Courtesy Photo | U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher B. Sutton, a fire finder radar operator from...... read more read more
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KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan - A radar dish malfunctioned Sept. 15 near Combat Outpost Chamkani, a small outpost located in a remote, mountainous region near the Pakistan border. A repair team was summoned to perform the risky task of fixing it.
They would traverse a mountain in a hostile environment to replace the broken radar. Within an hour, the team diagnosed the system, replaced the radar and, was ready to move on to the next mission.
The team was led by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher B. Sutton, a fire finder radar operator from Kankakee, Ill., with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Task Force Centaur. Sutton, a 14-year Army veteran, works with intricate computer systems known as lightweight counter mortar radar. The main function of the system is to detect incoming mortars and identify their firing location.
“I love this job and everything that comes with it,” said Sutton, “this job saves lives.”
Part of that job is making sure the LCMR system is in good working order, he said. The LCMR plays a role in detecting the firing location of incoming enemy mortars.
“The LCMR is a tool well suited for the fight coalition forces are currently engaged in with insurgents,” said U.S. Army Spc. Magella Correa of Kahaluu, Hawaii, one of Sutton’s team members and a mechanic from Delta Battery, 26 Target Acquisition Battery, 82nd Airborne Division.
“Because of the LCMR’s ability to detect and designate where enemy mortars are fired, we are able to find and counterfire on the insurgent that attacked us,” Correa added.
Sutton said he started his career primarily to “see the world through a secured job.”
As he matured, so did his desire to care for his growing family, which now consists of his wife, Tiffany, son, Christopher, and daughter ,Icis.
Working long hours and being constantly on the move isn’t easy. For Sutton, however, his family plays a large part in why he does this job.
“It’ s hard to be away from them, especially missing out on my son’s soccer games and my daughter’s gymnastics and piano lessons, but they understand this is my job,” he explained. “This is what I do to take care of them as well as the nation as a whole.”
Since Sutton’s team, based out of Forward Operating Base Salerno, is in constant demand, they are never in one spot for long. He stays in contact with his family as much as possible via Skype.
“I’m based at FOB Salerno, but I don’t live there - I visit,” Sutton quipped, “wherever they need us, we go.”
Most of Sutton’s time is spent making the journey to a number of different COPs, said Sutton. They are constantly on the move and as a result are given warm welcomes at several of the more remote COPs, like Chamkani.
“It’s a great honor to know you are recognized for doing good work,” he said.
Being a fire finder radar operator isn’t easy. It requires its technicians to be highly knowledgeable about the equipment to be able to troubleshoot the dish, Sutton said.
“As with most jobs, skills are perishable,” he explained.
For Sutton’s team, they stay sharp by staying busy.
“Most soldiers get their training through classes and reading. We get ours through actual hands on experience and in most cases, while under duress,” he said.
Many people think of their job as just a “9-to-5,” but that’s not the case for Sutton.
“Being a soldier is being dedicated to the military lifestyle and our country. It’s more than wearing a uniform, it’s about sacrifice, hard work, and doing everything you can to wear the uniform with pride,” Sutton said. “To me, every soldier’s job is an important one.”
“Sgt. 1st Class Sutton is a hard charging, mission first leader,” said U.S. Army Warrant Officer Bryan Nelson of Longview, Texas, also of HHB, 1st Bn., 6th FA.
“Its Sutton’s knowledge of the radar systems that is so essential to the mission readiness in our AO,” said Nelson. “By keeping the radars up to date and operational, Sutton is providing over watch of insurgents indirect fire in all of Task Force Duke.”
Sutton credits his family as the ones providing him inspiration to do the things that need to be done regardless of how tired he may be or how dangerous the task.
“My family looks at me as their hero, so I work hard on being that person for them,” Sutton said. “My son told me ‘Dad, you’re my hero,’ and because of his words, I do everything I can to do things better than before because I don’t want to ever let my Family down.”
| Date Taken: | 10.10.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 10.12.2011 07:31 |
| Story ID: | 78358 |
| Location: | KHOWST PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 304 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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