Photo By Sgt. Armando Monroig | Pfc. David Trudeau, Company B, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, out of Fort Hood,...... read more read more
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by Sgt. Armando Monroig
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
MUQDADIYAH, Iraq (Nov. 17, 2006) -- A Soldier depends on the fundamentals -shoot, move and communicate - to accomplish his missions.
He can't shoot at the enemy if his weapon doesn't fire. He can't move to a destination if the Blackhawk doesn't fly.
And he can't communicate with his higher headquarters without the 6-9 Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 1st Cavalry Division, retransmission station located just outside of Muqdadiyah, Iraq.
"We are the link between the Soldiers on the ground and squadron," said Sgt. Terrance Lane, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 6-9 ARS.
Lane, a Hillsboro, Ore., native, said he and his crew monitor a number of radios to ensure they "talk" to each other so they function properly and get communications to their proper recipients.
Retransmission stations are used to transmit signals between two points that have great distances between them, he added. Without it, a signal would not be strong enough to reach its intended receiver.
Lane explained that a retransmission station bounces a signal from one location to another, for example from a unit's operation center to the Soldiers on the ground and vice versa.
"We're a vital link in the big wheel. Without us here, someone would not get the information they need to do the job they need to do," Lane said.
Soldiers on the retransmission station team work six-day shifts and are rotated out by other Soldiers who take their place. Lane, as the communications team sergeant, makes two trips to the dining facility and forward operating base post-exchange daily for food or any other necessities.
"We're proud to serve. We're the ones who provide the communications," Lane said. "We're in the back room quietly doing our jobs."
Pfc. Shawn Ferguson, a system support specialist assigned to the retransmission station and HHT, 6-9 ARS, a native of Columbus, Ga., said his team's job is important.
"If Soldiers go out and something happens (RPG, IED), with out us they wouldn't be able to talk to anyone and get help," he said.
"Just knowing we're doing our job right and they're communicating with each other because of it - It's satisfying to know we are helping them out," added Spc. Edward Shoultz of Company B, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion and a native of Rye, Texas.
"In some ways, their lives depend on us, like when they do a medical evacuation. We have to make sure the messages are going where they need to go," added Shoultz.
Although the eight-man team's job of monitoring networks is an important one, they do have time to relax. On their down time they play poker, drink non-alcoholic beer, watch movies and read.
Just to get to the top of the station, Soldiers need to travel on winding roads through hilly terrain. But once at the top they are treated to the scenery surrounding the retransmission station. One side of the station is a lush, green area with a lake. On the opposite side is a vast desert.
As these Soldiers ensure communications are up and running, they do so knowing they are contributing to the war-fighter's mission.
| Date Taken: | 11.17.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 12.06.2006 09:11 |
| Story ID: | 8498 |
| Location: | MUQDADIYA, IQ |
| Web Views: | 113 |
| Downloads: | 42 |
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