Inductees join a 'Company of Heroes'. Ceremony adds eight to the Hall of Fame roll

Sierra Vista Herald ^ | Bill Hess

[SandRat]

FORT HUACHUCA — A special company of heroes was increased Friday with the induction of eight members to the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.

Looking out over the audience in Fitch Auditorium, Maj. Gen. Robert P. Ashley Jr., said present members of the MI Hall of Fame and those who were about to be inducted reminds him of the closing interview with Maj. Dick Winters in the “Band of Brothers” TV series, of about 45 seconds during which Winters recalls a question from a grandson.

The question was whether Winters was a hero during World War II to which he responded no “but I served in a company of heroes,” the general said.

Ashley, said of Friday’s ceremony, “Today we are in the company of many heroes of our Corps and their dedicated families.”

In the past 27 years, 241 outstanding MI leaders have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, “each having made a tremendous impact on our Corps and the countless soldiers whose lives they have touched and inspired through their decades of services,” said the general, who is the commander of the Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca.

A member of the inaugural class in 1988, Lt. Gen. Philip Davidson wrote a book in 1948 titled “Intelligence is for Commanders,” stating intelligence is not an academic exercise but, for it to be successful in the military it has to be understood by commanders so they can direct the process and for the intelligence professionals to equally understand the operational needs of the commander, Ashley said.

“The most successful commanders in history always recognized the value of intelligence,” he said, noting George Washington said, “there is nothing more necessary than good intelligence to frustrate a designing enemy and nothing that requires greater pains to obtain.”

Even Lt. Gen. George Patton noted during World War II, “I ought to know what I’m doing, I have the best damned intelligence officer in any United Staes command,” Ashley said.

And that need for intelligence continues to prove itself even though obtaining it in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past decade has been difficult, but once obtained it was critical to accomplishing missions, he said.

“We were no longer simply looking for formations of tanks and troops, but for individual people,” Ashley said.

So, his bottom line is, “as intelligence professionals we can never forget intelligence is for the commander. … We are responsible for providing them with a complete picture of all aspects of the battlefield so they can make informed decisions.”

When it comes to those being inducted into the MI Hall of Fame on Friday, Ashley said, “I know all the intelligence professionals we are honoring have lived by those words.”

And the inductees he spoke about are people who had involvement in today’s wars and go back as far as the American Civil War.

The Civil War-era inductee was Brevet Brig. Gen. George H. Sharpe who led the first Union Bureau of Military Information — meaning intelligence — providing not just mere information but analysis of what the information meant as to Confederate movement, placements, manpower and potential order of battle. There are no known survivors of Sharpe, who died in 1900.

Sharpe was to be inducted in 2013, but because of sequestration that year there was no MI Hall of Fame ceremony.

Other 2013 inductees who were honored at this year’s ceremony were:

• Robert j. Winchester, a retired Defense Senior Executive Service civilian, who served as a soldier in Vietnam. He was recognized for his many services, including as the special legislative affairs liaison for the Secretary of the Army in the intelligence arena.

• Col. William “Jerry” Tait, whose 30 year Army career involved a number of MI leadership roles in which he excelled. Accepting the award for her late husband was his wife.

• Command Sgt. Maj. Franklin A. Saunders, who retired from the Army in 2010. His military career spanned 27 years mostly in the intelligence fields, including a stint as the command sergeant major for the Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca.

A quartet were inducted as members of the MI Hall of Fame Class of 2014. They include:

• Col. Kurush F. Bharucha-Reid, who died on active duty while serving as the commander of the U.S. Army Field Support Center. A special award in his honor has been established and the first recipients at the Human Intelligence Training Center of Excellence on Fort Huachuca were named this year — see story inside today’s issue of the Herald/Review. The colonel was actively involved in HUMINT assignments during his career. Accepting the induction award was his brother.

• Col. Thomas G. Fergusson, who was born on Fort Huachuca into an Army family. He served in numerous intelligence assignments and after retirement continued as a consultant to 16 national intelligence agencies.

• Col. Maxie L. McFarland, who was honored for his vision and leadership in handling difficult intelligence issues. Retired Maj. Gen. Barbara Fast accepted the award for the late colonel.

• Command Sgt. Maj. Michael W. Roberts, whose mentorship of young intelligence soldiers has been critical in developing them and as such the results are the untold numbers he has shaped during his career in the Army. Now retired, the Sierra Vista resident is active in the community, such as being the vice chairman of the Sierra Vista United Veterans Council.

Each inductee, or their representative, was presented the Military Intelligence Corps Association’s Knowlton Award named for the man considered the first Army intelligence officer during the Revolutionary War.

Also honored at the event was the widow of Lt. Gen. Sidney Weinstein, the man considered the father of the modern Army’s Intelligence Corps. At one time he commanded the Intelligence Center on the Army post.

She was made an honorary member of the MI Corps and at a luncheon saw a young officer presented an award named after her husband. See related story inside.

Ashley said in recognizing the inductees it includes their families, noting Pauline Weinstein served alongside her husband helping those in uniform and their families.

“Your undying love, dedicated support and selfless sacrifice throughout the years of difficult service, nurtured your inductees’ passion and renewed their strength to serve their nation with such honor,” he said.

[huldah1776]

thanks. The guys behind the scenes are so crucial. We lost one in Extortion 17, Michael Strange.

http://www.phillymag.com/articles/michael-strange-really-die-afghanistan/