Photo By Tech. Sgt. Michael Brown | 141st Air Refueling Wing command post controllers set up an antenna and raise the...... read more read more
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Blue as far as the eye can see.
A never-ending sky meets the ocean.
No phones, no internet, no communication with the outside world. Wake Island is isolated. So remote in fact, the nearest city is thousands of miles away. Airmen from the 141st Washington Air National Guard Regional Command Post conducted a field test of communications with mobile command and control equipment at Wake Island Airfield during an off-station training, Feb, 4, 2022.
Often known as the hub of the base, the command post’s mission runs 24/7. Aircraft communication, emergency management, mass notifications—leadership relies on the command post team to relay and disseminate important information to those who need it.
As the center of communication for the base, the command post must always be prepared for any emergency event and command post Airmen must be equipped with the skills to establish communication anywhere.
“The Agile Combat Employment version of our mission is almost completely opposite from home station. We need to be able to function independent of support and remain highly mobile,” said Master Sgt. Patrick Clendenning, 141st Command Post and NCOIC of the Maneuver Team. “The ability for forward-deployed aircraft to maintain strategic and tactical communications depends on the command post having versatile equipment and the knowledge to maintain it.”
The training tested the team’s ability to “make it happen” when there is nothing and no one. The strategic location of Wake Island was chosen for this very reason. The coral island is very isolated, with only 2.5 square miles of land mass and no permanent residence or existing communication methods.
“The Wake Island training was 95% preparation,” said Clendenning, “and the success of the trip relied heavily on home station familiarization with our gear.”
The team arrived on the island with a full suite of mobile communications equipment. The equipment was rucksack portable and didn’t rely on external power sources— an excellent simulation of continuity of operations. The various methods of communication included Very High Frequency, Ultra High Frequency, High Frequency, satellite communications and secure internet.
After assembling their basecamp, the team deployed a 48-foot collapsible antenna mast with a 250-foot-high frequency wire. They used a high frequency radio to communicate back home to Fairchild Air Force Base, more than 4,500 miles away.
The team ran into some trouble with the transmissions at first and were able to troubleshoot to find an issue with the power output of the battery packs and eventually found a way to work around it. Data transmissions were successfully received. Voice receipt was loud and clear.“
The opportunity to train off-station was invaluable to our team,” said Clendenning. “Our team was fully prepared and flexible for any eventualities, making the mission an overall success.”
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2022 09:53 |
| Story ID: | 421156 |
| Location: | WAKE ISLAND, WAKE ISLAND (ISO RESERVED CODE = WK), UM |
| Web Views: | 884 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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