Staying connected with the 331st

RAMADI, IRAQ

08.27.2004

Courtesy Story

DVIDS Hub       

By Spc. J. Tashun Joycé

JUNCTION CITY, AR RAMADI, Iraq - Since the deployment of 331st Signal Company nearly a year ago they have provided reliable mobile subscriber equipment in support of 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and its supporting units.

"Bringing people together is the primary mission of the 331st," said Capt. Richard Wellman, commander, 331st Signal. "We provide worldwide voice data connecting to brigade commanding officers and battalion commanding officers so they can accomplish their missions."

Many of the services provided by the 331st, as well as other signal companies, often go unnoticed, though all military phone and internet connections are made possible through signal operations. When placing a call, the number goes out into a network to see where the number is located. Someone on the other end acknowledges they have that number and the call is routed to the switch that has that particular number and connects the call.Soldiers are connected to the World Wide Web or the world wide SIPR web.

Satellites send information to the U.S. allowing battalion commanders to contact family readiness group leaders via email, get branch assignments, or classified intelligence from SIPR, explained Wellman."We provide the equivalent of a city's worth of communications through our wide area network," he said.

The battalion level taps into this wide area network, breaking it down into a local area network for their battalion commanders."We do everything on the tactical side that MSN or Earthlink would do for you back home," said Wellman.

There is somewhat of a difference however. The source must be secure so the enemy can't intercept or jam it. It must also be completely reliable.

"The commander doesn't have time to wait for the phone or email to be fixed. It has to happen right there," said Wellman. "That's the standard we operate by. We've connected over 6 million calls as a company."

The 179 Soldiers of the 331st operate on three other camps besides Junction City, once operating on eight, said Wellman.One of the unique contraptions that make our mission possible is known as the Node Center Switch, said Wellman.

"Providing emails and phone access for 16 different site switches is done through our main node here in Ramadi," said Staff Sgt. Andrew Johnson, switch section chief, Node Center. "I support, operate, install, and maintain the functions of the node center. I also assist in trouble-shooting database programs and network planning."

All operational orders, frag orders, and other operational data come through us, said Johnson.

The node center relies on the operations of the transmission team to complete their mission. By linking to the node center, information is processed and data is received faster for network links by sending different bandwidths, said Sgt. Eddie Flournoy, team chief.

"We bring information to and from where it needs to be and make sure links from extensions send back and forth," said Flournoy. "We provided the capabilities for the internet and phone calls long before the phone center was built."

"I'm very proud of my Soldiers for making things happen," said Wellman. "When it works the best, you're recognized the least. We've never had a big issue."

"Our job is about doing what we're supposed to do; so we're not looking for credit," said Flournoy. "We take pride in helping. You can talk about us, but you can't talk without us."

• Date Taken: 08.27.2004
• Date Posted: 08.27.2004 10:50
• Story ID: 295
• Location: RAMADI, IQ