32nd Signal Battalion ( United States ) The 32nd Signal Battalion is a Mobile Subscriber Equipment ( MSE ) - equipped Corps Signal Battalion . They provide Command , Control , Communications and Computer ( C4 ) support to 22nd Signal Brigade , part of the United States Army ’ s V Corps . The 32nd Signal Battalion consists of one Headquarters Company , three MSE companies , and one MSE signal support company . As of 2006 , the commander of 32nd Signal Battalion was Lieutenant Colonel William S . Schumaker . The Battalion Command Sergeant Major was John O . Graves . Mission . The battalion ’ s mission statement is : On order , the 32nd Signal Battalion rapidly deploys to offer signals support to V Corps or other contingency forces in support of any assigned mission throughout the spectrum of conflict . History . World War II . On 20 March 1943 , the 32nd Signal Construction Company was organized and activated at Chicago , Illinois . Shortly after its activation , the company was transferred , without soldiers or equipment , to the Signal Corps Unit Training center at Camp Crowder , Missouri , and ordered into active military service as the 32nd Signal Construction Battalion on 25 March 1943 . The new battalion , consisting of construction companies A and B , and a headquarters , began training immediately for shipment overseas . After training at Camp Crowder , and aiding in flood rehabilitation work in Missouri , the battalion moved to Camp Shanks , New York , to prepare for transport to Europe . When the battalion sailed out of the North River Harbor on 27 February 1944 , it consisted of twenty - three officers , one warrant officer , and 570 soldiers . Once in England , the battalion began preparing for the 6 June invasion of Normandy . Detachment A of the battalion crossed the channel and began installing wire for communications lines later in the month , on 8 June . On the 14 of the same month , the rest of the battalion crossed to France and started work . Moving with the fighting forces across France , the battalion entered German territory at Korneli Munster on the sixteenth of September . After the capture of the Lundendorf Bridge near Remagen , the battalion strung two telephone cables taken from a captured German submarine across the Rhine river , while under attack from small arms fire and aircraft . The cables provided dependable communications between the American forces on both sides of the river at the breakthrough point . Communications support continued until the German surrender on the 9 May 1945 . On 19 May , the battalion moved from Weimar , Germany , to Marseilles , France , where it re - organized as a Signal Light Construction Battalion and boarded ships en route to the Pacific Theater . On 1 August 1945 , while still at sea , the ship ' s captain announced the end of hostilities with Japan . The battalion debarked at Hagas Ti Port , Okinawa , and set up camp on 1 September . On 30 December 1945 , the battalion was reconstituted as a corps - type signal battalion and a month later , inactivated on Okinawa . Cold War Era . The 32nd Signal Battalion ( Corps ) was reactivated at Cambrai - Fritsch Kaserne , Darmstadt , Germany , under V Corps USAREUR , 28 January 1955 . The 322nd Signal Battalion , a reserve unit , then stationed and operating for V Corps at Cambrai - Fritsch , was inactivated and , in place , became the soldiers and equipment of the 32nd Signal Battalion ( Corps ) . In October 1961 , the battalion ’ s cable construction ability was eliminated . In March 1964 , after spending nine years in Darmstadt , USAREUR moved the battalion to McNair Kaserne in Höchst , Germany , a borough of Frankfurt . In May 1961 , the battalion increased in size from three to five companies . On the 26 June 1969 , the 201st Signal Company was attached to the battalion , bringing the number assigned personnel over 1000 . LTC Hoagland was battalion commander from 1968 to 1970 . On 16 March 1981 , the 32nd Signal Battalion ( Corps ) was split into a Command Operations Battalion , designated the 17th Signal Battalion ( Command ) , a Corps Radio Battalion , the 32nd Signal Battalion ( Radio ) , and Brigade Headquarters , the 22d Signal Brigade . The 32nd Signal Battalion ( Radio ) had four companies which provided the command multichannel radio systems , radioteletype and FM in support of V Corps . In June 1986 , the 32nd Signal Battalion ( Radio ) was re - organized as a corps - area battalion and re - designated the 32nd Signal Battalion ( Area ) . In addition to providing command multichannel and radioteletype support , the battalion provided three Corps Area Signal Centers , complete with automatic switching to support V Corps ’ tactical area of operations . 1990 through 2001 . From September through December 1990 , the battalion was re - organized as a Corps MSE Battalion , conducting a one hundred - percent swap - out of its equipment and re - activating D Company . D Company , known as the “ Dragons ” consisted of one Large Extension Node , sixteen Small Extension Nodes , and four remote access units . The 32nd Signal Battalion ( MSE ) consists of five companies , authorizing over 580 personnel . The radioteletype and cable installation ability of the battalion since been eliminated , but gained enormous capabilities with the Mobile Subscriber Equipment . The battalion ’ s primary mission is to provide six MSE node centers for the Corps Area Support Network , one large extension node , and twenty - six small extension nodes to support V Corps and its subordinate units . In January 1992 , the 32nd Signal Battalion moved back to Darmstadt , to Kelley Barracks Kaserne , where it continues to offer communications support for V Corps from the city where peacetime support began in 1955 . On 22 March 1993 , the 32nd Signal Battalion was presented the United States Army Superior Unit Award for meritorious achievement . In December 1995 , elements of the 32nd Signal Battalion deployed to Taszar , Hungary , in support of Operation Joint Endeavor . This year - long deployment marked the beginning of the 32nd ’ s role in peace keeping operations . In April 1999 , the 32nd deployed over half of the Battalion to Tirana , Albania , to support Task Force Hawk , Operation Allied Force . Following the Allied victory , elements of the 32nd deployed into Kosovo as part of Task Force Falcon . More recently , 32nd Signal Battalion soldiers served with distinction in the Balkans , supporting the Kosovo TOA in June 2001 . During the stint in Task Force Hawk , Soldiers from the 32nd Provided All Vital Communications for General Clark , and General Hendricks , that included Satellite transmissions , Internet Communications , as well as other multi - transmission systems communications , which included the implementation of the new Remote Access Unit , a giant cellphone that a soldier can use just as such . The 32nd was at the “ heart of it all ” when it came to giving the Army Operations as well as NATO Joint Commander , Gen . Clark , what they needed to perform all duties . Some soldiers were deployed outside the wire with both the 82nd Airborne Infantry in support of infantry and MLRS , Multiple Launch Rocket Systems , in the valleys near the border of Kosovo and Albania . First Sergeant ( now retired ) Lockett of D - Company was one of the first to arrive at Operation Task Force Hawk , with the Commanding Officer Captain Wong also of D - Company . Soldiers from the 32nd were tasked to perform duties of implementing a communications infrastructure to support V - Corps , as well as the “ heart of operations in Kosovo . ” The men and women of the 32nd did this without flaw , and with exceptional speed and accuracy , and provided the vital communications methods without fail every time . Edited By SPC . Eric R . Clark < br > Former D - Co 32nd Signal Battalion < br > I Trp 124 Cavalry Div . Operation Iraqi Freedom . The 32nd Signal Battalion received its deployment order to Kuwait in January 2003 . On 26 February , the 32nd Signal Battalion stood up Task Force Warhorn , a contingent of elements from three signal battalions , under the 22nd Signal Brigade . On 5 March , the 32nd Signal Battalion ’ s main body arrived in Kuwait . The Warhorns were given the responsibility of all MSE communications for units south of the berm , ranging from the tactical assembly areas ( TAAs ) at the Iraqi border to the various desert kabals throughout Kuwait . On the eve of the war , several Task Force Warhorn assets were in place along the Iraqi border . NC02 enabled RAU coverage along the berm - crossing site , providing the only communications during the three - day berm crossing back into the Corps MSE network . Shortly after the opening shots were fired , NC05 moved north towards LSA Adder , eventually relocating to Tallil Airbase to link Iraq into the Kuwait network . Unbeknownst to C Company soldiers , they were sitting in the middle of the largest weapons cache in southern Iraq , and the Iraqis wanted their weapons back . Meanwhile , Node Center 01 was task organized under the 17th Signal Battalion and traveled north to LSA Bushmaster while TACON for movement under one of3ID ’ s Brigade Combat Teams . Alpha Company sandwiched their vehicles between Bradleys , M1A1 tanks and MLRS launchers to cross the berm , eventually moving as far north as the Karbala Gap during the next 72 hours . Node Center 02 , task organized under the 440th Signal Battalion , sprinted north to Dogwood , arriving there on 24 March . Task Force Warhorn , in the meantime , was responsible for MSE and long - haul communications from LSA Adder south to the kabals in Kuwait . As Baghdad fell in mid April , it became clear that 32nd Signal assets would not be focussed around the city in preparation for a prolonged battle . Instead , Task Force Warhorn would place its assets at Balad South East airfield , about 1 hour ’ s drive north of Baghdad . Balad , or LSA Anaconda , as it would later be known , was to become the major logistical hub for central Iraq . As the Corps Rear ’ s base of operations , LSA Anaconda ’ s impact on the outcome of the war and later peacekeeping operations cannot be underestimated . A Company with Node Centers 01 and 02 , and C Company with Node Center 05 arrived there in late April and early May to begin signal operations . In May 2003 , LSA Anaconda had a population of 16 , 000 soldiers and contractors . At its height there were six Node Centers , one LEN , and thirty - three SENs in system at the airbase . Due to the sheer volume of voice and data users , the 32nd had to deal with several problems it hadn ’ t encountered in the past . The demand to call home for MWR purposes , or to call back to bases in the United States or Europe , increased significantly . Task Force Warhorn then took the initiative to move towards much - needed network integration with commercial equipment to ease the problem . Additionally , the Warhorn battalion worked with our brethren from the United States Air Force ’ s 32nd Combat Comms Squadron , who brought a tactical data package to the fight , and improved connectivity to the LSA . The battalion ’ s performance during Operation Iraqi Freedom was a factor in the removal of the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein , and his eventual capture . In October 2005 , the 32nd Signal Battalion deployed to LSA Anaconda , Iraq , for a year ’ s rotation in Operation Iraqi Freedom 05 - 07 . Unit deactivation . On 22 May 2007 , the 32nd Signal Battalion was deactivated .