MI Hall of Fame wraps up with induction, awards, dedication

Fort Huachuca, Arizona - The U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence celebrated the annual Military Intelligence Hall of Fame here June 24.

The day began with the 111th Military Intelligence Brigade change of command ceremony on Chaffee Parade Field when Col. Kevin Wilkinson relinquished command to Col. Brian Lieb.

The mission of the 111th MI Bde. is to train Soldiers to be military intelligence professionals who possess the commitment, character, skills and spirit needed to fight the nation's wars and accomplish its strategic goals.

The day continued with the induction of five MI professionals into the MI Corps Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Fitch Auditorium, Alvarado Hall.

"Today we honor five unique leaders whose inspiring actions shaped our corps and a generation of MI Soldiers and leaders. Each in his own right lived our Army Values and achieved a lifetime of excellence through a sustained and dedicated 151 combined years of phenomenal service," said Maj. Gen. Scott D. Berrier, commanding general, U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca.

"From the Cold War to Just Cause to Desert Storm to the Balkans to Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, our five inductees served as crucibles in demanding MI command positions at the company, battalion and brigade levels at [U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command], right here at the Intelligence Center of Excellence, at the National Security Agency and U.S. Army Cyber Command," Berrier stated. "They served with excellence as senior intelligence officers at all levels."

This year, Retired Gen. Keith B. Alexander, Retired Lt. Gen. Richard P. Zahner, Retired Col. Terrance M. Ford, Retired Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brian K. Bounds and Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Gerardus F. Wykoff were inducted into the MI Hall of Fame.

After the induction, each 2016 MI Hall of Fame inductee received the Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton Award, named after a Revolutionary War intelligence officer.

A luncheon and awards ceremony followed in Hangar 1 at Libby Army Airfield. There, Berrier spoke, recognizing the awardees and describing them as "the future of our [MI] Corps." He introduced Alexander, the retired four star general inducted into the MI Hall of Fame that morning, who gave a speech, laced with humor, about "good people keeping good people in [the Army]" and the importance of military intelligence.

Then, three Soldiers received awards for excellence in military intelligence.

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Matt Martin, chief warrant officer of the Military Intelligence Corps, pinned the Army Commendation Medal (ARCOM) on Capt. Joseph Feifer who received the Lt. Gen. Sydney T. Weinstein Award. Chief Warrant Officer 2 David Penfield received an ARCOM and the Chief Warrant Officer 5 Rex Williams Award. Sgt. Matthew Martinez received the Command Sgt. Maj. Doug Russell Award from Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas J. Latter, USAICoE command sergeant major.

Following the luncheon, the 305th MI Battalion dedicated Building 85402 as SP5 Kenneth E. Smith Barracks, in honor of Spc. 5 Kenneth Smith during a memorialization ceremony in Weinstein Village. Seventeen members of his Family from the Wisconsin and Minnesota areas attended. During the ceremony, Berrier recognized Smith's mother, Mildred Smith, who was in Wisconsin watching the ceremony live.

Smith, a 96D imagery analyst, was killed in action in Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Smith Barracks houses 305th MI Bn. Soldiers undergoing training as 35Gs, today's military occupational specialty code for imagery analysts.

Smith volunteered as an aerial observer for missions in Vietnam and Cambodia. During these missions, Smith used a hand-held camera to take photos of key targets and areas of interest, resulting in B-52 strikes to destroy the targets. By flying the extremely low-altitude missions in an unarmed aircraft, Smith repeatedly exposed himself to danger.

On May 15, 1970, Smith was scouting ahead of U.S. forces to identify suspicious activity and locate enemy storage depots and cache sites left behind when the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong evacuated their sanctuaries in Cambodia.

After several low passes, his aircraft received enemy machine gun fire, causing it to crash. Both Smith and his pilot were killed upon impact.

"You see, Kenny didn't have to get into that airplane, but he volunteered to do it anyway," Berrier said when he addressed the audience. "It was one of the best ways he could do his job, and he was driven to succeed. It was easy for him to volunteer. This is why he ended up in that airplane on that day in May and ultimately gave his life to better protect his fellow Soldiers.

"So we are here today to honor Kenny Smith because he went above and beyond the call of duty."

After Berrier spoke, his sister Pamela Smith assisted Berrier in unveiling the bronze plaque officially dedicating the barracks. It bore Smith's photo and a brief inscription.

Next, Smith's oldest brother Dennis gave a short speech.

"The major thing we've taken away from this is we came down here as a Family and now we have another Family -- the Military Intelligence Corps.

"This is a special place where our children and grandchildren can come down to and honor Kenny," he said. "The things you military people do is absolutely impressive. We couldn't be prouder of our brother … this is bigger than anything we could imagine," he said.

Following the speech, Spc. 5 Smith was posthumously presented with the Knowlton Award, accepted by his brother on the deceased Soldier's behalf.

Later, in an email, the master of ceremonies conveyed this message.

"It was an honor for me to emcee this event as the senior imagery analyst for USAICoE being that the building was dedicated to Spc. 5 Smith who was a prior imagery analyst as well," said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jeffery R. Jaggars, USAICoE senior geospatial intelligence advisor, Requirements Determination Directorate.

The Military Intelligence Corps was activated on July 1, 1987, in accordance with the U.S. Army Regimental System.

The MI Hall of Fame was established by the U.S. Army's MI Corps in 1988 to honor Soldiers and civilians who have made exceptional contributions to Military Intelligence.

To date, 246 MI professionals have been selected for membership in the MI Corps Hall of Fame.

Each nomination is judged by a board of active and retired senior officers, warrant officers, noncommissioned officers, and professional civilians. The board's recommendations are presented to the Chief of the Corps who makes the final selection. The names of the inductees are then added to the Hall of Fame display, located in Alvarado Hall, headquarters of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, as a lasting symbol of their legacy to the MI Corps.