Photo By Sgt. 1st Class James Braswell | Capt. Richard Hughes, commander of the 161st Military History Detachment, and Sgt....... read more read more
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A Georgia National Guard unit is heading to the Middle East, making history along the way on behalf of U.S. Army.
The Marietta-based 161st Military History Detachment held a ceremony Jan. 7, 2024, as the unit departs for an upcoming mobilization to the U.S. Army Central Command area of responsibility.
Their mission will be to collect primary source material necessary for historians to write the Army’s official history of operations in the area. Their collection portfolio would include documents, oral interviews, photographs, and physical artifacts.
“After months of dedicated training, I have complete confidence in this team,” said Cpt. Richard Hughes, commander, 161 Military History Detachment. “I am genuinely excited to see what we can accomplish.”
The 161st completed roughly four months of pre-mobilization training to prepare for the approximately 9-month-long deployment to various locations throughout Southwest Asia.
U.S. Army Central Command’s area of responsibility spans over 4 million square miles. It is populated by more than 560 million people from 25 ethnic groups, speaking 20 languages with hundreds of dialects and confessing multiple religions that span national borders.
To prepare for this mission, the detachment completed all required pre-mobilization training, a military history detachment course, an additional two-week historian course at Fort McNair, Washington D.C., and a week-long pre-mobilization training at Fort McNair and the Pentagon.
Additionally, the MHD completed a three-week validation exercise in Japan, collecting historical information on the 7th Infantry Division’s participation in Exercise Yama Sakura 85.
“As we set out on this deployment, we'll carry the valuable lessons from our training with us,” said Hughes. “We are fully prepared to document and preserve the history of the United States Army.”
The U.S. Army created the first military history teams during World War II to capture historical information about combat operations in European and Pacific theaters. Military history detachments have deployed in all successive wars to preserve the Army’s official history for study by future Soldiers, policymakers, and the American people.
In January 2015, the 161st MHD activated and mobilized to Kuwait where the unit served as the first MHD to support Operation Inherent Resolve.
The 161st mobilized again in December 2018 to Europe as the Army’s second MHD dedicated to Operation Atlantic Resolve. Throughout their nine-month deployment, the unit conducted operations in Germany, Poland, and the country of Georgia. They compiled a digital archive of more than 50 gigabytes of source material and over 300 oral interviews to aid future historians in writing the Army’s official history of Atlantic Resolve.
The 161st Military History Detachment organized as an element of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 78th Troop Command in September 2011. The unit attained federal recognition Nov. 22, 2011, at Clay National Guard Center in Marietta. The MHD is currently aligned under the 473rd Theater Public Affairs Support Element.
“It’s a huge mission, but I’m confident in each of their skills and their teamwork,” said Lt. Col. Jena Hutchison, commander, 473rd Theater Public Affairs Support Element. “I look forward to welcoming this team home after their successful deployment.”
| Date Taken: | 01.08.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 01.08.2024 14:45 |
| Story ID: | 461485 |
| Location: | MARIETTA, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 77 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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