11TH CORPS SIGNAL, THE THUNDERBIRDS!
The Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 11th Corps Signal Brigade, was constituted on 1 September 1943 as the 3103rd Signal Service Battalion and activated 20 December 1943 at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. The battalion departed for England on 23 January 1944 and to France on 31 August 1944 in support of the war efforts. During World War II, the battalion received campaign credit for Northern France, Rhineland, and Central Europe. After returning to the United States, the battalion was inactivated at Fort Monmouth on 8 October 1945.
The battalion remained on inactive status until 4 September 1964. During this time Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 11th Signal Group, assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington, was activated. The group was reorganized and re-designated Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 11th Signal Group on 25 April 1966. In December, the group was reassigned to Fort Huachuca, Arizona. The group was designated on 1 October 1979 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 11th Signal Brigade.
On 1 October 2009, the 11th Corps Signal Brigade transferred command authority from the United States Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) at Fort Huachuca, Arizona to the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) and III Armored Corps at Fort Cavazos, Texas. The 11th Corps Signal Brigade is geographically dispersed with the 11th Corps Signal Brigade’s Headquarters, the 57th Expeditionary Signal Battalion Enhanced, the 62d Expeditionary Signal Battalion - Enhanced are located on Fort Cavazos, Texas. The 86th Expeditionary Signal Battalion is located on Fort Bliss, Texas.
Thunderbirds have supported contingency operations and training exercises at home and abroad in Europe, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Somalia, Egypt, Honduras, Korea, Cuba, Haiti, Iraq and Afghanistan. This operational tempo has given rise to the Thunderbirds’ claim of the “most active Signal Brigade in the Army.”
INSIGNIA ORIGIN & MEANING
Shoulder Sleeve Insignia: Orange and white are colors used for the Signal Corps. The globe signifies the world-wide scope of the unit’s mission. The Thunderbird, an American Indian symbol of great power, that controls the skies and sees all that occurs on the ground, refers to the unit’s Southwestern heritage. The lightning, issuing from the Thunderbird’s eye as in Indian legend, denotes the speed and abilities of electronic communications. The black Thunderbird and white background symbolize the night and day capability of the unit.
The Shoulder Sleeve Insignia was approved on 21 April 1980. The Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved for the 11th Signal Group on 11 June 1965, and then redesignated with the motto for the 11th Signal Brigade on 15 October 1979.