Photo By Lt. Col. Michelle Lunato | Aaron Chudosky, a representative of Solutions Development Corporation, who works with...... read more read more
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - There is a fine line between mission success and failure, where success can depend on the reliability of a single one-pound radio.
Back in the Civil War, citizen-soldiers communicated with their commanders on the battlefield with signal flags during the day and lanterns by nights. As messaging moved from flags to satellites over the last century, so have the demands of the service members fighting for peace. The war fighters’ needs for communication have become almost instantaneous, and without it, the results can be devastating, said Army Staff Sgt. Tommy L. Andrews, Microwave Line of Site non-commissioned officer, Joint Network Communication Center-A, 359th Theater Tactical Signal Brigade. “You can have the greatest Army in the world, but without good communications, you will fail.”
With new things developing every day, “it is hard to keep up with technology,” said Andrews. In its efforts to deploy new technology, the Army has been fielding Netted Iridium Radios to the warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan under the Distributed Tactical Communications Systems program.
The radios are a combination of “walkie talkies,” cell phones, and tactical phones, said Andrews. The encrypted channels are similar to the security features of the heavy tactical phones, but keep a continuous “call” like cell phones. However, the radios function like a “walkie talkie,” where each user within a secure talk group can hear all the other members of that group. Only one user can talk at a time by pushing a button. “It is like the new CB [Citizen Band radio] of the Army,” said Andrews.
These radios have layers of security and are lightweight, said Aaron Chudosky, a representative of Solutions Development Corporation, who works with JNCC-A, C4 section on distributing and training Soldiers on the radios in Afghanistan. “Being a former Marine, I like that this is secure and I can take it with me everywhere.”
The one-pound, 6-inch antenna radios, use the 66 Iridium, low-orbiting satellite system to create a nearly seamless transfer of coverage, said Chudosky. “The satellites are always moving, so if you can’t reach one satellite, it is only a matter of a few minutes before you can get another one.”
The time to reach a satellite footprint is significantly less than when geosynchronous satellites were used, said Chudosky. “The advantage of the DTCS system is that unlike geosynchronous satellites, the Iridium Satellites come to you.”
When time is of essence, this fact can be critical in the combat environment of Afghanistan, said Chudosky. “In a firefight, you don’t have time to figure out where the satellites are. With the Iridium System, they come to you.”
This ability to get a signal faster is just one of the benefits though, said Chudosky. The radios are compatible with other military equipment and can be mounted in tactical vehicles, taken on patrols, set up in a Tactical Operations Center, and be used as a data modem for location tracking. “It’s tactical, it’s mobile, it’s lightweight, it’s secure, and it’s multipurpose.”
For the past few months, radio teams under the direction of CW2 David Mauriello, JNCC-A Chief, HHC, 359th TTSB, have been distributing hundreds of these tactical radios to a variety of units throughout Afghanistan. As of June 15, over 800 radios have been issued in Afghanistan as part of Phase 2 of the DTCS program, said Army Lt. Col. John H. Phillips, JNCC-A director, HHC, 359th TTSB. From Army security forces to Marine units to coalition forces, there has been a lot of positive feedback, said Andrews.
“With these radios, I can actually have a conversation, not just bits of one,” said an Army platoon sergeant with a security forces unit that is in the radio-fielding program. “Having voice communications with my TOC is invaluable,” said the platoon sergeant.
The capabilities of the fielded radios should take away some of the Taliban’s advantages in the mountainous area of Afghanistan, say a number of military leaders involved in the DTCS program.
Taking away any enemy advantages can only help a unit that is outside the wire, and that is the purpose of the program, said Chudosky. “We are supplying a means of reliable communications to the war fighters in the harshest of terrains, and that can only help save lives.”
| Date Taken: | 06.29.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 06.29.2010 05:35 |
| Story ID: | 52122 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 933 |
| Downloads: | 250 |
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