| Unit Name: | 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade |
| Dates: | 1971–1985, 2006–present |
| Type: | Military Intelligence |
| Size: | Brigade |
| Command Structure: | Maryland Army National Guard |
| Current Commander: | LTC Michael Bryant |
| Garrison: | Towson, Maryland |
| Motto: | Thunder |
| Battles: | Iraq Campaign, War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) |
| Notable Commanders: | John M. Palmer (World War I) |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Distinctive unit insignia |
The 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade is a military intelligence brigade of the United States Army National Guard in Maryland. It was largely formed from the personnel and equipment of the 58th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade and officially stood up in its present configuration on 1 August 2015. Most recently, members of the brigade joined state efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Maryland and constituted one of the last U.S. Army National Guard units to serve in the War in Afghanistan, returning to Maryland in February, 2021. [1]
The unit was first organized in 1917 as one of the 29th Infantry Division's two infantry brigades, and originally consisted of the 115th Infantry Regiment (Maryland) and 116th Infantry Regiment (Virginia) along with the 112th Machine Gun Battalion. In 1963, the Brigade was revived as the 3rd Brigade, 29th Infantry Division. In 1968, it was redesignated as the 3rd Brigade, 28th Infantry Division when the 29th Infantry Division was inactivated. In 1976, it was disassociated from the 28th Infantry Division and reorganized as the 58th Infantry Brigade (Separate). When the 29th Infantry Division reactivated in 1985, the brigade again assumed the "3rd Brigade" designation. It maintained this designation until 2006, when it was redesignated as part of its transformation into a modular brigade.
By FY 2007, as part of the overall shift to "more tooth, less tail," Army National Guard brigades were reorganized to form 34 brigade units following the modular design of the Active Army.
The 58th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was one of the primary units of the Maryland Army National Guard. It consisted of an infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) format of two infantry battalions, one light cavalry squadron, one towed artillery battalion, a brigade support battalion and a special troops battalion. It deployed overseas for combat service in the Iraq theater during the War on Terror in 2007. This was the brigade's first combat deployment in this configuration, although some of its subordinate units served in prior wars.
A front-page article in the 22 July 2015 issue of The Baltimore Sun,[2] continued on page 14, covered the final parachute jump of Troop C (LRS), 1st Squadron, 158th Cavalry Regiment. The lineage and honors of the squadron, including the LRS unit, was consolidated with the 175th Infantry Regiment. The brigade was redesignated as the 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, and the 729th Brigade Support Company was redesignated as the 729th Quartermaster Composite Supply Company and subsequently transferred to the 1297th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion of the 29th Combat Aviation Brigade.
On 8 November 2015 an inactivation ceremony was held for the brigade's 1st Squadron (R&S), 158th Cavalry Regiment at the unit's armory in Annapolis, Maryland.[3]
In May 2020, most of the brigade was deployed to conduct intelligence operations in Afghanistan, among the last American National Guard units to do so before the end of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021). The 58th EMIB returned to Maryland in February, 2021.
The most recent realignment of units came on April 1, 2022, as part of a larger shift among the Maryland Army National Guard. The 291st Digital Liaison Detachment was shifted to another brigade, while the 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment was shifted in from the 1297th CSSB. Presently, the brigade headquarters and two subcomponents are in Towson, Maryland, with major subordinate units headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland; Laurel, Maryland; and Baltimore, Maryland.
The 1st Squadron, 158th Cavalry Regiment included Troop C (LRS), which previously existed under the designation 129th Infantry Detachment (LRS) and Company E (LRS), 629th Military Intelligence Battalion when the LRS unit was under the 29th Infantry Division. Troop C was the only Airborne unit within the 58th BfSB.