Story by Spc. Jerome Bishop
1st COSCOM Public Affairs
LOGISTICS SUPPRT AREA ANACONDA, Balad, Iraq - Not everyone walking around Logistics Support Area Anaconda wearing desert combat uniforms is a service member serving in defense of freedom; some are civilians who come out here to help them do that.
The men and women of the U.S. Communication and Electronics Command or CECOM are some of those civilians who deploy in support of units who rely heavily on communication equipment.
"CECOM provides technical assistances and sustainment training for the war fighter. We assist with all the equipment Cisco (an electronics company) puts into the field -- satellite equipment, radar equipment, tactical communication equipment, Single-channel ground airborne radio system, generators, air conditioners, and standard Army management information systems," said Carl Barrett, senior command representative for U.S. CECOM.
"In CECOM, we have radars and there's a very limited numbers," he added. "Not every one in the Army has radars, so the LARs are assigned to specific units and they get to know the units very personally."
The CECOM is one of three commands that works with Soldiers through out the Army to aid them with technical issues, and as the Army shifts into its new organizational state, CECOM will be among it.
"Army Material Command is our parent organization and CECOM is one of the Major commands under AMC," said Greg Holden, senior master technician from CECOM. "As more of the logistical transfer from military to civilian or contractors so our responsibility is to help train and sustain the war fighter."
The CECOM team on LSA Anaconda, though only eight-people strong, manages many tasks for Soldiers all over post.
"We work with all the units who have CECM systems and most units have CECOM equipment," Bennett said. "We help the Soldiers troubleshoot and repair equipment. We don't do it for them, we just assist."
"There's only so much [Soldiers] can learn during advanced individual training," Holden said. "So we'll go through with them and explain what we're doing and we let them see the results so the next time they can do it themselves.
"Our LARs are always performing as to put ourselves out of a job so the Soldiers can do it themselves," he said.
"It's the LARs that builds on that training because they have a much more extensive knowledge of the technology of that equipment," Bennett said.
Soldiers being supported by CECOM assets on post are more than thankful to have them around for when things get rough.
"They're a great necessity around here and I think there should be more of them around so they aren't all strung out," said Pfc. Jeremy Judson, radar technician from 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, 29th Brigade Combat Team. "They come down here for everything from tracing burnt our wires to re-alignment. They have the equipment and the know-how to come out here so we can focus on our mission."
Radars and communications around post make things like base defense and phone lines possible. Without assistance on hand, all of LSA Anaconda would be affected.
"Because we deal with so much equipment that deals with force protection," Bennett said. "If we pull all our people, the readiness rate would drop dramatically."
But the average LAR on post is more than just any random civilian since a majority of these Department-of-the-Army civilians have multiple years of former military experience, which is a good thing to have for a deployment.
"The average LAR has more deployment time then most Soldiers. They have to plan their lives around deployments. When they're back at home station, they have to plan their lives around the unit schedule.
"All of our LARs hold positions as close to active duty without being on active duty. They deploy to every hotspot in the world. Now it's Iraq and Afghanistan; before it was Bosnia and Kosovo," he added. "We lost a supply LAR in a mortar attack on Camp Liberty," he added. "We're out here in danger with the Soldiers."
The work of the LARs doesn't go unnoticed.
"[Soldiers] love it when you get out to a site and they're having a problem and they see you show up and there's instant relief like 'oh thank God, help is here,'" Holden said. We might not have the part they need but we know to help them with what they need."
Together, LARs and Soldiers work together to keep LSA Anaconda safe and in-touch with the rest of Iraq. And since CECOM assets are on Army posts through out the world, relationships made between LARs and Soldiers follow with them wherever they go.
"We appreciate the support we get from the Soldiers," Holden said. "It's a two way street; we support them with what they need and they welcome us into their units. As a civilian you don't have the same level of integration as Soldiers but they bring you in and make you part of the family and that's important."
Editor's Note: Spc. Bishop is a member of the 1st COSCOM Public Affairs Office deployed to Iraq in support of units at LSA Anaconda.
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| Date Taken: | 08.01.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 08.01.2005 16:32 |
| Story ID: | 2611 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 92 |
| Downloads: | 18 |
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