Delaware National
Guard
Grecian Firebolt 2002261st
soldiers test commo readiness
By Spc. Marimer Navarrete, 444th Public Affairs Detachment, Fort Dix, N.J.
By Spc. Marimer Navarrete, 444th Public Affairs Detachment, Fort Dix, N.J.
When you turn on your cell phone you expect to get a
signal and make a call.
Soldiers in
the field have that same expectation of reliable communications -- to relay
information or get guidance to and from a higher
headquarters.
 |
|
Spc. Joseph Montruchio of B Co., 280th Signal Battalion, attaches a cable to an antenna dish while Sgt. Michael l. Brown and Pfc. Joseph Kozak keep the cable from tangling during Operation Grecian Fireball at Ft. Dix, NJ. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Stephenson, 444th Public Affairs Detachment, Fort Dix, N.J. ) |
That is the reason why signal units from around the nation taking part in “Grecian Firebolt” annually: to provide communications services to other field exercises and practice those skills that will keep the Army communicating.
“Grecian Firebolt gives us, the 261st Signal Brigade, the opportunity to train our personnel and check all our equipment in the field,” said Sgt. Maj. David Carden, whose Delaware Army National Guard brigade trained at Fort Dix.
To accomplish the mission during the month of June, several annual
training periods have been put together for units of the 261st Signal
Brigade.
There were 225 Delaware Guard members from the
280th Signal Battalion, along with 180 soldiers from Company B and C from
the 230th Signal Battalion of the New York National Guard at Dix.
The brigade has personnel at several other sites at
Devens-Reserve Forces Training Area, Mass, Fort A.P. Hill, Va. and Fort
Meade, Md.
Signal units from Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa.
and Camp Santiago, Puerto Rico are serving as part of the communications
network that includes support from the Air National Guard.
The 112th Air Craft Control Squadron from Pennsylvania is
at Dix, while a similar unit from the Connecticut Air Guard is located at
Devens providing the tactical satellite equipment to make the uplink to
Fort Meade.
The combined Guard effort is supporting Army Reserve units
at Dix. “The 451st Quartermaster Battalion is running its own exercise
call “POLEX” for which they need to be in communication with all their
units,” noted Carden.
That includes providing phone and fax service to 100
subscribers at several different ranges or bivouac areas as well as
Brindle Lake.
This line of sight service uses several 90-foot antennas
located at the command post in the 3900 area.
When it comes to the World Wide Web, Carden explains that the 261st Signal Brigade system functions like regular Internet Service Provider (ISP) relaying the NIPR or non-secure mail from the Internet hub located at Meade.
“Since we have limitations of equipment we can not extend
the Internet service to every subscriber in the field during this
exercise. We are only supplying access for two sites, like the
838th Quarter Master Co. who is closest to the command post, but next
spring we will be able to provide more multiplexes with this capability,”
added Carden.
Besides the Internet and
telephone services, the 261st Signal Brigade also provides the “POLEX” with Video
TeleConference (VTC) capabilities.
“This service is for the Commanders of the units who need
to talk face to face with their colleagues located in other military
facilities,” explains Carden.
“Basically most of the personnel that we have are
technical people and nearly 10 percent of them will do what they do here
full time. Some are IT Managers, some work for NASA or other private high
tech corporations,” said Carden.
“We are like a ‘MA Bell’ on wheels. But after all, what
we want is to be proficient during the whole time of our mission and bring
excellent service to our ultimate customers, the Army soldiers.”