JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
The 106th Signal Brigade at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston hosts a change of command ceremony at 10 a.m. July 29 at the Fort Sam Houston Theatre to welcome Col. Joseph N. Gardner and bid farewell to Col. Tia L. Benning. The ceremony will be officiated by Brig. Gen. Charles R. Parker, commanding general, 7th Signal Command (Theater).
Gardner’s command assignments include commander, 54th Signal Battalion, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait; commander, HHC 2d Brigade Combat Team (Stryker); and commander, 556th Signal Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Stryker), 25th Infantry Division.
Gardner entered U.S. Army active duty in 1989 and received his commission as a Distinguished Military Graduate of the Army Officer Candidate School in 2001. He is a graduate of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Signal Officer Basic and Advance Courses, and Security Assistance Management Course. He is also an alumnus of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Senior Fellows program, as the Army G-3/5/7 Fellow for 2015-2016.
Benning has led the brigade since July 29, 2020, and is retiring from active duty after serving in the U.S. Army since 1995 and plans to remain in the area with her family. Before leading the 106th Signal Brigade, her last assignment was a Joint tour as the Combined Joint (CJ6) Chief and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan J6 Director for Resolute Support Headquarters, Kabul, Afghanistan.
The mission of the 106th Signal Brigade is to direct and execute seamless communications and cyber readiness, enabling mission command for its mission partners.
It traces its history back to Birmingham Army Air Base, Alabama, where it was constituted as the 932nd Signal Battalion and activated Feb. 15, 1943, with the mission of supporting Army Air Corps Operations. In April 1944, the 932nd was reorganized and re-designated as the 932nd Signal Battalion, which served in Europe during World War II earning five Campaign streamers. The unit returned to the United States in October 1945 and was inactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.
The 932nd was activated again Aug. 12, 1963 at Camp Des Loges, France, and re-designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 106th Signal Group as part of U.S. Army Europe. It was later assigned to U.S. Army Strategic Communications Command July 1, 1964. The unit was relocated to Stuttgart, Germany in March 1967 and later inactivated November 1967.
On Oct. 16, 1991, the 106th was reactivated in Corozal, Panama, re-designated as the 106th Signal Brigade, and assigned to U.S. Army Information Systems Command providing strategic and tactical communications support to the U.S. Army South and U.S. Southern Command. The brigade was later inactivated in October 1997 as part of the provisions of the Panama Treaty of 1977 as all U.S. Forces left Panama.
The 106th Signal Brigade was reorganized and reactivated at Fort Sam Houston July 16, 2008, as part of the 7th Signal Command (Theater) with a mission to secure and defend the western portion of the CONUS LandWarNet, exercising capabilities in support of current operating and generating force requirements and operations.