Photo By 1st Sgt. Justin A. Naylor | Staff Sgt. Justin McQueen, a Florence, S.C., native and the non-commissioned officer...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — Long before Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation New Dawn, military leaders strove to control radio airways on the battlefield. By controlling them, they could block their enemies’ communications and radar, giving friendly troops a tactical advantage.
U.S. Army electronic warfare troopers with 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Advise and Assist), “Black Jack,” 1st Cavalry Division, continue this long and storied tradition by denying their enemies the use of radio airways.
Black Jack EW soldiers are responsible for maintaining and operating equipment that saves lives by blocking radio frequencies intended to detonate improvised explosive devices targeting U.S. soldiers and convoys.
“We manipulate enemy radio frequencies to our advantage,” said Staff Sgt. Justin McQueen, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the Black Jack Brigade’s EW program.
According to Armyreenlistment.com, EW specialists are responsible for locating, targeting, exploiting, disrupting, degrading or destroying an adversary’s electronic systems at the tactical and strategic levels of the operational environment.
Electronic warfare can be used to completely block enemy communications on the battlefield, leaving them virtually blind, while U.S. service members are still free to use their own radios and equipment, explained McQueen.
Electronic warfare has an extensive history of both military and civilian use.
McQueen said that EW traces it’s history back to turn of the century yacht races, when journalists would use Morris Code lines to send up information about the race. One enterprising reporter realized that by setting a rock on the transmitter, he could keep the lines constantly busy and prevent his competitors from sending up their own reports.
During World War II, the U.S. military used EW to keep service members safe by dropping boxes of cut-up foil strips that confused enemy radar systems and helped stop enemy troops from targeting aircraft.
Although electronic warfare is an old concept, the U.S. Army only recently made a military occupation specialty to support it.
This job is so new that when we deployed there was hardly any information about how to incorporate EW specialists and their capabilities into real-world scenarios, so we have focused on implementing what we learned in the EW training program into the tactical environment here. We work closely with the units to help them apply effective EW programs that can save their soldiers’ lives, explained McQueen.
Staff Sgt. Eric Simcox, an EW specialist with 15th Brigade Support Battalion, has helped create and implement new EW standards within the brigade since his unit arrived in Iraq.
Simcox has helped figure out troubleshooting procedures and maintenance issues related to how EW equipment mounts and operates within various military vehicles.
“We have had to learn a lot about EW firsthand here,” said Simcox. “We have adjusted and refined how our EW program operates to fit the needs of the brigade.”
Simcox said that when he and the other Black Jack EW specialists return to the States, they will be part of a small group of EW soldiers who have had deployment experience doing the job.
“A lot of guys have questions [about EW], and we have hands on experience now,” said the Boyertown, Penn., native.
“By creating new standards and procedures and showing what EW is capable of, we are helping pave the way for future EW specialists,” explained Simcox.
Black Jack EW troopers will continue to set the standard for their job as they work to keep soldiers safe by denying their enemy the use of radio airways, and carry on the long military tradition of Army electronic warfare.
| Date Taken: | 10.26.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 10.31.2011 03:10 |
| Story ID: | 79300 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 186 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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