79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT)
San Diego, CA

Summary/Mission

The 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is the California National Guard's largest combat team.  The 79th IBCT is organized under the Army's new modular brigade structure.  The IBCT is the Army's lightest BCT and is organized around restricted terrain.  Its personnel strength is approximately 3,400 soldiers.  The role of the BCT is the Army's basic tactical maneuver unit, and the smallest combined arms units that can be committed independently.  The BCT is designed to conduct offensive, defensive, and stability operations.  The core mission is to close with the enemy by means of fire and maneuver to destroy or capture enemy forces, or to repel their attacks by fire, close combat, and counterattack.  The BCT can fight without augmentation, but it also can be tailored to meet the precise needs of its mission.

State Mission

The 79th IBCT also has a state mission.  In times of emergency, the governor may call the National Guard to perform Defense Support to Civil Authorities.  The self-contained and modular structure of the 79th IBCT makes it well suited to provide this support.

Organization:The brigade headquarters is located in San Diego and is composed of the following subordinate units:

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Infantry Battalion Description 

Infantry battalions serve as the primary maneuver force for the brigade, and are organized with a Headquarters Company (HHC), three rifle companies, and a weapons company.  Each rifle company has three rifle platoons, a weapons squad, and a 60mm mortar section.  The HHC has a scout, a sniper squad, and a platoon of 81mm and 120mm mortars.  The weapons company has four-wheeled assault platoons, each with three anti-tank guided missile vehicles.  These platoons serve as the IBCT's primary armor killer, providing standoff fires against enemy armor.

Reconnaissance Squadron Description 

The Reconnaissance Squadron of the IBCT is composed of four troops; a Headquarters Troop, two mounted reconnaissance troops, and one dismounted reconnaissance troop.  The two mounted reconnaissance troops are equipped with armored HMMWVs, which provide troops' mobility.  The dismounted reconnaissance troop is easily deployable by either fixed or rotary wing aircraft.

Fires Battalion Description 

Within the IBCT, the fires battalion has two batteries of 105mm towed artillery.  Each battery has two eight-gun sections.  The Headquarters Battery is equipped with one counter-fire radar and four lightweight counter-mortar radars (LMCR).

Brigade Support Battalion Description 

The BSB is the organic sustainment unit of the IBCT, assigned to ensure that the BCT can conduct self-sustained operations for 72 hours of combat.  The BSB has four Forward Support Companies (FSCs) that provide habitual support to each of the infantry battalions, the fires battalion and the reconnaissance squadron.  These FSCs provide each battalion commander with dedicated logistics assets organized specifically to meet their battalion's requirements.

The BSB also has a supply and distribution company, a field maintenance company, and a medical company.  The BSB headquarters company has a distribution management section that receives requests, monitors incoming supplies, and constructs, manages, and distributes configured loads.

The BSB has dedicated troop transportation assets that provide he capability to mount two rifle companies on trucks for a given operation.  Each FSC in a maneuver battalion also has dedicated troop transportation assets that provide the capability to move one rifle company via trucks.

Brigade Special Troops Battalion Description 

The BSTB provides command and control to the IBCT headquarters company, network support company (NSC), the military intelligence and engineer companies, the military police and chemical/biological/radiological reconnaissance platoons of the IBCT.  It is responsible for the security of all IBCT command posts and may, on order, plan, prepare, and execute the rear area security mission.

Network Support Company (NSC) Description 

The NSC is organic to the IBCT and connects the unit to the global information network with satellite and radio systems for voice, data, and video communications.

Military Intelligence Company (MICO) Description 

The MI CO consists of a small headquarters section; an integration platoon; an analysis platoon; a tactical human intelligence (HUMINT) platoon, and an Unmanned Aircraft platoon.  The tactical HUMINT platoon enables the IBCT to conduct HUMINT collection and counter-intelligence activities. HUMINT collection involves interrogation, debriefing, tactical questioning, tactical source operations, and limited document exploitation; its goal is to accurately assess the enemy.  counter-intelligence activities include assessments, analysis, preliminary investigations, and force protection source operations.  The Unmanned Aircraft platoon operates four aerial vehicles with their supporting equipment to provide the brigade real-time aerial imagery.  The analysis and integration platoons provide support when developing the common operating picture for the brigade leadership, and for targeting effects.  They integrate and analyze reconnaissance and surveillance reporting across all activities in the brigade.

Engineer Company Description 

This company is unique to the IBCT BSTB.  The engineer company is the IBCT's primary means for mobility support and is focused on the performance of combat engineering tasks in support of close combat.  The IBCT is augmented with additional engineer assets when contingencies require survivability and construction, and these types of elements will typically be initially attached to the BSTB.  Additional combat engineering capability augmenting the IBCT may be provided directly to the infantry battalions for specific mission accomplishment.  This combat engineer company consists of two combat engineer platoons and one equipment section.