Local army reservists work with reservists from Puerto Rico in communications exercise

Photo By Sgt. Anthony Hooker | A photo of the Joint Network Node site at the 335th Signal Command's Headquarters in East Point, Ga.  

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES

08.28.2012

Story by Spc. Anthony Hooker 

359th Theater Tactical Signal Brigade

ATLANTA - The Army Reserve places an emphasis on continually preparing its troops for mobilization. In recent years, reservists have learned that their services may be obtained by units who they have never trained with or served under; in deployments, this action is called cross-leveling. In a fairly unusual move, members of the 324th Expeditionary Signal Battalion voluntarily came on active duty after responding to an open call for personnel by their parent unit, the 335th Signal Command (Theater), when a satellite team critical to network operations suddenly lost key personnel.

Spc. Tremain Coleman got a call to report to military duty on June 26. A multichannel systems operator for the 324th ESB, Coleman volunteered earlier in the month to be available to provide troop support for a short time period. Coleman had heard unofficially that soldiers were needed to help support some training exercises held in Kentucky, but when he arrived at his company's headquarters in East Point, Ga., Coleman learned that he would be partially responsible for manning a satellite system that provided a direct link for the 335th SC (T) to troops participating in Grecian Firebolt 2012. "When I reported in to my company, I came in assuming something totally different," said Coleman, a Decatur, Ga., native. "Once I began to hear what I would be doing, I was like 'Oh! [long pause] Wow!"

The 35th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, a signal unit based in Ponce, Puerto Rico, accepted assignments under the 335th SC (T) to help support Grecian Firebolt, an annual exercise that provides reliable communications support to a number of Army Reserve-directed exercises. Beginning in late May until Aug. 25, Grecian Firebolt 2012 provided support for nearly 22,000 soldiers. During training, most companies try to practice unit-integrity, making sure they pulled from designated resources so an accurate state of preparedness can be recorded. When five members of the 35th ESB flew to Atlanta prior to the beginning of Grecian Firebolt, it was believed that the team had enough manpower to support the 335th SC (T) with installing and maintaining a robust and responsive tactical communications network at various stateside locations.

By June the team suddenly saw themselves short two personnel—with the team down to just three members, Sgt. Joses Nieves, the non-commissioned officer in charge of the 35th ESB's Atlanta team, knew that his troops could not manage a 24-hour workload alone. "Things [had] gotten tough for us very quickly," Nieves said. "Not only had we lost two of our people, but we had just started performing 24-hour operations. So we needed to have someone around to watch the equipment. There was no way that three of us could keep up with a schedule that had us each come and work eight hours every day for two months. We would burn out before the exercise ended."

Nieves, a Moca, Puerto Rico native, put in a request for personnel additions to his home unit, but that effort was denied because of financial considerations. Master Sgt. Michael Irvin, the NCOIC for Grecian Firebolt, decided a more financially and logistically feasible alternative for Nieves was to bring in MOS-qualified soldiers who were assigned to the 335th and were willing to make themselves available for a real-world training mission.

Irvin sent an email to the 359th Theater Tactical Signal Brigade, who then relayed the email down to all of its subordinate units. The 324th ESB, which has a company headquarters in the same building as the 335th SC(T), decided to put out an open work call to any Atlanta-area soldiers who could make themselves available from work or school to help out with a special duty. Coleman, along with Spc. Hayden Lisenbee-Davis and Pfc. Quantoris Weatherspoon were the soldiers who stepped up and answered their unit's call for assistance.

Asked why 324th ESB personnel were able to step in and help, Sgt. Major Andrea Powell, the command sergeant major of the 324th ESB, wrote in an email response that her unit has an "always available" status, meaning the unit is ready, willing and able to deploy within 72-hours notice. She said that as citizens-soldiers, her troops train to maintain a state of preparedness. "Reserve soldiers are being used more regularly for peacekeeping and presence missions overseas," Powell voiced in the email. "Reserves don't do their technical jobs every day on equipment, so they have to work twice as hard to stay proficient in our military occupational specialties."

Although the soldiers were qualified systems operators, Nieves said the troops needed to become familiar with the equipment, namely identifying and troubleshooting the Phoenix, a tactical satellite terminal that allows soldiers to transmit and receive high bandwidth voice, video and data. An additional barrier the team had to adjust to was the conversation. Each member of the 35th ESB's team spoke fluent Spanish and regularly used it when they shared information. Nieves realized he and his coworkers would not only have to train the augmenting soldiers on how to maintain links or add some on their own, but also restrict the Spanish they often casually used among their regular coworkers. "When we would talk to [operators in Puerto Rico], we spoke to the distant end in Spanish, then we turned around and spoke to the 324th ESB guys in English," said Spc. Efrain Izquiendo, a satellite communications systems operator with the 35th ESB.

Coleman said that cooperative attitude of the 35th ESB's soldiers made him and the other soldier feel comfortable with stepping in and running the system. "It's been cool [working together]," said Coleman. "You can tell this group knew their stuff. When people called from other sites, they were able to help them sync up systems and prepare them for what issues might come up while they are in system. They did a good job of explaining to us what questions people might ask us when we are on shift and what sort of answers we could give them."

All the on-site operators said it took time for the new arrivals to get comfortable with the equipment, noting that some issues took often half a day to resolve. However, Nieves and his soldiers were more than happy to give some of their time to educate their new teammates if it meant an occasional day off. "When I first met the new soldiers, I told them, 'If you are coming to help, you are welcome here," said Izquiendo, a Ponce, Puerto Rico resident. "We are from Puerto Rico, but we all wear the uniform—we all are in the same boat."

"It's a relief to have them here . . . I don't have to work 8 to 12 hours every day. We can get a day off now."

• Date Taken: 08.28.2012
• Date Posted: 09.07.2012 10:11
• Story ID: 94353
• Location: ATLANTA, GEORGIA, US