Charlie Company Re-Trans Mission

Courtesy Photo | Spc Phillip Higdon, a radio operator with Company C, 209th Aviation Support Battalion, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, responds to a radio check while he climbs the observation tower on Forward Operating Base Brassfield to check the re-transmission site antennas.  

TIKRIT, IRAQ

09.07.2007

Courtesy Story

25th Combat Aviation Brigade

1st Lt. Daniel Sem
209th Aviation Support Battalion
25th Combat Aviation Brigade

TIKRIT, Iraq — At a small infantry outpost somewhere near Samarra, two Soldiers from the 209th Aviation Support Battalion, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade sit with a radio at their re-transmission site.

They hear the chatter of pilots on mission, sometimes near and clear, sometimes faint. They return radio checks to higher to verify the system is working. They adjust the antenna in the tower, and fix the base transmission station when needed. And that's it. For months, this is all they do.

"My mission is to make sure our birds can talk to headquarters," Spc. Philip Higdon, a radio operator in Company C positioned at the Forward Operating Base (FOB) Brassfield-Mora re-trans site, said.

Radio frequency re-transmission is just one of the many enormous missions covered by the tiny Charlie Company labor pool of just over 40 Soldiers. The only signal company within the 25th CAB, the unit's mission affects every operation, from sending an e-mail with the next day's meeting notes attached to radioing from an attack helicopter for clearance to engage and kill an enemy. Their commander, Capt. Edward Powell, was quick to point out the importance of re-transmission operations.

"If this company doesn't function, this brigade doesn't function," Powell said. "That seems ostentatious, but with all the automation we use there's truth to it."

Powell said that every e-mail, phone call, radio transmission, live aerial video feed and more, all come as a result of the work his Soldiers do every day for the 25th CAB.

"We give [the 25th CAB] the capability to operate on a broader spectrum," Powell said. "We are the backbone to that."

The sheer complexity and continual change on the battlefield have driven Charlie Company to the edge of innovation, Powell said, as the unit performs missions in conditions for which the Army never planned. Powell added operations his company and other signal companies perform in Iraq will be the basis of Army doctrine for the next 20 years.

"We're doing things they've never done before," Powell continued. "We're still writing doctrine on operations in a deployed, tactical environment."

Among the myriad of ways that Charlie Company supports the fight, the radio frequency re-transmission sites spread throughout northern Iraq are among the most anonymous, yet one of the most important missions they do. Re-trans works like a bridge; once a signal reaches a site at the end of its transmission range, it is re-sent further on to a new site, all the way back to the 25th CAB tactical operations center. The re-trans sites allow pilots to communicate by secure radio transmission to their headquarters over distances much greater than normally possible, Powell said. "Multi-National Division North is a large open space," Powell said. "We try to cover that space."

1st. Sgt. Terry O'Berry with Charlie Company agreed that the re-trans mission is vital, though boring for the Soldiers involved.

"It allows pilots to go further south and further north on missions than without re-trans," O'Berry said. "[But] the re-trans job is boring. All you do is radio checks, radio checks, radio checks."

O'Berry said the re-trans Soldiers make a greater difference in the 25th CAB mission than they might think. He said that during one critical mission in support of the summer surge in Baghdad and surrounding regions, all the high-tech electronic communications went down on the attack helicopters.

Fulfilling this crucial duty all over northern Iraq are a handful of Soldiers living on small, remote FOBs. O'Berry said most Soldiers enjoy the duty, however.

"They love being at re-trans sites," O'Berry said. "They are the boss. There are no non-commissioned officers or first sergeants, standing over their shoulder. They call the shots."

Spc. Erwin Tolentino, the second Soldier on FOB Brassfield with Higdon, agreed that being in a remote location had its benefits.

"I like it because we have freedom from the company," Tolentino said.

But the isolation for these two signal soldiers living on a base crowded with infantry and armored cavalry Soldiers was hard to overcome at first.

For these two Soldiers, the closest help they have is each other. Splitting the day and night shifts, they both watch out for the other and ensure the mission doesn't fail.

"We hang out all the time," Higdon said of himself and Tolentino. "We pick up each other's slack."

There is not much else to do on this tiny base other than hang out and make sure the re-trans equipment is functioning, Higdon said. He finds other things to occupy himself with out here, such as going to the gym, playing computer games, calling home, or refining his horticultural skills on a small crop of tomato plants he owns.

"The tomatoes are just something I can do," Higdon said, referring to the three plants he grew from tomato seeds taken out of the dining facility salad bar. "I guess I just want something to take care of."

When things do go wrong with the re-trans site, Higdon and Tolentino are quick to react.

"We always check the timing [on the radio], we might check COMSEC (communications security encryption code), make sure the antenna is good," Higdon said. "If all those things fail, then we start swapping out parts."

To check the antenna and change parts on the base station, the Soldiers need to climb up to the top of an observation tower on the FOB. The highest accessible point with a power source, this tower that overlooks Samarra and surrounding Iraqi villages holds the vital re-trans site equipment. The Soldiers can see for miles when up checking their equipment. But that means they can be seen, as well.

"Well, they're concerned about snipers there," Tolentino said. "But every time I've gone up there, I've felt safe."

The other danger these Soldiers face is the vulnerability to mortar attacks. Tolentino, who has been at the re-trans site since November, said they used to get mortared almost every day until an infantry raid in June took down the insurgents responsible for the attacks. The mortars were fairly ineffective though, Tolentino said.

"They are either too much in a hurry to aim," Tolentino said. "Or they don't know how to."

Despite the isolation and occasional dangers, these two Soldiers, along with their fellow Charlie Company re-trans Soldiers spread across northern Iraq, will continue to quietly, anonymously support the hundreds of pilots that rely on them each week. Though their names may never be known to those they've helped, the impact of this routine mission will undoubtedly continue to make a crucial difference in the victory of the 25th CAB in northern Iraq.

• Date Taken: 09.07.2007
• Date Posted: 09.07.2007 15:32
• Story ID: 12242
• Location: TIKRIT, IQ