The 313th Military Intelligence Battalion traced its lineage back to 25 September 1942, with the activation of the 215th Signal Depot Company; the battalion was officially activated and assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division on 16 October 1979. Companies were derived from many different units, including the 313th Army Security Agency (ASA) Battalion, formerly known as Headquarters and Service Company; the 3191st Signal Service Company (World War II) and 358th ASA Company, formerly known as Company A; the 82nd Military Intelligence Company and 337th Communications Reconnaissance Company, formerly known as Company B; and 371st Radio Research Company, formerly known as Company C. On 1 November 1988, Companies A, B, and C were designated as direct support companies for each of the three infantry brigades and Company D was reactivated and assigned to the 313th Military Intelligence Battalion as the general intelligence support company. The battalion continued to evolve in the 1990s, with the activation of Company D as the general support company and reassignment of the Long Range Surveillance Detachment from the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, the division's cavalry squadron, to the 313th Military Intelligence Battalion.
The unit provided direct and general support to the 82nd Airborne Division in the form of intelligence collection, analysis, and dissemination; counterintelligence and interrogation; signals intelligence, including ground and air based intercept, jamming, and direction finding; remote battlefield sensors and ground surveillance radar; moving target indicators; and long range surveillance.
The unit's lineage included 23 campaign and battle streamers from World War II, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam,Grenada, Panama, and the Persian Gulf. The battalion earned seven Meritorious Unit Commendations, one Army Superior Unit Award, and five foreign unit awards.
The 313th Military Intelligence Battalion was also one of the most diverse units in the United States Army, with soldiers holding 47 different military occupational specialties and speaking eight different languages.
In 2006 the battalion was inactivated when, as part of the Army-wide reorganization of combat forces to the modular structure, it was broken up and most of its personnel and equipment were reassigned to the brigade support battalions in each of the division's brigade combat teams. The battalion's long range surveillance detachment was reorganized, reflagged and reassigned as Company F (Pathfinder), 2nd Battalion, 82nd Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division.