Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Elizabeth Pena | Pfc. David R. Connally, a signal soldier from the 136th Expeditionary Signal...... read more read more
BASTROP, Texas - Members of the 625th Signal Company recently conducted a field training exercise for the stateside 136th Expeditionary Signal Battalion soldiers. During the three-day exercise, the signal soldiers practiced their core occupational skillets and trained on the latest high-tech equipment for their field.
“Communications can make or break the Army. Having knowledge before anyone else does and being able to pass that knowledge without any interruptions is awesome,” said Spc. John Volkmer, senior satellite communications operator with the 625th Signal Company.
Soldiers like Volkmor understand that communication saves lives. Knowing the proper procedures and being able to react in a timely matter is important. While deployed, soldiers from Houston’s 136th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, part of the Texas National Guard’s Minuteman Brigade, put their skills into practice daily. Back home, however, the battalion’s non-deployed Guardsmen do not have that advantage.
“They’ve got a lot of new soldiers either transferred in or just out of [advanced individual training],” said 1st Lt. Bradon Larsen, the executive officer for the 625th Signal Company. “And since the majority of their unit is overseas they can’t really do any hands-on training.”
Members from the 625th Signal Company, also of the Minuteman Brigade and based out of Round Rock, Texas, conducted the field exercise February 19-21 at Camp Swift in Bastrop, Texas, for all 27 of the 136th ESB’s signal soldiers not mobilized.
“Some of my soldiers haven’t gotten an opportunity to deploy,” said Master Sgt. Arturo Rodriguez, Jr., Operations noncommissioned officer for the 136th ESB. “This gives them more of a realistic vision of what it is to come to the field. It gets them away from the flagpole, so to say.”
During the three-day exercise, the 136th ESB soldiers learned how to set up and operate generators, Satellite Transportable Terminals, Radio Retransmission equipment, and the High Capacity Line of Sight system. This equipment mirrors the most up-to-date technology being used overseas by their deployed counterparts.
“We’re doing [Radio Transmission Operations],” said Volkmer, “and that can actually save peoples’ lives. If you’re not going to be able to talk to someone and you need to call in a nine line [medevac] and they don’t know what’s going on, that could get people killed.”
“I’m getting to learn from NCOs that have a lot of experience and time that I haven’t got to work with before because they are in a different company,” said Spc. Carl Johnson, multi-channel systems operator for the 136th ESB.
The exercise also gave the veterans from the 625th the opportunity to share their own ways of operating equipment.
“We are working with a unit that we have never worked with before,” said Johnson, “so we are learning different ways of approaching working with HCLOS, working with STT’s and we are learning things that we may not know as a signal battalion. A lot of what we are seeing today is camaraderie.”
The signal branch is made up of many military occupational specialties, and this exercise afforded the 136th ESB troops the opportunity to gain a well-rounded experience that bridges their career field.
“We are able to cross-train and learn not just what our one job is but a broad spectrum of what goes on through the entire signal company,” said Johnson. “Sometimes, when we go out to annual training, you’re so focused on one thing that you forget that there’s other people that you have to talk to or work with.”
The 136th ESB will continue this training program throughout the year, including an upcoming mission with the Texas Army National Guard’s 36th Infantry Division.
“We are looking for training opportunities like this,” said Rodriguez. “We were given guidance from the brigade commander to keep our ESB soldiers proficient in their job skills. This was one of the opportune times to come out with the 625th. It gives my guys an opportunity to work with other soldiers. The more training I can get for them, the better off they will be.”
| Date Taken: | 02.22.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.22.2016 21:58 |
| Story ID: | 189731 |
| Location: | BASTROP, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 88 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Signal Guardsmen stay proficient while stateside, by SFC Elizabeth Pena, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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