Courtesy Photo | Spc. Troy Clayton and Sgt. Jamey Milo of Company C, 601st Aviation Support Battalion,...... read more read more
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By First Lt. Josh Howell
601st Aviation Support Battalion
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq — Establishing effective command and control for units on the modern-day unilateral battlefield in Iraq is a mission that four Soldiers in Company C, 601st Aviation Support Battalion are ready to do.
Sgt. Leland Webb, Sgt. Jamey Milo, Spc. David Lewis, and Spc. Troy Clayton are the 601st Aviation Support Battalion's Tactical Command Post Node Team. They are prepared to deploy from Contingency Operating Base Speicher at a moment's notice to any part of northern Iraq to assist in the fight against insurgents.
The team has been working daily to develop and improve their technical skills on their Command Post Node and other networking equipment in order to be at full tactical readiness for operations during the remaining months of their Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment. The CPN system provides all types of data and telephone communications capabilities. These systems generally support battalion-sized units and can be attached to tactical elements to allow the unit commander the flexibility to organize continuous full spectrum operations anywhere on the modern battlefield.
Webb and Milo, both multi-channel transmission system operator/maintainer and Lewis and Clayton, information technology specialists, have been training daily by setting up their assigned STT in different areas in order to be fully trained with the complexities of establishing initial ground communications with orbiting satellites, known as "Peaking and Polling."
"We found out through multiple exercises, that attention to detail is the key to success," said Clayton. "Minor things could lead to disaster."
He added that when dealing with communications taking care of the "details" are imperative. He continued, "This stuff (CPN and STT equipment) is so sophisticated, one broken wire could have tremendous consequences."
While their equipment is essential to completing the mission, it doesn't run by itself.
"The (25) Bravos (Lewis and Clayton) have really stepped up to the challenge," stated Milo. "The manual labor — the setup takes numerous people. Everyone pulled their own weight."
"There is a lot of trust among all of us," said Clayton. "The NCOs don't micro-manage us, they trust us with what we are doing."
To add to this trust the team has increased their cohesiveness by cross-training on each other's jobs. "Everyone has their own job, but everyone needs to know each other's job," stated Lewis. He continued, "We cannot afford for us two to be the only ones who know the networking systems. Webb and Milo cannot be the only ones who know the STT. We have to know each other's jobs in case something happens to one of us."
"It's a complex job, setting-up a CPN, especially calibrating the STT and adjusting the generator," Milo added. This is one reason the team learns each other's job.
Webb said that the team set up and tore down their equipment around 15 times during the first week of their training. They have been training for nearly 4 weeks now. This continual training has drilled into each Soldier the exact tasks needed to be performed.
"We want to do it at 100 percent—not a hodge-podge," Clayton said. "We are going to do it to meet and exceed the standard."
As they strived to know every facet of their jobs, the members of the TAC CPN team have been training and operating with the knowledge that they are on a short leash. They know that they could be called up at anytime to travel to another forward operating base in northern Iraq to set up their communications package.
"We are like the communications QRF (Quick Reaction Forces)," said Webb.
When asked about any excitement or apprehension on the possibility of going outside the area of COB Speicher in order to set up their TAC CPN, they admitted that they all were anxious and excited about their possible missions. But, there is a unanimous consensus in the team that they are ready to conduct operations on their own.
Clayton summed up his teams mission, "we are going to provide communications so that they (combat troops) have more time to complete their missions."
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 02.05.2008 17:26 |
| Story ID: | 16074 |
| Location: | TIKRIT, IQ |
| Web Views: | 869 |
| Downloads: | 389 |
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