Photo By Bradley Hicks | Russell Cain, left, and Tre Powell with Mobile Communications America install an...... read more read more
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – What do nearby lightning, arc heater testing and Fridays at noon have in common?
Each of these occurrences triggers an announcement from the Giant Voice System at Arnold Air Force Base, headquarters of Arnold Engineering Development Complex. When lightning enters the 10-mile radius around the installation, the GVS warns base personnel of the risks of being outside.
Prior to testing involving the arc heaters, the GVS transmits a message ceasing all elevated work above 100 feet until the all-clear is given.
Weekly testing of the GVS takes place midday each Friday to help ensure, in the event of an emergency, the system would operate as intended in delivering important information and guidance to the Arnold AFB population.
The GVS transmits audible spoken messages, accompanied by sirens depending on the situation, whenever a situation that those across Arnold should be made aware of arises. These broadcasts can include alerts related to the weather, testing and emergency situations occurring on the installation.
“Whenever the area around Arnold AFB is under a severe thunderstorm warning, the system is deployed to notify the workforce,” said Mike Cullen, Arnold AFB Base Communication and Information Technology Services project manager. “If the area around the installation falls under a tornado watch or warning, this information is communicated via the GVS. Sirens are also sounded through the system should personnel need to take emergency shelter.
“Furthermore, during base-wide exercises, such as active shooter drills, the GVS is used to quickly disseminate to members of the Arnold team instructions that would be in line with what they would receive during a real emergency.”
Along with these examples, there are additional situations during which the GVS would be applied to keep the Arnold workforce as safe and informed as possible. The system is also used to play “Reveille” and “To the Colors” each morning at 7:30 a.m. along with “Retreat” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” each day at 4:30 p.m.
Because of the important role it plays in protecting those charged with carrying out the AEDC mission at Arnold, base officials want to ensure the GVS transmissions come through loud and clear.
To accomplish this, Arnold AFB Test and Base Communications Branch personnel interfaced with the Air Force Materiel Command Installation and Mission Support Center and Headquarters AFMC Communications & Information Directorate. The Test and Base Communications Branch at Arnold then utilized the BCITS contractor at the base to manage and execute a GVS modernization project. This undertaking began in April 2023, and the finish line is now in sight.
“The primary purpose is to modernize the system to ensure safety of the AEDC mission,” Cullen said of the project. “The system upgrade ensures early warning capability during inclement weather conditions and real-world emergencies.”
The project entails the installation of three new GVS activation points, which are the locations from which messages and warnings are sent, across Arnold AFB. This includes the installation of various pieces of hardware and software. The project scope also includes upgrades to 13 outdoor siren systems and 11 indoor siren systems located across Arnold AFB.
The indoor systems are used to transmit alerts throughout the interior of the buildings in which they are located, while the outdoor systems are essentially the speakers atop poles from which notifications, instructions and warnings are broadcast.
The majority of the siren systems are located within the Arnold AFB mission area, but several outdoor systems can be found on base property outside of the gate, such as in the Arnold Village community, the Arnold AFB Golf Course, the Arnold Lakeside Complex and the FamCamp campground.
Joel Thatcher, senior land mobile radio and audiovisual technician at Arnold AFB, said the outdoor systems in the mission area were intentionally installed in near proximity to one another to ensure the sound created by test cell operations does not drown out GVS broadcasts and inhibit base personnel from hearing the notices.
“One of the key things that people need to remember on this base is, because of the nature of the work we do here and the noise that is generated from several of these test facilities, that’s why you find all these poles that otherwise wouldn’t be not near as close together as what they really are,” Thatcher said. “The pole placement here on this base is to try to compensate for what we call the ‘worst-case scenario,’ which would be all the test cells are running at the same time and there’s a tornado moving toward the base. We need the maximum amount of people that we can reach out to to be able to hear this tornado warning.
“It’s all about maximum notification capability.”
Cullen said the primary purpose of the GVS upgrade is to improve the clarity of mass notifications. Another consideration behind the effort was the age of existing field device hardware. The upgrade, Cullen said, will bring a new and improved design to the GVS as well as the enhanced quality that comes with leading-edge technology in mass notification systems.
Once the project is complete, GVS messaging should be clearer for those at Arnold, regardless of their location on base property when a notice goes out, Cullen added.
“The result is a robust mitigation of safety hazards and risks and improved indoor and outdoor audible notification to alert base populace to take action,” he said. “The upgraded Giant Voice System also enhances the audible announcement quality during test events.
“Benefits include sense of security and wellbeing for all base populace and those who are in the housing and recreation areas, that they have the peace of mind in knowing that any weather threats will be sent out in as timely a manner as possible, providing maximum time to respond to weather threats or other impending notifications requiring that some action be taken to minimize any threats to safety or inconvenience.”
A significant portion of the project is already complete. By mid-June, upgrades to all 13 of the outdoor siren systems selected for the project were finished, and the trio of activation points were completed and fully operational.
Along with managing the integration, deployment, testing and verification of the updated GVS components, the Arnold AFB BCITS contractor is responsible for end user training on the new system.
The remainder of the project is slated for completion in October. Although some work remains, the upgrade is already garnering positive feedback.
“Current functionality testing is revealing greatly improved acoustic sound quality and clarity in voice message transmissions,” Cullen said. “Many compliments have been received from AEDC base populace.”
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.24.2024 10:37 |
| Story ID: | 476818 |
| Location: | ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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