648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade The Georgia Army National Guard’s 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade (MEB), a unit currently authorized an estimated 1,374 Soldiers, was formed Oct. 1, 2007, in Columbus, Ga. The 648th’s current commander is Col. Andy Hall and the senior enlisted advisor is Command Sgt. Maj. John Smiley. The 648th MEB’s mission is to provide manned, ready, and fully equipped mission-capable units to combatant and Joint Task Force commanders with capabilities of full-spectrum operations and consequence management to support the war fight, defend the homeland and to provide defense support to civil authorities. The MEB’s deployments and redeployments in 2011 included the redeployment of the 877th Horizontal Construction Company from Wardak Province, Afghanistan, and the forward deployment of the Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company to Kabul, Afghanistan. The 877th exceeded expectations in constructing a vital roadway in the volatile Tangi Valley to provide safer alternate routes for coalition forces. The Brigade Headquarters is now providing support to seven military outposts in the Kabul Base Cluster. The MEB concept for command and control capacity surpasses that of other brigade headquarters. MEBs are uniquely designed for both war fighting and operational support roles. Their elaborate capabilities are a microcosmic parallel of the National Guard’s dual roles to serve in the operational environment and 15 | Georgia Department of Defense
in a local role in support of state missions, mostly in disaster and humanitarian relief operations. The 648th MEB is parent to an engineer battalion, brigade support battalion, and a separate signal company. The 620th Signal Company, in Weston, W.Va., is currently detached in support of missions to the West Virginia Army National Guard. In the spring of 2011, the 648th MEB transferred command of the 781st CERF-P Battalion, the 1-214 Field Artillery Battalion, and the 170th Military Police Battalion to the 78th Homeland Response Force. The main training event conducted by elements of the 648th in 2011 was the National Guard Bureau’s Exportable Training Center (XCTC) exercise in October at Camp Blanding, Fla. The Brigade completed numerous, collective pre-deployment tasks, from staff systems integration in a tactical operations center, to base-support group battle drills. The 348th Brigade Support Battalion offered the comprehensive white cell to liaison with XCTC staff and the Florida Army National Guard, and provided administrative and logistics support for all GARNG forces during the XCTC exercise.
648th MEB Units • Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Columbus • 878th Engineer Battalion, Augusta • Headquarters Support Company, Augusta • Forward Support Company, Augusta • 877th Engineer Company (Horizontal Construction), Augusta
Col. Andy Hall Commander 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade Ga. Army National Guard
• 876th Engineer Company (Vertical Construction), Toccoa • Detachment 1, 876th Engineer Company (Vertical Construction), Hartwell • 810th Engineer Company (Sapper), Swainsboro • 874th Engineer Detachment (Construction), Fort Stewart • 175th Engineer Detachment (Asphalt), Fort Stewart • 348th Brigade Support Battalion, Cumming • Headquarters Company, Cumming • Alpha Company, Cumming • Bravo Company, Hinesville • 1160th Transportation Company, Rome • 620th Signal Company, Weston, WV, detached to WVARNG