JUNE 30, 2023 – Tennessee’s Military Intelligence Company proved it could effectively gather mission-critical information from the battlefield during a validation event at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Observer Coach Trainers (OCTs) headquartered at 1st Army out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, conducted the validation of “MICO” — Troop D, Regimental Engineering Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment.
“We are here to make sure the validation exercise the unit is going through is ‘train to standard,’” said Sgt. 1st Class Robert McCartney, an OCT. “We’re here to do what we can to help, and Delta company is doing a really fantastic job. Like any other National Guard or Reserve units, military intelligence units are required to demonstrate they can perform to Army standards on a reoccurring basis.”
MICO has human intelligence collectors, signals collection analyst intelligence collectors, and military intelligence systems maintainers who collect combat information and send it to their higher headquarters.
“We are being certified on our mission-essential tasks that we are supposed to do as an MI company,“ said Capt. Clayton Carroll Jr., Delta Troop company commander.
“I enjoy information technology work, and this is kind of what it is,” said Spc. George Poole, a military intelligence systems maintainer. During this validation event, he managed an E6 stack, which connects Delta Troop’s computer network to other units via satellite.
In this validation event, role players simulated enemies on the battlefield. Spc. Joshua Cook, a human intelligence collector, interviewed “the enemy.” Spc. Terri Harris, a signal intelligence collector, gathered information from enemy radios. It was Chief Warrant Officer 2 James Bryant’s job to analyze the data to discern the enemy’s location and course of action.
Military intelligence companies like Delta Troop serve a vital role on the battlefield, gathering and analyzing information on enemy operations. National Guard and Army Reserve units are essential in stateside missions as well.
“During an emergency here at home, our role is to provide technical support as well as generator power,” Carroll said.
The OCTs gave their seal of approval to Delta Troop, proving it had completed each of the tasks required by 1st Army.
Story by William Jones
Tennessee National Guard Public Affairs Office