Maintaining military intelligence

Courtesy Photo | Company A, Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Soldiers from the intelligence electronic warfare repair shop, are the "fix-it" personnel and maintainers of the BCT's military intelligence equipment.  

DIWANIYAH, IRAQ

10.14.2008

Courtesy Story

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

By Capt. Andrew Camp
Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

CAMP ECHO, Iraq – The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division requires a wide variety of military intelligence equipment in order to conduct military operations.

When a military intelligence system breaks, the call goes out to the brigade's intelligence electronic warfare repair shop: the Soldiers of Company A, Special Troops Battalion, 2nd BCT.

"The mission of the IEW shop is to operate, integrate, repair and maintain mission-essential military intelligence systems in support of the combatant commander," said Staff Sgt. Richard Kripplebauer, of Reading, Pa., and the non-commissioned officer-in-charge of IEW operations. "We keep the brigade's military intelligence systems up and running, and save the Army time and money by providing direct service and system integration."

The IEW Soldiers are in a position to make on-the-spot repairs to keep information flowing. IEW Soldiers are also the subject-matter-experts for the systems, and provide advice on their employment and assistance with the integration of intelligence systems.

"Depending on the mission, the brigade intelligence officer may need to set up his systems in a configuration that has never been used before," Kripplebauer said. "Our job is to take that configuration and make it work."

"We are also capable of troubleshooting and repairing small electronics," said Kripplebauer. "There really isn't anyone else in the brigade who can do that."

Dealing with such a wide variety of equipment creates a unique environment which requires IEW Soldiers to think outside the proverbial box.

"Our job requires a lot of initiative," said Spc. Adam Darrah, of Fairview, W.Va.,a communications maintainer recently reassigned to the IEW shop from the 204th Brigade Support Battalion. "We have to coordinate with division and civilian companies to get the parts and information we need to complete the job."

The knowledge and capability to fix almost anything electronic has created a certain esprit de corps among the IEW Soldiers.

"When I come to work in the morning, I never know what's going to come through that door," said Darrah. "But I'll fix it."

• Date Taken: 10.14.2008
• Date Posted: 10.16.2008 05:31
• Story ID: 25070
• Location: DIWANIYAH, IQ