9th Army Signal Command (United States)

9th Army Signal Command
NETCOM/9th SC(A) Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
Active	16 September 1997 - Current
Country	United States
Branch	U.S. Army
Type	Signal Command
Garrison/HQ	Fort Huachuca, Arizona
Website	NETCOM Home Page
Commanders
Current commander	Major General Alan R. Lynn

The 9th Army Signal Command is the operational executive agent for Army-wide network operations and security. It is the single point of contact for Army network development and protection, providing C4 information management of common-user services in support of the combatant commanders and Army service component commanders. It is the numbered command for the Network Enterprise Technology Command.

NETCOM/9th ASC inherits its name from the 9th Service Company, originally formed, 14 February 1918. It was organized two months later in Honolulu, Hawaii. The command mission was the installation and maintenance of telegraph, telephone and coastal artillery fire control communications. It was manned by a captain, five corporals and 15 Private First Class soldiers. The commands soldiers also served on Oahu at a number of commands including Fort Shafter, Schofield Barracks, Fort Ruger, Fort Armstrong, Fort Kamehameha, Hickam Field, Luke Field and Tripler General Hospital.

The 9th Signal Service Company moved its unit headquarters from Honolulu to Fort Shafter in 1921. The command became responsible for heavy cable construction within the Hawaiian Department. In May 1929, the 9th Signal started passing radio traffic with the mainland and Manila. In August 1930, 9th Signal established direct radio links with the War Department station in Washington, D.C..

Signal operations at Fort Shafter started to expand after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1942, the 9th Signal Service Company began to send radio operators out to Christmas, Canton, and Fanning Islands. It also supplied radio operators for transports sailing between San Francisco and Hawaii and for inter-island vessels sailing in Hawaiian waters.

In April 1943, the unit was redesignated as the 972nd Signal Service Company. On 8 January 1944, it was reorganized as a battalion and designated as the 972nd Signal Service Battalion. Its manning had increased to 643 personnel. The unit had also been reassigned to U.S. Army Forces, Central Pacific Area. The expansion of the offensive in the Pacific and the growth in signal requirements required reallocation of theater signal resources. The 972nd Signal Service Battalion became the "wire battalion." Its mission was to furnish personnel capable of handling the installation and maintenance of communications for the Wire Division of the Signal Office, Central Pacific Area. Major elements of the battalion were employed on the Island of Oahu and detachments were set up on the Islands of Hawaii, Maui and Kauai.