With its transition to a Tactical Theater Signal Brigade on October 27, 2006, the 7th Signal Brigade became a forward-based unit with a mission of installing, operating, maintaining, and safeguarding secure communications for all military operations involving U.S. Army Europe, European Command (EUCOM), Central Command (CENTCOM), and NATO.
The 7th Signal Brigade was constituted on February 15, 1970 in the Regular Army and activated nine days later in Germany. In 1975 it began working under the operational control of 5th Signal Command; it was officially assigned to the Command in 1982. From its creation until the watershed events of September 11, the unit took part in over 100 exercises and provided communications support for numerous major combat operations such as Desert Shield and Desert Storm, as well as for contingency operations such as Provide Comfort (Turkey) and Joint Task Force Provide Promise (Croatia).
For its role in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004, the unit was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation for “its ability to provide the Warfighter with command and control capability wherever and whenever needed to enable decisive victory.”
As a result of the restructuring of U.S. forces in Europe, both the 7th Signal Brigade and the 72nd Signal Battalion were inactivated in 2014.
The Signal Corps’ colors or orange and white are prominently displayed in the Combat Service Identification Badge (CSIB) of the 7th Signal Brigade, with the blue area representing the troposphere, the area of atmosphere used for microwave radio transmission called troposcatter. Radio and radar signals are symbolized by two electrical flashes; their intrusion into the white point is a rough similitude of how these signals are bent and scattered back to earth via the seven orange steps which represent aspects of radio transmission (antenna, control, frequency, modulation, selectivity, volume, and wave length). This stylized design stands in stark contrast to the Distinctive Unit Insignia (unit crest) of the brigade, which features its motto “Voice of Freedom.”
Related Items
7th Signal Brigade Unit Patch (SSI)
7th Signal Brigade Unit Crest (DUI)