Mission and History

Our Mission

The 19th Battlefield Coordination Detachment conducts liaison between U.S. Army Europe and Africa or designated Army Forces/Land Component Command and the 603rd Air and Space Operations Center (Air Force) to coordinate air power and ground capabilities across the range of military operations within the U.S. European Command and U.S. African Command areas of responsibility.

Our Vision

Purpose: The 19th Battlefield Coordination Detachment facilitates the integration of joint air and ground operations that enables the joint force to prevent conflict, shape the operational environment and win during conflict in the U.S. European Command or U.S. African Command areas of responsibility.

Endstate: The 19th Battlefield Coordination Detachment is a ready and resilient team that will accomplish the mission, grow professionally, maintain standards and care for each other and our Families.

Unit History

The Battlefield Coordination Detachment concept originated in the mid-1980’s as an answer to deal with the Soviet Union’s tactic of attacking in successive echelons in order to overwhelm the NATO ground defense. The mission for Air Force deep fires at that time, was aimed at attacking the Soviet Union’s second and third echelons, and command and control nodes thus disrupting the synchronization, timing and overall effectiveness of their attack. This mission called for an Army organization to provide required close and continuous coordination between the Air Component Commander and the Land Component Commander in order to pass critical targeting and intelligence information between the Army and the Air Force. As a result, the Battlefield Coordination Element was created to work as an Army liaison team in the United States Air Force Tactical Control Center, now the Air Operations Center, to ensure continuous coordination and exchange of information.

Operation Desert Storm in 1991 was the first operational deployment of a Battlefield Coordination Detachment during war and its mission and role were validated. Today the Battlefield Coordination Detachment mission entails coordination between the Commander Army Forces and the Joint Forces Air Component Commander to synchronize maneuver, fires, and interdiction in the Army Forces Area of Operation. The Battlefield Coordination Detachment supports the Commander, Army Forces. by providing preplanned and immediate targeting support, intelligence exchange, airspace coordination, theater airlift coordination and overall friendly and enemy situation awareness.

U.S. Army Europe Command created the U.S. Army Europe Battlefield Coordination Element in June 1997 from the old 7th Army Liaison Group to United States Air Forces in Europe. On 13 July 1999, the Battlefield Coordination Element was activated as a regular Army unit and redesignated the 19th Battlefield Coordination Detachment stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Since its formation as a Battlefield Coordination Element in June 1997, the 19th Battlefield Coordination Detachment has participated in numerous large and small-scale exercises and contingency operations. In recent years, the 19th Battlefield Coordination Detachment has deployed in support of Operation Allied Force (Mar-Jul 99), the conflict in Kosovo; Operation Iraqi Freedom (Feb-Jun 03); and, most recently, two deployments to the United States Air Forces Central Command, Combined Air Operations Center (Sep 04-Sep 05 and Jul 07-Oct 08) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

In 2004, the Department of the Army designated all Battlefield Coordination Detachments as Department of the Army selected brigade level commands. Recent Army modularity initiatives and refinement of joint effects integration doctrine has positioned the Battlefield Coordination Detachments at the top of the joint effects integration hierarchy for land component forces. The U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff, Army, agreed to establish a habitual training and warfighting relationship within each Geographic Combatant Command that aligned Battlefield Coordination Detachments with the “Falconer” Air Operations Centers of Numbered Air Forces. The 19th Battlefield Coordination Detachment is U.S. European Command’s Battlefield Coordination Detachment and is aligned with the 3rd Air Force at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Currently, there are four other Battlefield Coordination Detachments serving the United States Army; the 1st Battlefield Coordination Detachment is located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona; the 3rd Battlefield Coordination Detachment is located at Osan Air Base, South Korea; the 4th Battlefield Coordination Detachment is located at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina and the 5th Battlefield Coordination Detachment is located at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. Additionally, a training Battlefield Coordination Detachmentis located at Hurlburt Field, Florida.