Photo By Staff Sgt. Armando Limon | Soldiers assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, learn how to...... read more read more
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SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii - The 29th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Bde. Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, held a Radio Transmitter Operators (RTO) Academy, here, Jan. 19-22.
The battalion’s Charlie Company trained about 60 Soldiers from various occupational specialties throughout the 3rd BCT.
The lead trainer, Staff Sgt. Curt Ault, signal (S-6) noncommissioned officer in charge for Company C, 29th BEB, explained that the brigade’s RTO Academy is designed to teach new RTOs their duties and responsibilities as operators of radio communications: single channel ground and airborne radio systems (SINCGARS), satellite communications and high frequency (HF) radios.
“We basically teach them the basics of using radios,” Ault said. “A lot of the Soldiers here are brand new, so they’ve never seen radios such as these before.”
For most of the Soldiers at the academy, it was their first time handling military radios.
“A lot of them didn’t know how to talk on the radios, so giving them proper radio etiquette was a big one – what they should say on the radio and how to act,” he said.
Sgt. Gregory McElroy, signal support systems specialist, Company C, 29th BEB, assisting as a trainer further described the training that was provided to the Soldiers.
“We’ve covered the assembly of OE-254 antenna group setup, as well as QEAM (Quick Erecting Antenna Masts) antennas,” McElroy said. “We also covered the SINCGARS radio RT-1523, as well as the embedder. In those radio systems, we taught them how to program SINCGARS single channel plain text, line of sight communications, as well as SINCGARS hopping communications.”
One of the hands-on activities taught by the trainers in the cool, misty rain on Jan. 20 was the setup of HF radio systems.
“We showed them the different types of antennas that are used with HF radio, as well as programming the HF radio for line of sight communications,” McElroy said.
He stated that the biggest thing the RTO Academy was trying to emphasize is the understanding of the full spectrum of radio communications and how all of the little parts impact communication, what RTOs do and understanding their jobs. In general, understanding their jobs in the communications field is incorporated into the overall mission, McElroy explained.
Spc. Juliana Graber, network systems operator-maintainer, Company C, 29th BEB, and a student attending the course, found this as her first genuine lesson taught with military radios.
“It’s very interesting, because it is the first time I’ve really seen these radios,” Graber said. “Back in [advanced individualized training], I’ve seen the SINCGARS, but we really didn’t get to it that much, so it’s kind of cool.”
Graber said that she received a good amount of hands-on training during the four-day course.
“I like the hands-on portion of the training, and the lecture, too, knowing the frequencies,” she said. “It’s nice and awesome.”
| Date Taken: | 01.22.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.05.2016 17:21 |
| Story ID: | 188081 |
| Location: | SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 125 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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