographically aligned ARSOF liaison elements, a future operations detachment, a commodity managers detachment, and an ARSOF support operations element.[2][12]

Brigade organizational charts

References
  1. 528th Sustainment Brigade (SO) (A) Patch Change Ceremony, Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, by SGT Vance Williamson, dated 5 April 2017, last accessed 9 July 2019
  2. 528th Sustainment Brigade, Special Operations (Airborne), soc.mil, last accessed 13 December 2020
  3. Department of the Army. "Field Manual No. 4-0 31 July 2019" (PDF). pp. Para 2-154. Retrieved 8 December 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. Army Techniques Publication. "ATP 4-93.1 Combat Sustainment Support Battalion" (PDF). pp. 1-5 Para 1-28.
  5. 528th Special Operations Sustainment Brigade Organizational Chart 2020, 528th Sustainment Brigade History Handbook Published by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command History Office Fort Bragg, North Carolina 2020, by Chris Howard ARSOF Support Historian, dated 5 December 2020, last accessed 12 December 2020
  6. The Special Operations Resuscitation Team: Robust Role II Medical Support for Today’s SOF Environment; Journal of Special Operations Medicine Volume 9, Edition 1, Winter 09; by Jamie Riesberg, MD; last accessed 13 December 2020
  7. The Special Operations Resuscitation Team: Robust Role II Medical Support for Today’s SOF Environment, Journal of Special Operations Medicine, Volume 9 / Edition 1 / Winter 2009, by Jamie Riesberg (MD), last accessed 22 October 2016
  8. 528th Sustainment Brigade Special Troops Battalion Organizational Chart 2020, 528th Sustainment Brigade History Handbook Published by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command History Office Fort Bragg, North Carolina 2020, by Chris Howard ARSOF Support Historian, dated 5 December 2020, last accessed 12 December 2020
  9. 528th Sustainment Brigade - 112th Special Operations Signal Battalion Organizational Chart 2020, 528th Sustainment Brigade History Handbook Published by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command History Office Fort Bragg, North Carolina 2020, by Chris Howard ARSOF Support Historian, dated 5 December 2020, last accessed 12 December 2020
  10. FROM LEYTE TO THE LEVANT, A Brief History of the 389th Military Intelligence Battalion (Airborne), USASOC's Office of the Command Historian, by Christopher E. Howard, dated 2019, last accessed 27 December 2020
  11. 528th Sustainment Brigade - 389th MI Battalion Organizational Chart 2020, 528th Sustainment Brigade History Handbook Published by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command History Office Fort Bragg, North Carolina 2020, by Chris Howard ARSOF Support Historian, dated 5 December 2020, last accessed 12 December 2020
  12. 528th Special Operations Sustainment Brigade Support Operations Organizational Chart 2020, 528th Sustainment Brigade History Handbook Published by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command History Office Fort Bragg, North Carolina 2020, by Chris Howard ARSOF Support Historian, dated 5 December 2020, last accessed 12 December 2020
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