368th Military Intelligence Battalion (United States)

Activated at Oakland, California on 16 September 1997, primarily from personnel, equipment and facilities of the inactivating 140th Military Intelligence Battalion, headquartered in Bell, California, and the 373rd Military Intelligence Battalion, headquartered in Oakland, California, the 368th MI Battalion retained neither the lineage nor colors of either inactivating battalion. Initially subordinate to the 259th Military Intelligence Group (West), the 368th Military Intelligence Battalion had companies and detachments located in Oakland, Bell, Phoenix, Arizona, Fort Huachuca, Arizona and Tumwater, Washington. Following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the 368th trained, mobilized and deployed counterintelligence and all-source intelligence Soldiers in support of the Global War on Terror (GWOT) to Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as Fort Lewis, Washington, the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Fort Richardson, Alaska. Due to BRAC realignment, the headquarters was moved to a new facility at Camp Parks, California in 2010. The 368th MI Battalion had Charlie Company located at the General George Smith Patton Jr. United States Army Reserve Center in Bell, California until 2014 when the battalion reorganized its entire footprint to Camp Parks, California.

Distinctive Unit Insignia

Description: A silver color metal and enamel device 2.86 cm (1 1/8 in.) in height, consisting of a shield blazoned: Azure (Oriental Blue) a helm Argent (Silver Gray), garnished of the first superimposed by a sword palewise Sable; a bordure wavy Gules fimbriated Argent. Attached below the shield is a black scroll inscribed "VANGUARD OF THE PACIFIC" in silver.

Symbolism: Oriental blue and silver gray are the colors traditionally used by the Military Intelligence Corps. Red denotes valor and zeal; the wavy border alludes to the Pacific Rim, the ring of fire. The blue represents the Pacific Ocean. Black is the color of stealth and together with gray represents the military intelligence unit's night and day vigilance and covert and overt missions. The helmet and sword highlight the organization's combat preparedness. The unsheathed sword implies the vanguard position thus reinforcing the motto.

Background: The distinctive unit insignia was authorized on 11 September 1998.

Coat of Arms

Shield: Azure (Oriental Blue) a helm Argent (Silver Gray) garnished of the first superimposed by a sword palewise Sable; a bordure wavy Gules fimbriated Argent. Oriental blue and silver gray are the colors traditionally used by the Military Intelligence Corps. Red denotes valor and zeal; the wavy border alludes to the Pacific Rim, the ring of fire. The blue represents the Pacific Ocean. Black is the color of stealth and together with gray represents the military intelligence unit's night and day vigilance and covert and overt missions. The helmet and sword highlight the organization's combat preparedness. The unsheathed sword implies the vanguard position thus reinforcing the motto.

Crest: That for the regiments and separate battalions of the Army Reserve: On a wreath of the colors, argent and azure, the Lexington Minuteman proper. The statue of the Minuteman, Capt. John Parker (Henry Hudson Kitson, sculptor), stands on the Common in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Background: The coat of arms was authorized for the 368th Military Intelligence Battalion on 11 September 1998.

Motto

"Vanguard of the Pacific"