YEAR IN REVIEW 2023
Soldiers assigned to the 50th Regional Support Group were among thousands of Florida Army National Guard (FLARNG) members who reported for state active duty at armories and emergency facilities across the state in response to Hurricane Idalia in September 2023.
The 146th Expeditionary Signal Battalion (ESB) moved two subordinate companies from Pensacola and Homestead to its headquarters in Jacksonville prior to landfall. The battalion provided a liaison to both Baker County and Nassau County and was prepared to provide defense support of civil authorities in those heavily affected areas. In addition to hurricane response, the ESB focused its readiness training in 2023 on command and control CBRNE Response Enterprise- Bravo (C2CRE-B), a federal, two-year mission wherein they will provide satellite communications capabilities to support Task Force 46 of the Michigan Army National Guard. In October 2022, the 146th ESB began its preparation for the C2CRE-B, which culminated in two large certification training events at Camp Atterbury, Indiana.
The 254th Transportation Battalion, headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, gathered its officers and noncommissioned officers for a staff exercise in a tactical operations center (TOC) at Camp Blanding during their June 2023 annual training.
The 260th Military Intelligence Battalion (MI) (Linguist), located in Miami, Florida supported federal and state missions by providing military intelligence, logistical analysis, and liaison support. The 260th MI is composed of one headquarters and headquarters detachment, which provides mission command for two subordinate human intelligence collection companies and the 13th Army Band. Completing Military Decision Making Process training during its 2022 staff exercise prepared the battalion operations order for two years in advance, which positioned the battalion to handle future federal missions. The battalion was federally activated in 2023 to provide intelligence professionals to missions around the world that ranged from strategic support to United States Cyber Command and the four functional combatant commands (COCOM). Additionally all the battalion’s available Soldiers were activated in response to Hurricane Idalia. The 260th MI deployed 89 Soldiers to provide liaison support at state and battalion emergency operations centers that tracked and dispatched missions for 5,200 activated Soldiers. Additionally, it provided logistical support teams to conduct audits and inspect goods provided to the populace at Florida Army National Guard points of distribution.
The 260th MI was also heavily engaged in the Army’s Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model. As part of this process, the command group and senior staff of the 260th MI conducted several visits to both COCOMs, their respective Army component commands, United States Army South and United States Army North, as well as their respective military intelligence brigades. This coordination paved the way to formalizing relationships via memorandums of understanding between USSOUTHCOM and USNORTHCOM.
In July the National Guard Bureau (NGB) Band Office completed the 13th Army Band Quintennial Organizational Readiness Evaluation (ORE). The 13th Army Band received an overall rating of Excellent and is now authorized to participate in active-duty training opportunities, including backfilling active-duty (COMPO 1) missions. The band members rose to the occasion to achieve this distinction.
The 927th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB) supported multiple state and federal missions during this training year. Most notably, the 927th CSSB provided mission command for 17 units and more than 1,300 Soldiers from active Army, Army Reserve, and National Guard units from different states during Operation Patriot Press. The mission supported the storage reform and transportation of munitions to support efforts in Ukraine. The CSSB trained with the National Guard’s Mission Command Training Support Program and received a First Army external evaluation. The external evaluation was required for their mobilization to the Southwest Border. Additionally, the 927th CSSB provided personnel to SOUTHCOM, CENTCOM, TRADOC, EUCOM, NGB, and West Point, and supported state efforts such as the Florida Counter Drug Program and the Florida Department of Corrections. The battalion was activated for three major hurricanes and was the largest battalion supporting response efforts during Hurricane Ian. The battalion spent more than 60 days on state active duty as they conducted the joint reception, stagging, onward movement, and integration site, operated the State Logistics Response Center, managed warehouses and logistics staging areas, deployed mobile purchase teams, provided over 2,000 manhours in ground maintenance, and conducted field feeding operations.
During Training Year 23, the 930th Digital Liaison Detachment (DLD) supported 4th Brigade, United Kingdom (4UK) under the III Armored Corps during Warfighter Exercise 23-4 in Fort Cavazos, Texas. The 930th DLD trained on several Army Command Systems hosted by the Mission Command Training Support Program in preparation for the exercise. The 930th DLD’s contribution and direct support to the 4UK were paramount to 4UK meeting their evaluation objectives and strengthening the partnership with NATO Allies.