300th Military Intelligence Brigade Supports the 155th at NTC

Photo By Cpl. Justin Humphreys | Staff Sgt. Hamilton Ruiz, a cryptologic linguist with the 300th Military Intelligence Brigade, Utah Army National Guard, listens to a military radio while working with the 1st Battalion, 204th Air Defense Artillery Regiment from Newton, Mississippi, May 30, 2017 at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California. Both units have come to NTC to support the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team, Mississippi Army National Guard, during their rotation. (Mississippi National Guard photo by Spc. Justin Humphreys, 102d Public Affairs Detachment)  

FORT IRWIN, CA, UNITED STATES

05.30.2017

Story by Spc. Justin Humphreys 

102d Public Affairs Detachment

FORT IRWIN, Calif. – National Guard units from all over the country traveled to the National Training Center to support the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team, Mississippi Army National Guard, during their rotation in May and June here.
Soldiers with the 300th Military Intelligence Brigade, Utah Army National Guard, who specialize in human intelligence, signals intelligence, and counterintelligence, are an important part of the support.
“We provide intel for the brigade,” said Staff Sgt. Hamilton Ruiz, a cryptologic linguist with the 300th MI Brigade. “We can provide location of the enemy and we can provide frequencies they’re using.”
As a cryptologic linguist, Ruiz analyzes and gathers information from foreign communication transmissions for intelligence that can help a commander make decisions.
They collect information and prepare intercepted communications for intelligence analysts to process that information, said Spc. Aaron Davey, a signals intelligence analyst with Company D, 150th Engineer Battalion.
The 150th is part of the 155th ABCT but Spc. Davey has been working with the Soldiers from the 300th MI Brigade on collecting intelligence for the 155th, and being from Utah, the Soldiers of the 300th have learned some new things while training with the 155th ABCT.
It’s been hard because we’ve never been able to train in an environment like this before, but it’s a great opportunity, said Ruiz. For many of us who haven’t deployed yet, the opportunity may come soon, and this gives us an idea of how to do our jobs.
According to the Utah National Guard website, the 300th MI Brigade began as the 142d Intelligence Company in 1960. The company was reorganized as the 142d MI Battalion 21 years later and, because of its quality of work, was recognized as a “national treasure.” In 1988, the 142d MI Battalion was designated as the 300th MI Brigade and aligned to the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command in 1996.
Even though there’s an entire brigade in the Utah Army National Guard dedicated to military intelligence, the jobs these Soldiers perform are not as well-known as others due to the secret nature of their work, but they remain vital assets to commanders for keeping other Soldiers alive and locating enemies.

• Date Taken: 05.30.2017
• Date Posted: 06.01.2017 02:46
• Story ID: 235903
• Location: FORT IRWIN, CA, US
• Hometown: DRAPER, UT, US