"Braves" Signal Using More Than Smoke

Photo By Spc. Cal Turner | Capt. Jason Nunnery, commander, B Co., 15th BTB, 15th SB, 13th SC(E), checks on his Soldiers progress by radio. The Manning, S.C. native built the unit from the ground up in less than 12 months for its deployment to Iraq.  

TAJI, IRAQ

01.07.2007

Story by Master Sgt. Nicholas Conner 

15th Sustainment Brigade

By Sgt. 1st Class Nick Conner, 15th SB Public Affairs

CAMP TAJI, Iraq - In the beginning, there was dust. There wasn't much else; just an officer, a first sergeant and a piece of paper.

Out of those humble, if not hectic beginnings, a company was born. As with all births, there was yelling, pleading and somewhere down the line, a smack and a cry.

Bravo Company, 15th Brigade Troops Battalion, 15th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) began as most new Army units do: as a briefing slide. Army modularity restructuring created the need for a main communications hub at the brigade level.

Capt.Jason Nunnery, a former division telecommunications officer, found himself in command of something unique. Given less than a year from creation to deployment, it was an opportunity to build something from the ground up.

"I was excited. [This command opportunity] doesn't happen every day."

The "Braves" also carried to war the new Joint Network Transport Capability system. The first of two units to receive the JNTC, Nunnery worked to prepare his fledgling command to fill the gap left by the Army's departure from signal battalion assets.

Planners created the system with a "moving-forward" Army in mind. The concept integrates mobility and technology. Satellite communication trailers and commercially proven digital routers provide speed and better security features. The captain pointed out that everything now is digital; nothing is analog.

The new unit, new equipment and new mission missed the last element; new Soldiers. From January to March 2006, B Co. Soldiers spent well over 2000 man-hours learning network security, KU satellites and Joint Network Node systems.

"We had equipment, but didn't know how to use it," laughed the commander.

1st Sgt. Robert Knight, the company's telecommunications operations chief, sent every arriving Soldier to training; regardless of their job. With 17 years of signal experience, he realized the benefits cross training affords.

"You've got to cross train", he said. "It gives you piece of mind knowing you have someone to fill in if you need it."

Soldiers of the unit make history every day. Under the 13th SC(E), Nunnery's unit is the first to field and deploy the new JNTC system. A fact neither he nor his first sergeant can mention without a smile.

• Date Taken: 01.07.2007
• Date Posted: 01.07.2007 17:10
• Story ID: 8750
• Location: TAJI, IQ