Photo By Sgt. Joshua Taeckens | U.S. Army South and 56th Signal Battalion Soldiers conduct a communications exercise...... read more read more
U.S. Army South and 56th Signal Battalion Soldiers conducted a communications exercise to test the capabilities of the newly acquired transportable tactical command communications (T2C2) system for the Army South contingency command post (CCP), August 21-23, 2023.
The Army South CCP is a rapidly deployable headquarters capable of providing Joint Task Force support designed to plan and conduct small-scale contingency operations for situations that may arise in the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility.
The T2C2 will enable the Joint Task Force commander to have situational awareness of what is happening on the ground and relay that information to all organizations involved in the event of a real-world contingency operation.
Lt. Col Christopher Dickinson, U.S. Army South G6 current operations branch chief, said that this exercise gives CCP staff members an opportunity to make note of critical sites, portals, and locations they will need to have access to in the event the CCP is deployed and help them build a playbook for their warfighting function.
He also said the replacement of the old Secure Internet Protocol Router/Non-Secure Internet Protocol Router (SIPR/NIPR) Access Point (SNAP) terminals with the T2C2 system will instill confidence in CCP staff members.
“Operationally, the G6 is confident that we are near the point of transitioning the CCP away from the 10+ year old SNAP terminals to the new T2C2 systems and they can support the CCP’s mission anywhere in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility,” said Dickinson.
According to the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center, the T2C2 system allows forward forces in austere locations to quickly connect to the Army’s tactical network to obtain mission command capabilities and situational awareness using a high-bandwidth inflatable satellite terminal.
The CCP’s most recent mission was to support disaster relief efforts in Central America following Hurricanes Eta and Iota in 2020.
According to Chief Warrant Officer Morgan McCarty, CCP network operations chief with 56th Signal Battalion, a majority of the past CCP missions have been humanitarian aid and disaster relief, so the rapid deployment and dependability of communications is an integral part of providing support as fast as possible.
“The T2C2 takes up less space and is lighter, so deploying and redeploying the system is a much less laborious task than the SNAP,” said McCarty. “With the CCP being on a rapid recall posture during the hurricane season, it’s really important that our communications package is up to date, ready to go and logistically supported.”
The CCP will support SOUTHCOM, U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, other federal agencies and non-governmental organizations during humanitarian crises, natural disasters, and other contingency operations in the Caribbean, Central and South America.
| Date Taken: | 08.24.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 08.25.2023 14:19 |
| Story ID: | 452174 |
| Location: | FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 379 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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