After nearly 50 years, signal headquarters to relocate

Fort Huachuca, Az. - After nearly 50 years on Fort Huachuca, Headquarters and Headquarters, 11th Signal Brigade, is relocating.

On June 7, at 9 a.m. on Brown Parade Field, the 11th Signal Brigade will conduct its final change of command ceremony on post, case their unit colors, and prepare to relocate at Fort Hood, Texas.

Col. Patrick Dedham will relinquish command of the "Desert Thunderbirds" to Col. James Parks III. Parks' first act as brigade commander will be to case the colors for the last time here, later unfurling them at Fort Hood, Texas. The 40th Expeditionary Signal Battalion will remain on Fort Huachuca.

The 11th Signal Group arrived on post Dec. 8, 1966, after relocating here from Fort Lewis, Wash. The unit was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 11th Signal Brigade, on Oct. 1, 1979.

On Oct. 1, 2009, the 11th Sig. Bde. transferred command authority from the U. S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command and the 9th Army Signal Command on Fort Huachuca, to the U.S. Army Forces Command and III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas.

On Feb. 18, the Department of Defense approved the relocation of the 11th Signal Brigade Headquarters from Fort Huachuca to Fort Hood, Texas. This force structure action will position 11th Signal Brigade Headquarters with their higher headquarters, III Corps. After arrival at the Texas installation, the unit will uncase its colors on June 27, signaling that repositioning of the unit at Fort Hood is complete.

Throughout its history, the 11th Sig. Bde., the most deployed signal unit in the Army, has experienced many farewells and reunions with Families, friends and fellow Soldiers. Members of the unit have deployed from Fort Huachuca to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Somalia, Egypt, Honduras, Korea, Cuba, Haiti, Afghanistan and Iraq. This past December, the 11th Sig. Bde., experienced its most recent return from a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The support from U. S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command and Fort Huachuca has enabled Soldiers to carry out Soldier training, deployments and reunions effectively and efficiently while the unit was located on the installation. Signal leaders say that both Fort Huachuca and the City of Sierra Vista will not be forgotten. The unit's relationship with the two entities will be part of the unit's history which will begin a new chapter with the 11th Sig. Bde.'s relocation at Fort Hood.