A History of the 221st Expeditionary Military Intelligence Battalion

By Maj. William Carraway, Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

Left: The distinctive unit insignia of the 221st. Right: Soldiers of the 221st Expeditionary Military Intelligence Battalion during a change
of command ceremony July 10, 2021. Photo by photo by Pfc. Princess Higgins

Headquarters Company, 221^st Miliary Intelligence Battalion was organized at Fort Gillem September 1, 1997.[1] The 221^st was originally comprised of a headquarters company, Company A and B at Fort Gillem and Company C at Newnan. On February 1, 1999, Company C was redesignated Company H, 121^st Infantry.[2] Headquarters Company was federally recognized October 1, 1999 while Companies A and B received federal recognition December 12, 2001.[3]

On June 6, 1999, the 221^st made history as Lt. Col. Maria Britt assumed command as the first female battalion commander in the history of the Georgia Army National Guard. Britt assumed command of the 400-member battalion during a ceremony at the Fort Gillem Enclave.[4]

Sergeant Amberly Dawn Boyle of Company B, 221st assists during the evacuation of Pvt. Jessica Lynch at Ramstein Air Base in Germany
 in 2003. Boris Roessler, AFP

Originally assigned to the 78^th Troop Command, the 221^st MI proved its capability early in the Global War on Terror with personnel placed on alert September 15, 2001. Less than two weeks later the 221^st was supporting security operations at Hartsfield International Airport.[5] The 221^st would go on to complete six deployments to Iraq through 2006. Sergeant Amberly Dawn Boyle, a medic assigned to Company B, 221^st was one of the personnel assigned to the treatment of former POW Pvt. Jessica Lynch as she was transferred from an Air Force C-17 aircraft at Ramstein Air Base in Germany in 2003. During its  2006 deployment, the 221^st submitted more than 2,000 intelligence reports in support of Task Force Phantom which was the first reconnaissance task force to successfully identify insurgent smuggling routs in the western deserts of Iraq.[6]

Staff Sgt. Barry Long (left) and Chaplain Maj. Eduardo Docampo of the 221st Military Intelligence Battalion say a prayer for the unit’s safe
return before its members leave for Fort Stewart. Georgia in February 2003. National Guard archives.

Company H relocated to Fort Gillem in 2004.[7] With the establishment of the 560^th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade in 2009, the 221^st was transferred from the 78^th Troop Command to the Cumming-Ga.-based 560^th. In 2011 Company H, 121^st Infantry was reassigned to the 3^rd Squadron 108^th Cavalry and a new Company C was organized at Fort Gillem.[8]

ELLENWOOD, April 7, 2011 – Soldiers of the 221st Military Intelligence Battalion’s All Source Collection Element (ACE) Team were
welcomed back to Georgia during an early morning ceremony at the Georgia National Guard’s Joint Forces Headquarters. 

From 2010 to 2011, the 221^st staffed three analysis control element teams as part of the Kosovo Forces mission. Eighty Soldiers of Company A, 221^st completed a combat deployment to Afghanistan in 2013 and in 2016 the battalion sent personnel in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

With the inactivation of the 560^th BFSB in 2015, the 221^st returned to the 78^th Troop Command. [9] As part of the inactivation the battalion lost Company C.

Georgia State Defense Force Sgt. Robert Flavin (center) assists Soldiers of the 221st Military Intelligence Battalion during an intelligence
gathering exercise at Fort Gillem August 4, 2007. Photo by Pfc. Adam Dean.

Beginning in 2018, teams of personnel from the 221^st were deployed across the globe in support of Joint Task Force Guantanamo, OIR, and Operation Freedom Sentinel. While maintaining a steady overseas deployment tempo the 221^st supported a myriad of exercises at home such as Panther Strike at Camp Williams Utah in 2012 and 2013.[10] Personnel of the 221^st assisted during the response to winter storms in 2014 and later that year participated in Operation Medical Ultimatum.[11] Soldiers of the 221^st MI were also instrumental in the development of the Georgia State Command Language Program. Within months of the establishment of the program the number of skilled foreign language practitioners in the Georgia National Guard had increased from 28 to 107.[12] Throughout its history, the 221^st has supported numerous overseas deployment training missions to Uganda, Rwanda, Malaysia and others.

FORT BENNING, Ga. March 4, 2017 – Georgia Army National Guard 2nd Lt. Amanda Orr of Headquarters Company, 221st Military
Intelligence Battalion engages targets with an M-16 during battalion training at Fort Benning. Georgia National Guard photo by Capt. William Carraway.

The 221^st was redesignated the 221^st Expeditionary Military Intelligence Battalion in September 2016.[13]

---

[1] OA 1898 February 9, 1998 effective September 1, 1997.

[2] OA 19-98 (corrected copy) Change 1 February 1, 1999 effective February 9, 1998

[3] OA 30-02 March 7, 2002.

[4] “Britt Takes Reins of MI Battalion. The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, Summer 199, 22.

[5] Dennis Brown “The Day that Changed America.” Georgia Guardsman September 2011, 4.

[6] Georgia Department of Defense Annual Report 2006, 5.

[7] OA 84-04 April 5, 2004 effective February 1, 2004.

[8][8] OA 434-11 Corrected Copy 1 January 23, 2012 effective December 1, 2011.

[9] Georgia Department of Defense Annual Report 20015, 20.

[10] Georgia Department of Defense Annual Report 2012, 17.

[11] Georgia Department of Defense Annual Report 2014, 18.

[12] First Friday, March 2009, 20.

[13] OA 281-16 August 18, 2016 effective September 1, 2016.

The History of Military Police in the Georgia Army National Guard

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

The Distinctive Unit Insignia for the 30th MP Company in 1939 and 170th MP Battalion 2020.

Early MP History

The Military Police Corps was established as a permanent branch in the U.S. Army September 26, 1941, but the military police mission began during the American Revolution with the establishment of the first provost unit.[1] During the American Civil War, the office of the Provost Marshal General was established. By the time of the First World War, the mobility and mass of armies were taxing the existing provost structure. In May 1917, the War Department approved a restructuring of Army divisions that included a headquarters company and two MP companies.[2] That July, the 1^st Division fielded two MP companies marking the first officially organized MP units.

The 1st Squadron of Cavalry, Georgia National Guard on provost duty at Camp Gordon, Ga. in 1917. Georgia Guard Archives.

First MP Units in Georgia

With the entry of the United States in World War I, units of the Georgia National Guard were assigned to the 31^st Division. In the reorganization that followed, elements of Georgia National Guard’s 1^st Squadron of Cavalry were assigned the military police role for the division and reorganized as the 106^th Headquarters and Military Police. The cavalry units had previously conducted policing functions at Camp Gordon until relieved October 5, 1917 and dispatched to Camp Wheeler in Macon.[3]

2nd Lt. Elliott Neidlinger,
30th MP Co. 1939.
Ga. National Guard Archives.

Georgia National Guard Capt. Henry D. Russell served as the Provost Marshall of Macon from 1917 to 1918. After the war, he returned to the Georgia National Guard to serve as commander of the 121^st Infantry Regiment. He would go on to command the 30^th Division at the start of World War II and was the first commander of the Ga. ARNG’s 48^th Infantry Division.[4]

Interwar and World War II

The National Defense Act of 1920 authorized the creation of military police units in the Army.[5] There were no military police units authorized for Georgia when the state began reorganizing its National Guard in 1920. On June 18, 1921, the 164^th Combat Engineers was organized in Springfield. The unit was redesignated as Company E, 133^rd Engineers June 2, 1924 and on June 1, 1928, was again redesignated as the 30^th Military Police Company.[6] The 30^th MP Company owned its own armory, a rarity among Georgia Guard units in the 1920s and 1930s.[7] This unit served with the 30^th Division throughout World War II. Its lineage is perpetuated today by Battery A, 1-118^th Field Artillery Regiment.

U.S. Signal Corps composite image of MP units in World War II. MP. Orientation Branch, Information and Education Division ETOUSA.

Military Police units guided the Georgia Army National Guard’s 121^st Infantry Regiment and the 118^th, 179^th and 230^th Field Artillery Battalions from their landing areas on Utah and Omaha beaches to their assembly areas and ensured orderly flow of personnel and equipment. When the 121^st Infantry was heavily engaged with German forces in the Hurtgen Force, MPs kept armor, artillery and supplies moving freely into the engagement area to support them.[8] The 30^th MP Company similarly supported the 118^th and 230^th Field Artillery battalions during the fighting at Mortain where the 30^th Division earned the Presidential Unit Citation.

Post World War II Reorganizations: 48^th Infantry and 48^th Armor Division

The initial allotment of National Guard ground force units for the state of Georgia on July 11, 1946 included the authorization for the 48^th Military Police Company to serve as the MP element for the 48^th Infantry Division. In 1955, the 48^th Infantry Division was reorganized as an armor division with the 48^th MP Company continuing its role.[9]

The 48th MP Company in 1947. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the 48^th MP Company provided provost duties for the 48^th Division, served as the honor guard for the governor during Governor’s Day activities and frequently provided the color guard for the National Guard Association of Georgia conventions and other gatherings.

1968 Reorganization

An Army-wide reorganization in 1968 eliminated the 48^th Armor Division. Former 48th units were reorganized under the 3^rd Brigade, 30^th Division.[10] Because the 30^th Division was split among multiple states, Georgia received an allotment for a platoon of MPs designated the 3^rd Platoon, 30^th MP Company based in Macon.[11]

The 48^th MP Company was reorganized as the 190^th MP Company in 1968 with the inactivation of the 48^th AD.[12] The 190^th was organized with the 178^th MP Company and 1148^th Transportation Company to form the 170^th MP Battalion with headquarters in Atlanta.[13] The 170^th perpetuated the lineage and honors of the 179^th Artillery Battalion that fought in the European Theater of World War II.

Lieutenant Colonel James Preston, commander of the 176th Military Police Battalion leads the 179th and 182nd MP Companies during a pass
in review at Fort Stewart in June 1970. Preston, a veteran of World War II, joined the Georgia Army National Guard in 1946 and
retired in 1976 as a brigadier general. Georgia National Guard Archives.

The 1968 reorganization also established the 176^th MP Battalion with headquarters and the 179^th MP Company in Forsyth and the 182^nd MP Company in Macon. These battalions were assigned to the Emergency Operations Headquarters based in Decatur. The EOH is the forerunner of today’s 78^th Troop Command.

1973 Reorganization and the Birth of the 48^th Brigade

In 1973, the Georgia Army National Guard underwent another major reorganization. In October, The National Guard Bureau approved Governor Jimmy Carter’s request for a separate brigade in the Georgia National Guard. Accordingly, on December 1, 1973, the 3^rd Brigade, 30^th Division was reorganized as the 48^th Brigade. The reorganization brought an additional 278 personnel slots to the state but eliminated the 176^th MP Battalion.[14] Headquarters of the 176^th became the headquarters detachment of the new 148^th Support Battalion while the 179^th MP Company was reorganized as Company C, 148^th. The 182^nd MP Company was inactivated.[15]

The 170^th MP Battalion Lost and Regained

On September 30, 1990, a change to the troop allotment to the state of Georgia consolidated the 170^th MP Battalion into the 190^th MP Company.[16] For the next 17 years, the 190^th and 178^th MP Companies were the only MP units in the state.

The Monroe-based 178th MP Company, July 13, 1980. Georgia National Guard Archives.

The Georgia National Guard organized Headquarters Detachment, 170^th MP Battalion and the 278^th MP Company on September 1, 2007 with the 170^th based in Decatur and the 278^th in Augusta.[17] Because the previous 170^th MP Battalion’s lineage had passed on to the 190^th MP Company, the new 170^th MP Battalion did not perpetuate the old battalion’s lineage and was granted a 2008 federal recognition date.

First Sgt. Tommy Long retires the guidon of the 278th Military Police Company during the unit’s inactivation ceremony at Fort Gordon January 10, 2016.
Photo by Capt. William Carraway.

One year later, the 179^th MP was organized in Savannah.[18] This unit had no connection to the lineage of the previous 179^th MP and was federally recognized May 12, 2011.[19]

First Lt. Kevin Smith and Cpl. John McEwaney of the 179th MP Company conduct a ground patrol during a snow flurry in Afghanistan in 2011.
Georgia National Guard Archives.

Further Force Structure Changes

The 278^th MP Company was inactivated during a ceremony at Fort Gordon January 10, 2016.

The Kennesaw-based 190th Military Police Company was inactivated during a ceremony at the Kennesaw Armory on Sept. 17, 2019. With the consolidation of the 190^th personnel into the 170^th MP Battalion, the lineage of the original 170^th MP Battalion,  was passed along to the current 170^th MP Battalion.

As of September 26, 2022, the 170^th MP Battalion with the 178^th and 179^th MP Companies were assigned to the Marietta-based 201^st Regional Support Group.

Georgia Army National Guard Soldiers of the Fort Stewart-based 179th Military Police Company Atlanta Police Department
officers in downtown Atlanta June 1, 2020. photo by Sgt. Jordan Trent

 

---

[1] Robert K. Wright. Military Police. Army Lineage Series, Center for Military History, Washington D.C. 1992, 3.

[2] Wright, 7.

[3] “Gordon’s Selectmen will do Guard Duty.” Atlanta Constitution, October 5, 1917, 5. Source courtesy of Michael Hitt.

[4] Pictorial Review of the National Guard of the State of Georgia, 1939, 26.

[5] Wright, 9.

[6] 1939, 34

[7] 1939, 35

[8] MP. Orientation Branch, Information and Education Division ETOUSA, 1945, 10-11.

[9] NGARPTP 325.4 October 17, 1955.

[10] NG AROTO 1002-01 Georgia RA 71-67 December 14, 1967.

[11] NG AROTO 1002-01 Georgia RA 71-67 December 14, 1967, 17.

[12] NG AROTO 1002-01 Georgia RA 71-67 December 14, 1967.

[13] Georgia Department of Defense Annual Report 1968. Marietta, GA: 1969.

[14] “Third Brigade is Now 48^th.” Georgia Guardsman Magazine, Nov Dec 1973, 6.

[15] NGB ARO00-207-02-GA Reorganization Authority 153-73.

[16] OA 252-90 October 11, 1990.

[17] OA 97-06 October 28, 2005.

[18] OA 309-07 June 7, 2007.

[19] OA 405-11 September 20, 2011.

August 18-30, 1969: Ga. ANG Supports Mississippi Recovery Following Hurricane Camille

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia National Guard

 

Left: The Buena Vista Hotel in Biloxi, Miss was heavily damaged by Hurricane Camille. Right: A Georgia Air National Guard C-124 lifts off from Dobbins
AFB with relief supplies bound for Mississippi. Georgia National Guard Archives.

On August 17, 1969, Hurricane Camille made landfall near Waveland Mississippi west of Biloxi as a devasting category five storm. The following day, Maj. Gen. George Hearn, Georgia’s Adjutant General ordered Georgia’s Citizen-Airmen in motion as part of the largest domestic airlift in the history of Georgia Air National Guard up to that time.[1]

Four massive C-124 Globemasters of the Ga, ANG’s 116^th Military Airlift Group were staged at Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, Ga. while Guardsmen scrambled to secure and deliver relief supplies. Central to the relief effort were rations secured from the Atlanta Army Depot.

Georgia Air National Guard personnel load emergency relief supplies aboard four C-124 Globemasters of the 116th Military Airlift Group bound for
Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss. following the impact of Hurricane Camille. Georgia National Guard Archives.

The first relief flights departed Dobbins at 4:30 pm August 18 under the command of Col. Cleveland Perkins, director of operations for the 116^th Military Airlift Wing. Perkins son, 2^nd Lt. James Perkins was also aboard the flight as were 11 members of the media. the first four Ga. ANG aircraft arrived at Keesler AFB by 9:00 that evening with a total payload of 132,000 pounds of food. The C-124s were crewed by volunteers of the Ga. ANG who were required to land under visual flight rules at night without the aid of instruments or landing lights which had been knocked out by the hurricane. Emergency back up generators were able to restore the runway lights in time for the last two Ga. ANG aircraft to depart Keesler enroute back to Dobbins for a second round of relief supplies.[2]

Col. Cleveland Perkins

Beginning at 7:00 the next morning, nine additional flights were underway. Five C-124s departed from Dobbins while two more aircraft of the Savannah-based 165^th Military Airlift Group completed two missions each. During the first two days of relief operations, the Georgia Air National Guard transported more than 400,000 pounds of food and delivered 20 passengers into Biloxi and Gulfport. Writing on August 25, Atlanta Constitution reporter Celestine Sibley observed that those delivering the relief supplies were “ordinary civilians called in from other jobs and they worked hard and long hours to get the groceries through.”[3]

Operations continued throughout the week for a total of 17 Ga. ANG aircraft missions using seven different aircraft delivering food and water. By the second week of operations, the Ga. ANG had lifted more than 700,000 pounds of relief supplies. Ultimately, the Air National Guard would fly more than 110 missions, delivering nearly one million pounds of food, water and clothing to the stricken coastal area.

 

A Georgia Air National Guard C-124 delievers a pallet of emergency meals at Keesler Air Force Base August 18, 1969. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Ga. ANG Experiences at Keesler

While the crew of Col. Perkins’ aircraft were the first Georgia Air National Guardsmen to deliver supplies, they were not the first in Biloxi as Airmen from Georgia were attending a 40-week air control and radar course at Keesler AFB when Camille hit. Lieutenant Bobby Warnock was one of the Georgia Airmen at Keesler. Originally ordered to weather out the storm, Warnock and his family were forced by rising water to retreat to the second floor of their townhome while tremendous winds battered the side of the house.[4] Airman George Coke and his family also weathered the storm in their one-story home one block from the beach in Gulfport upon the advice of residents who had ridden out previous storms. While the Coke house was not heavily damaged numerous adjacent homes were leveled. The Coke family returned home to Macon, Ga. two days after Camille’s impact.[5]

BILOXI, Miss., August 18, 1969 - A Lighter, Amphibious Resupply Cargo 5-ton (LARC-V) of the 135th Transportation Company (Amphibious),
Mississippi Army National Guard, amid the rubble following Hurricane Camille. Georgia National Guard photo by Lt. Col. Douglas Embry.

Airman 1^st Class Sidney G. Bryan of the Macon-based 202^nd Ground Electronic Engineering Installation Agency Squadron was also attending the ACW course at Keesler. Remaining at the base after Camille’s impact, Bryan distinguished himself in the recovery effort. After initially volunteering to assist in debris clearance in towns along the Gulf Coast, Bryan worked with the Salvation Army in the distribution of clothing and supplies by day while continuing to participate in debris clearance by night helping to remove fallen trees from homes and roadways. For his selfless service, Bryan was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal during a ceremony at his unit’s armory. Lieutenant Colonel George E. Smith, commander of the 202^nd, praised Bryan for his devotion to duty, diligence and exemplary ability.

“It is indeed a pleasure and a privilege to have this distinguished Airman under my command,” said Smith during the ceremony.[6] 

The 202^nd GEEIA continues in service today as the 202^nd Engineering Installation Squadron.

 

---

[1] Phil Gailey. “Georgia Aid Goes to Gulf.” The Atlanta Constitution. August 19, 1969, 1.

[2] “Ga. ANG’s Largest Emergency Airlift Supports Mississippi Hurricane Victims.” The Georgia Guardsman. July-December 1969, 2-3.

[3] Celestine Sibley. “Relief for Mississippi.” The Atlanta Constitution. August 25, 1969, 5.

[4] “ANG Lt. in Storm. The Georgia Guardsman. July December 1969, 3.

[5] “Macon Couples Get Back Home.” The Macon News. August 21, 1969, 2.

[6] “Macon Airman Awarded AF Commendation.” The Georgia Guardsman. July-December 1969, 6.