Photo By Jeremy Todd | Sgt. Nicholas Hoffert, a Bismarck, N.D., native, with 191st Military Police Battalion,...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Jeremy Todd
4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE RUSTAMIYAH, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad personnel conducted electronic warfare training for selected 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light) Soldiers and other MND-B Soldiers on the base Oct 29, 2008.
Electronic Warfare can be defined as applying the radio frequency spectrum to defeat an enemy and save lives on the battlefield. Improvised-explosive devices are the highest threat to Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces personnel safety, and defeating that threat is the biggest concern for leaders, explained Navy Lt. Christopher Winters, the 4th Infantry Division's EW training officer from Waterville, Maine.
EW specialists are Air Force and Navy personnel, but the Army is moving toward educating its Soldiers in these skills and will soon offer the EW career field.
"This is something the Army needs to be concerned about," said Air Force Maj. Jason Eckberg, an EW officer for MND-B, who hails from Las Vegas.
The Army will be adding electronic warfare specialist to its collection of military occupational specialties in 2010, he explained, adding that the Soldiers attending the EW class on Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah will be among the first to attain the new MOS.
"This job offers the Soldiers a sense of pride; it is a very important to them," expressed Eckberg. "The most important factor of this job is the care and maintenance of the equipment. The components of the counter-IED systems are extremely intricate and must be cared for by trained personnel."
Eckberg said training the Soldier at the lowest possible level ensures mission stability and offers leaders the capability to alleviate the responsibility from a brigade asset to the company level.
Civilian technicians and military officers conducted the EW workshop, which entailed 40 hours of hands-on training. Fourteen Soldiers from throughout MND-B attended the class. The 18th Military Police Brigade, which is based out of Sandhofen, Germany, sponsored the training.
"I am extremely excited to learn a new skill – especially one that will save Soldiers' lives," said Sgt. Nicholas Hoffert, a Bismarck, N.D., native, assigned to 191st MP Battalion. "This skill will save time on the battlefield as well.
"We will no longer have to wait in line to fix a fault in the system. We will be the on-site technician for most problematic issues that may arise."
| Date Taken: | 11.05.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 11.05.2008 11:15 |
| Story ID: | 25951 |
| Location: | RUSTAMIYAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 138 |
| Downloads: | 103 |
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