250th Military Intelligence Battalion (Tactical Exploitation) is located in San Rafael, CA. Subordinate elements of this battalion are located in Long Beach, CA, and Detroit, MI. It was activated on 1 October 1999.
At M-day, 250th MI BN (TE) rapidly deploys and conducts enemy prisoner of war interrogation, counterintelligence, and long range surveillance operations in support of I corps/joint task force headquarters.
I Corps requires organic Counterintelligence (CI), Interrogation Prisoner of War (IPW), and Long range Surveillance (LRS) support to meet OPLAN and JTF contingency support missions. I Corps lost these capabilities with the inactivation of the 14th MI BN (TE) in September 1997. As part of the inactivation of the 14th MI BN (TE) the units equipment was transferred to the activating 250th MI BN (TE) of the California Army National Guard (CAARNG). At the time I Corps planners assumed that the 250th MI BN (TE) was the defacto reincarnation of the 14th MI BN (TE) and the Corps HUMINT capability requirements would be met.
The 250th MI BN (TE) (CA ARNG) activated and undertook the transition from carrier to Fully Mission Capable status. However, the only official linkage between I Corps and the 250th MI BN (TE) was a FORSCOM directed Training Assistance and Mentoring (TAM) relationship. The 201st MI Brigade undertook an initiative in April 98 to bring the 250th MI BN (TE) fully into the BDE as part of a Multiple Component (MULTI-COMPO) action. As early 2002, this had to date been unsuccessful.
With I Corps requiring the capabilities resident in the 250th MI BN (TE), the 201st MI BDE has worked with the leaders and staff of that unit from the day it stood up to try and achieve a formal action linking the 250th MI BN (TE) to I Corps resulting in easier planning, integration, and training support.
The federal mission of the 250th Military Intelligence Battalion is to Rapidly deploy and conduct Enemy Prisoner of War (EPW) interrogation, counterintelligence, and Long-Range Surveillance (LRS) operations in support of I Corps/Joint Task Force Headquarters.
Its state mission is to protect the public safety of the citizens of California & Michigan by providing Military Support to Civil Authorities (MSCA) during natural disasters and other emergencies as directed by the Governor of the state.
The predecessor to the 250th Military Intelligence Battalion (TE), the 14th Military Intelligence Battalion, was constituted 4 November 1965 and assigned to the Third United States Army, Fort McPherson, Georgia, as a Military Intelligence Battalion, Field Army. The battalion was activated 24 November 1965 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in the Spring Lake area and reorganized on 10 February 1966 which is recognized by the Department of the Army as the battalion’s organization day. The 14th MI Battalion replaced the 519th MI Battalion when the 519th Battalion was deployed to the Republic of Vietnam.
The battalion supported the 3rd US Army with order of battle, imagery interpretation, counterintelligence, technical support, interrogation of prisoners of war, and document translation support. The battalion trained many soldiers in intelligence skills prior to their deployment to Vietnam. Throughout its first seven years of existence, the battalion support 3rd the 82nd Airborne Division, Special Forces elements, the 196th Light Infantry Brigade, the Intelligence Center and School and the XVIII Airborne Corps.
The battalion was inactivated in January 1973 upon the return of the 519th MI Battalion from Vietnam. The 14th MI Battalion was reactivated on 16 December 1988 under the 201th MI Brigade, 1st Corps, Fort Lewis, Wa. The battalion was re-inactivated in September, 1977, as part of the peace dividend from the end of the Cold War.
The battalion was reactivated as the 250th MI Bn (TE), California Army National Guard, on 1 October 1999 with its battalion headquarters in San Rafael, CA.