Photo By Pfc. Jessica Pauley | Army Chief Warrant Officer Jerred Edgar, an information services technician with 116th...... read more read more
CINCU, Romania—Soldiers with the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team, Idaho Army National Guard, communications team came to the Romanian Land Force Combat Training Center prepared to provide communications support for its brigade, an organization of just more than 1,000 Soldiers. Upon arrival they learned their small but capable team would be supporting an entire division of multinational units, almost 2,800 Soldiers, during the Saber Guardian Exercise beginning July 27, 2016.
The communications team, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, accepted the challenge of its expanded role to provide the necessary communication resources for Saber Guardian, a multinational exercise involving military personnel from ten nations including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and the United States.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jerred T. Edgar, a signals information technician, can be found working in the server room behind the organized pile of complicated wiring and flashing lights.
In the case of a medical evacuation, a Soldier needs to be able to pick up a radio and make the call for urgent help, Edgar said. He does not have time to worry about his radio not working or the transmission not getting through. Soldiers need access to Internet for emails, calls home, and to get their jobs done, Edgar said.
“The [communications] team is the backbone of all communication for the exercise,” Edgar said. “If we don’t do our jobs, then they can’t do theirs.”
The communications team had practice getting its network ready for Saber Guardian at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California back in August 2015. They were able to successfully evade opposing forces’ attempts to penetrate the brigade’s network.
Edgar and Sgt. 1st Class Jared M. Woodhouse, the signals and communications noncommissioned officer in charge, were both essential in ensuring the teams’ excellent performance at NTC.
Woodhouse is working with Edgar once again, out-performing the division’s expectations for Saber Guardian. He oversees the 24-hour helpdesk that assists soldiers from all involved nations, and describes Edgar as the “network designer” who is responsible for maintaining the servers.
“Mister Edgar does everything in the most professional way possible,” said Woodhouse. “Because of him and his way of doing things the team is squared away.”
Woodhouse and Edgar credit success of the communications team to the compatibility and cooperation provided by the Romanian army.
The Romanian network was already in-place and functional prior to the exercise but had to be adapted for an increased demand of more than 2,000 Soldiers.
“We’ve come in and kind of taken over [the Romanian] systems,” Woodhouse said. “There’s a huge amount of trust to let us do that.”
Saber Guardian is the first opportunity for many Soldiers to train with Allies and partner nations. The Soldiers get virtual and simulated environment training that can only be offered in a multinational training exercise. Cooperation and interoperability are goals for all participants of Saber Guardian.
The communication between Soldiers and between nations is made possible by the signals and communications team, which the Romanians have supported since the beginning.
“[The Romanians] have been very helpful,” Edgar said. “Whether its ordering a pizza or getting the servers setup, they are ready to help.”
| Date Taken: | 07.26.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.29.2016 12:00 |
| Story ID: | 205454 |
| Location: | CINCU, RO |
| Hometown: | BOISE, IDAHO, US |
| Web Views: | 138 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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