Photo By Sgt. Laurie Ellen Wash | Sgt. James Jordan with the 52nd Signal Battalion, stands in front of concertina wire...... read more read more
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Slunj, Croatia -- The strong bonds between the U.S. Army and Nato allies is, in part, due to Sgt. James Jordan’s work here. Jordan, with the 52nd Signal Battalion, has been managing a network operating system used to enhance communication between the U.S. Army and NATO allies during Exercise Immediate Response 19.
Jordan joined the Army to pursue a college education and for opportunities to travel outside of his hometown. He went to Crest High School in Shelby, North Carolina and did a year of college before he decided a military career was for him.
“Getting into the military, I wanted to pick up a job skill that I could use in the civilian world,” he said.
Jordan has been in U.S. Army active duty service for six years as a microwave systems operator-maintainer and is responsible for installing, operating and maintaining microwave communication systems.
He has focused his intentions for his education around what he has been learning in his military occupational specialty. Through microwave communication systems, Jordan has dealt with cybersecurity, and means to pursue cybersecurity as a career.
“Signal is about connecting the world, connecting information that is at our fingertips,” he said.
Not only is it important to Jordan, he said he has had fun working hands on with the necessary equipment.
After finding his passion within his work, Jordan decided to reenlist in September of 2016.
“My initial plan was to only do my four-year contract and then get out,” he said. “But I wanted a little bit more experience in my line of work. Not only that, but I also got the opportunity to go to Europe.”
This is Jordan’s second deployment, his first was in the Republic of Korea at an airbase near Seoul. During his time in Seoul, he got to work in partnership with the ROK Army.
“Building a relationship with foreign nationals is like building a relationship with any of your Soldiers,” he said. “Being there with them, and working side-by-side through problems or whatever arises and doing whatever it takes.”
Jordan became good friends with many people he worked with in Korea. His Korean coworkers showed him places to eat, sightseeing locations, and all-around made his time in Korea more enjoyable.
That experience has helped him work with the multinational partnerships he is working with in Europe during IR19.
“Cultures and languages may be different, opinions and beliefs might not be the same, but that doesn’t have to interfere with getting along,” Jordan said. “Sometimes, that can be the hardest thing for people to get over. Once you do, it can be fulfilling and it’s one of the most important things I’ve learned.”
| Date Taken: | 05.31.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.31.2019 06:13 |
| Story ID: | 324731 |
| Location: | SLUNJ, HR |
| Hometown: | SHELBY, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 141 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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