High-tech 'cable dogs' keep Task Force Baghdad talking

Courtesy Photo | CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq Sgt. Rebecca Willard, a cable team supervisor with 3rd Signal Company, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, gets down and dirty while installing new cables in an old building here Oct. 31. Willard, from Old Bridge, N.J., and her team install and maintain the system that makes the internet and telephone communication possible.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

11.28.2005

Courtesy Story

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Sgt. Andrew Miller
Task Force Baghdad PAO

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq " Before they deployed to Iraq, most members of 3rd Signal Company's cable platoon did not know what their jobs would be. In fact, the cable team didn't even exist.

Upon arriving in theater, 1st Lt. Shawn Boles, 3rd Sig. Co. executive officer, learned he would lead a new team that would be responsible for the installation and maintenance of Task Force Baghdad's entire communications network in the city. At that time, all but three of the team's 18 Soldiers were to be working outside of their intended occupational specialties.

The newly-formed team relied heavily on the knowledge of its four cable specialists (a fourth recently joined the team). Eventually, through experience and collaboration with other units, they discovered the best way to get past hurdles.

Sgt. Rebecca Willard, one of the team's original cable specialists, said it was difficult at first to work with Soldiers from outside of her specialty. This was especially the case when they were working with fiber optics, because such tasks are highly technical. She said her team members have since come a long way.

"They have learned a lot of what it takes to do the job and they take great pride in it," Willard said.

Boles said experience came easily to the cable team because they had endless work. The early days evolved into many late nights.

When they got to Iraq, much of the task force's network was not working. Sgt. 1st Class Janeen Whiteside-Harris, the cable team's platoon sergeant, said existing cables and fiber optics lacked the organization and labels necessary for efficient troubleshooting.

"We had to pull everything out and start from scratch," Whiteside-Harris said.

In light of their mammoth mission, Boles said interaction with other organizations has been invaluable to his team's success. One unit in particular, 35th Signal Company's cable platoon, assigned to 18th Airborne Corps, has been trading experience and parts with Boles" team throughout their deployments.

The ability to trade parts reduced their wait for supplies, sometimes drastically. Reducing the wait helps get the inoperable systems working faster, thus enabling Soldiers to work on other projects.

Whiteside-Harris said they have also benefited from working with their civilian counterparts. Experts with Raytheon Company have shared years of fiber optics experience and extensive equipment knowledge.

For some on the team, this experience may eventually earn them significant profit. Whiteside-Harris said three Soldiers are on the brink of earning certification with The Fiber Optic Association.

"We have a team of professionals," Whiteside-Harris said, smiling. "I am so proud of them."

Whiteside-Harris said her team members have conducted independent research on some of their projects, making improvements on how they do what they do. Such research has repeatedly changed the way she thinks of her job, and she has even begun requesting new and different equipment based on the Soldiers" findings, she said.

These new techniques and equipment have enabled a very small cable team to turn a large, unreliable network into one that is organized, operational and sustainable. Boles said he expects all of the task force's existing buildings to be similarly wired by the end of his tour.

The cable team leaders said their replacements would ideally be left with nothing to do but maintain an already-established network.

New structures, however, are being built every day. Work on these buildings will serve as perfect training for the signal Soldiers who come to take on this dynamic task.

"We have come a long way," said Whiteside-Harris. "Every unit that comes through wants to leave their footprint and let the next unit, you know, advance ahead. I want (our replacements) to be able to come in to a better area than we came in to. I want them to walk in and want to emulate our work."

• Date Taken: 11.28.2005
• Date Posted: 11.28.2005 13:17
• Story ID: 3883
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ