100th Missile Defense Brigade

100th Missile Defense Brigade (Ground-based Midcourse Defense), known as 100th MDB (GMD), is a multi-component (meaning both Title 10 and Title 32) Army National Guard brigade headquartered at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. It has component formations located in Fort Greely, Alaska, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, and Fort Drum, New York manned by national guardsmen of the 49th Missile Defense Battalion,^[1] 100th MDB, Detachment 1,^[2] and 100th MDB, Detachment 2^{[citation needed]} in Alaska, California, and New York, respectively, on a round-the-clock 24/7/365 basis.^[3][4] 100th MDB (GMD) is part of the United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

100th Missile Defense Brigade

Operational Concept

The mission of 100th MDB (GMD) is ground-based mid-course defense (GMD) of the United States. A sensor network of satellites, sea-based radars, and land-based radars detect enemy ballistic missile attack by tracking launches, following the trajectories, and determining if these trajectories are headed for the U.S. homeland.^[5] Ground-based interceptors (GBI) then intercept these missiles, mid-course.^[6] The mission was proven in 2006, 2009, and 2012 by the North Korean Taepodong 2 ICBM launches.^[3][7]

Initial formation

In 2001 George W. Bush notified Russia of plans to withdraw the US from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. This entailed the development of multiple anti-ballistic missile sites, a restriction of the ABM Treaty. Activated in 2003,^[8] the administration deemed the Ground-based Midcourse Defense to be operational on 30 Sep 2004. The initial operational capability involved intensive simulation carried out by 100th MDB (GMD), which works with the sensor networks of the Missile Defense Agency.^[3]

National Guard participation

As National Guardsmen, the tempo of personnel replacements are not subject to the three-year cycle of ARFORGEN, allowing the development of long-term expertise over the past decade of training.^[3][9]

Notes

1. Barry Rosenberg (29 Nov 2022) Here’s how the soldiers assigned to shoot down ballistic missiles from North Korea stay sharp 100th and 49th Missile Defense Brigade and Battalion, CO and AK respectively
2. Sgt. Benjamin Crane, 100th Missile Defense Brigade (Ground-based Midcourse Defense) Public Affairs (May 31, 2011) Detachment One formally activated, changes commanders
3. The 100th Missile Defense Brigade: A decade of transformation and mission success.
4. Staff Sgt. Zachary Sheely, 100th Missile Defense Brigade (GMD) (12 May 2020) America’s only missile defense brigade 'deployed in place' 100th MDB has created backup crews which sequester during their Title-10 duty shifts, which last 14 days. The crews are cross-training for their periods of duty. The AK and CO crew locations serve the same mission.
5. United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command, 100th Missile Defense Brigade 2015-02-21 at the Wayback Machine
6. Test results can be found at: Ground-based Midcourse Defense#Intercept tests.
7. (18 December 2017) In Their Words: Missile defense crew recounts intercontinental ballistic missile target flight test
8. Staff Sgt. Zachary Sheely (October 31, 2018) None Shall Pass: 100th Missile Defense Brigade marks 15 years of homeland missile defense
9. (December 11, 2017) Nine Soldiers graduate ICBM defense course (Both Active Army and National Guard soldiers take the GQC)