Photo By Staff Sgt. Bob Brown | Sgt. Cassaundra Jolly, a communications specialist from Mounds View, Minn., checks...... read more read more
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CAMP VIRGINIA, Kuwait - Imagine you’re driving down a road in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly your vehicle breaks down and you cannot fix the problem. Most of us would reach for our cell phone and call for help.
The same concept holds true for soldiers of the Minnesota National Guard’s 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 194th Armor (1-194 AR) that are providing security for trucks moving equipment and supplies out of Iraq in support of the drawdown that is scheduled to be complete by the end of the year.
If soldiers go out on the road and breakdown, there has to be a way for them to communicate the problem and receive necessary assistance.
One of the soldiers responsible for making sure soldiers have the best equipment available is Sgt. Cassaundra Jolly, a Signal Support Systems specialist from Mounds View, Minn.
Jolly deployed with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division “Red Bulls” Headquarters Company based at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. She was relocated to Camp Virginia, Kuwait after the 1-194 AR sent one of their communication specialists to Iraq to support the convoy security mission.
The communication section, or “commo shop,” Jolly works out of is staffed with seven soldiers including her. The shop is responsible for keeping tabs on equipment inventory and ensuring that faulty parts are repaired.
In addition to managing equipment, the shop can provide hands on training to the soldiers using it on convoy missions. The goal of the training is to help the soldiers identify problems so the issues can be resolved before the mission takes place.
“It always feels good sharing our knowledge on the equipment and having the teams retain that information for use out on the road.” Jolly said.
If there are problems on the road, the soldiers can take the knowledge they received from Jolly and report any issues upon their return to Camp Virginia. The more information soldiers give her, the easier it is for her to recreate the problem and repair this vital equipment.
The vehicles soldiers take on the road have many communication components that allow them to transmit mission essential information with each other and the TOC, or Tactical Operations Center.
Soldiers inside of the trucks communicate through vehicle intercoms that are hooked up to the Harris or single channel radios. These radios also make it possible to communicate with other vehicles on the convoy as well as the TOC.
The Blue Force Tracker, or BFT, is a global positioning system that they rely on for location and mapping. If the convoy comes under attack the BFT can be used to call in accurate air and fire support
Jolly and her fellow soldiers in the shop have tested nearly $750,000 of radio equipment since the deployment began in late July. A vehicle intercom headset alone costs $736 so the shop began swapping out bad parts with serviceable ones. This initiative saved taxpayers approximately $23,000 in replacement costs.
While Jolly acknowledges it is nice to save the Army money, her main concern is that Soldiers navigating the treacherous roads of Iraq are taken care of.
“Having working comms out on the road is just as important as having a clean functional weapon. With the teams running missions into Iraq for the draw down, we ensure that they don't leave without their communications lifeline.” Jolly said.
| Date Taken: | 11.11.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 11.17.2011 08:37 |
| Story ID: | 80166 |
| Location: | CAMP VIRGINIA, KW |
| Web Views: | 130 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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