Photo By Spc. Jamie Beale | Staff Sgt. Rodney Lissade (left), a water treatment specialist, and Staff Sgt. Andrew...... read more read more
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Soldiers from 3rd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade conducted a jump tactical operation center exercise from Aug. 22 to Sept. 1 at Evans Army Airfield, Camp Oliver and Fort Stewart.
Soldiers set up and tore down a tactical operation center at three separate times and locations to validate new and old equipment as well as to ensure the unit was able to rapidly deploy and set up to standard during daylight hours, hours of limited visibility and under conditions with reduced sleep opportunities.
The exercise consisted of four phases. The first involved preparation and rehearsals and the second was an initial setup at Evans Army Airfield. Phase three was the largest and most time consuming with two separate jumps: one to Camp Oliver and the other back to the unit’s headquarters’ area. The exercise was ended with phase four, which consisted of the recovery period.
“The purpose of the JUMPEX is for us to be field expedient,” said Staff Sgt. Andrew H. Webb, a telecommunications operations chief with Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade. “When we hit ground on the first day, we needed to get up and operational as soon as possible.”
With a self-set standard of six hours, the signal and communications team had to set up servers, power generators, wire for each shelter, voice and data services to include secret and non-classified internet access, internet-based phones and software to allow live collaboration, Webb said. The team also helped with the placement of concertina wire and camouflage netting around each training site.
“Everything we do is really important,” said Spc. Bryan M. Parker, a satellite communication systems operator/maintainer with the 414th Signal Company, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade and the joint network node team chief for the exercise. “Preparation and readiness is the main focus. We can’t have a single point of failure.”
414th Signal Company, in recent months, underwent an end-of-life cycle with much of its equipment and was able to bring brand-new equipment to the exercise. This allowed the team to build new base configurations and provided good training for those who worked with it.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to train on all this equipment,” said Parker. “I think that’s where our shortcoming was in the past.”
Units in the brigade have participated in multiple training exercises within the last year, including Marne Focus and Operation Heartbeat. In 2016 alone, training events have been conducted almost monthly.
“When we first started all these exercises, we were nowhere near where we are now,” Webb said. “We’ve come a long way.”
Parker also mentioned the big impact of the training on the unit.
“I don’t think we would have had such a successful mission this time had it not been for what we’ve been doing,” he said. “I think we’ve improved drastically from last year.”
These events have been in preparation for an upcoming division exercise called Warfighter, which will include the participation of several brigades within 3rd Infantry Division. The main purpose of the exercise is to validate mission essential task list proficiency and readiness as well as incorporate training acquired in the past.
“I think my team is ready,” Parker said. “I think with everything we’ve done this year, we’ve done pretty well at preparing ourselves.”
Previous Warfighter exercises have been based on the same scenario, but the upcoming event will feature a new situation, which makes both proactive and reactive thinking necessary.
“It’s going to take all the manpower, and it’s going to take a lot of discipline,” Webb said. “This will test a lot of people.”
Even with the everyday challenges, Webb really enjoys his job, he said.
“I love the signal world. We always say ‘SIGNAL: smooth, intelligent, genuine, natural, Army leader. That’s how we define ourselves.’”
| Date Taken: | 09.02.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.05.2017 15:38 |
| Story ID: | 240136 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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