Based upon the color version of the Brigade’s Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, the 501st Military Intelligence Brigade Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB) is a metal facsimile worn on the right side of the Army Service/Dress uniform coat and Mess/Evening Mess jacket. The CSIB was introduced at the same time the Army debuted the Army Service Uniform to replace the Class A Green Service uniform, with the CSIB taking the place of the colored unit patch worn on left sleeve of the Army Greens. See Section 22-17 (
pp. 331 through
333) of the January 2021 edition of Department of the Army Pamphlet 670-1 for complete guidance on wear of the CSIB.
The 501st Communication Reconnaissance Group, precursor to the 501st Military Intelligence Brigade, arrived in Busan on 25 June 1951 and by 15 July had taken administrative and operational control of all Army Security Agency units in the region (the Army Security Agency served as the Army’s signals intelligence branch from the end of World War II to 1976). Over the next two years, the Group would participate in six of the war’s ten campaigns, with its exceptional service being recognized through the award of a Meritorious Unit Commendation and a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.
More than a half-century later, the 501st Military Intelligence Brigade remains on vigilant service in Korea ("In Unity And Vigilance" per the Latin motto IN UNITATE ET VIGILIA) as part of the longest-standing stabilization force mission in the history of the United States military history. It is headquartered at United States Army Garrison Humphreys (Camp Humphreys) and has five battalions under its command.
Related Items
501st Military Intelligence Brigade Patch (SSI)
501st Military Intelligence Brigade Unit Crest (DUI)