Photo By Staff Sgt. Blake Wiles | U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Ricardo Garcia, a Marine Air Control Group Detachment East...... read more read more
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CAMP LEMONNIER, Djibouti – As the sun rises over the mountains in Djibouti on a crisp, smoky morning, Marines and Soldiers traverse grated terrain. They have one goal in mind – setting up a communication site where one hasn’t been established before. This site will prove vital for seamless communication between ground troops and aircraft flying by in the vicinity.
U.S. Marines and U.S. Army Soldiers conducted a multi-day joint command and control exercise at Quaid Range, Djibouti, Feb. 8, 2022.
The exercise demonstrated the Marine Air Control Group Detachment East Africa Air Combat Element’s capability to rapidly conduct air command and control operations in an austere location.
“As we move forward into the future fight, the ability to command and control across vast distances becomes increasingly important,” said U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Kurt Hoffman, Detachment MACG officer in charge of East Africa ACE. “This exercise allows us to validate our ability to command and control in a remote location.”
Validating the MACG’s command and control capability is extremely important to demonstrate to higher commands that they are able to support operations in East Africa and respond to potential crises at any time.
“Initially we got on ground to establish ultra-high frequency,” said Hoffman. “That provides a line of sight capability to talk to aircraft in our landing zone from the ground.”
Once the ultra-high frequency was established, Marines built their site with improved defenses and satellite communication.
“We set up three different radio networks and a digital tactical communication method,” said U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Ricardo Garcia, a radio technician with the East Africa ACE. “This is to show our capabilities to our command in case they need to send us out at a moment’s notice.”
U.S. Army Soldiers with the 1-107th Air Operations Battalion integrated with the Marines to establish the command and control node.
The East Africa ACE directly supports Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) by providing vital communication capabilities between ground and air assets.
"Communication is extremely important,” said Garcia. “Our radios allow us to command and control aircraft across the area of operations. That's all possible through our communication infrastructure."
The exercise provided a unique opportunity for service members from different branches of service to integrate and improve how they support operations in East Africa.
“It’s refreshing,” said Garcia. “When you only work with Marines, you get stuck in the same mindset. Working with a different branch, they have a different mindset to their mission. We both help out and learn from each other.”
| Date Taken: | 02.08.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 02.18.2022 08:15 |
| Story ID: | 414914 |
| Location: | CAMP LEMONNIER, DJ |
| Web Views: | 94 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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