Colonel Kurush Bharucha-Reid or "KB" gained prominence as an intelligence and special operations expert in the United States Army from 1973 to 2010 who garnered respect across the US Special Operations and United States Intelligence Community for his significant impacts on Defense HUMINT. Kurush was of Parsi and African-American descent and was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1955. Kurush provided major contributions to the US Army's Human Intelligence programs and had considerable impacts on both training and combat missions around the world culminating with his achievement in receiving the Office of Strategic Service Society's Donovan Award, is a US Army Military Intelligence Hall of Fame inductee, along with numerous other combat decorations and medals. For similar reasons the Defense Intelligence Agency established a new DIA training facility in Norfolk, VA dedicated as the Reid Center in his tribute to service and career impacts.
Biography
Kurush Bharucha-Reid was born to mathematicians Albert Turner Bharucha-Reid, of Hampton, Virginia and Rodabe Bharucha-Reid, a Parsi Zoroastrian from India. Bharucha-Reid, who was commonly known as KB, enlisted in the US Army's Special Forces in 1973. Kurush's skilled leadership and training support to foreign militaries in small-unit weapons and special operations tactics quickly resulted in his promotion to Sergeant First Class. Then, in 1983, Kurush was selected to attend Officer Candidate School where he was then commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army's Military Intelligence career field. A year later, in 1984, Kurush made a permanent change of station to the Republic of Korea where he served as the Chief of the Combined Liaison Team, 501st MI Brigade, US Army Intelligence and Security Command. Drawing from his earlier leadership experience, Kurush led a "one of a kind" special operations organization providing total immersion training to a small team of ROK personnel. This unit was then capable of performing sensitive and high-risk intelligence collection operations in the event of a major military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula. Three years later, in 1987, the now Captain Kurush was selected for membership in the US Army's Military Intelligence Excepted Career Program,. Upon entry into this lesser known element of the US Army, Kurush then served another 23 years in pursuance of some of the most challenging and sensitive assignments for the US Army's Military Intelligence function.
Assignments
Regional Desk Officer and Special Assistant for Military Affairs for a national-level intelligence agency with focus on East Asian and Near East operations.
After those missions and assignments, in 2002, Kurush was tasked by the US Army to stand up and then command a sensitive HUMINT collection detachment under the Defense HUMINT Service. There he deployed to Afghanistan as a HUMINT case officer assigned to provide direct support to US Special Operations Command. Kurush then again deployed to Afghanistan in 2004 in the capacity of the Commander of a Defense HUMINT base where critical HUMINT activities were conducted during US surge operations in Afghanistan. These operations were in support of Afghanistan's first democratic elections after the fall to the Taliban and al-Qaeda. In 2005, Kurush deployed to Iraq as a Senior HUMINT Advisor where he helped facilitate an inter-agency coordination cell. Upon completion of that assignment he later returned to serve as the Chief of the Military Group and Senior Department of Defense Instructor at a prestigious inter-agency intelligence training institution. Finally, in May 2009 Kurush assumed command of the US Army Field Support Center.
Death and afterward
During his last assignment at AFSC, Kurush was diagnosed and died as a result of pancreatic cancer. He was then laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery on 9 September 2010. A year later in October 2011, the Defense Intelligence Agency's Contingency Operation Base located in Kabul, Afghanistan was renamed to Camp K.B. Reid in honor of Kurush's service. Additionally, in 2012, DIA established a new DIA training facility in Norfolk, VA dedicated as the Reid Center. These dedications were undertaken to illustrate the considerable impact Kurush had on the US Intelligence Community at large and the Defense HUMINT function. Finally, in February 2014, the US Army's HUMINT Training Joint Center of Excellence established an Honor Graduate Program in recognition of outstanding student performance in the Source Operations Course and the Defense Advanced Tradecraft Course. Today, both uniformed service members and civilians are awarded the COL Kurush Bharucha-Reid Award for Excellence in HUMINT Tradecraft.
