Can You Hear Us Now? U.S. and Dutch Troops increase Commo Interoperability

Photo By Master Sgt. David Ruiz | OR-6 Tiego Seerden of the Netherlands Army communicates with U.S. Army 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment using the Tactical Voice Bridge during Combined Resolve XIII. Tactical communications enables the squadron commander’s command and control and is crucial between NATO Allied/Partner countries during training and real world exercise. Combined Resolve XIII is a Headquarters of the Army directed Multinational Unified Land Operations exercise with the U.S. Regionally Aligned Force Brigade in support of the European Command (EUCOM) objectives. The purpose of the exercise is to prepare 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division along with 16 other allied and partner nations to fight and win in the European theater. The exercise involves more than 5,000 service members at U.S. Army Europe’s Grafenwöhr and Hohenfels Training Areas. Combined Resolve XIII builds readiness and interoperability, promotes regional stability, and enhances relationships between allied and partner nations. Photo by U.S. Army Master Sgt. David Ruiz  

HOHENFELS, BY, GERMANY

01.20.2020

Story by Spc. Audrequez Evans 

Joint Multinational Readiness Center

HOHENFELS, Germany- U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 49th Calvary Division and Dutch soldiers assigned to Koninklijke Landmacht took part in radio comms training at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany during training exercise Combined Resolve XIII. The exercise consists of multiple weeks of training which serves to prepare the U.S. and sixteen allied nations and partenrs to fight and win in the European Theatre.

Observer Coach/Trainer Master Sgt. David Ruiz, the Signal Communications OC/T for the JMRC Grizzlies Team, observed the Dutch and U.S. ability for commo interoperability. Their mission was to synchronize both nations’ radio systems for seamless communication between each other.

“The Dutch and U.S. commo teams have displayed great interoperability in getting the comms up and working,” said Ruiz.

Sgt. Trey Rutter, a signal support systems specialist, worked hard to ensure that both sides could communicate with one another. Rutter didn’t waste any time when asked to work to get the comms integrated for transmission.

“Our mission today was to work with the Dutch to test the tactical voice bridge or TVB,” said Rutter. “The tactical voice bridge is used to allow cross communication between the two different comms systems that the U.S. and Dutch were operating.”

According to Rutter, the technologies such as TVB allow both forces to be more effective on the battlefield, clearing the lines for seamless communications through the ranks. But, the mission to get the comms integrated didn’t come without its challenges. Because, this was Sgt. Rutter’s first time operating with the new piece of equipment- he said there initially was a bit of a learning curve. However, but his NCO’s guidance Rutter began learning all he could about the new piece of equipment.

“When I learned I would be working on a new piece of equipment- I grabbed the technical manual and realized that there were more similarities than differences between their equipment and ours,” Rutter said.

Taking this knowledge, Rutter set out with a member of the Dutch’s commo team. The goal was to take two separate radio (one Dutch and one U.S.) and synchronize the comms using the TVB. Rutter explained that the concept of the TVB was simple after reading up on it, leading to mission success.

“The way we found out the mission was a success was where our two separate radios were hooked up together, I was able to hear everything that they were saying with their radio on mine and vice versa, Rutter said. I could also use their radios to contact my troops.”

Because of their success, Dutch and U.S. Soldiers now have clear comms leaving the lines of Combined Resolve XIII open for everyone in the exercise “to hear them now”.

• Date Taken: 01.20.2020
• Date Posted: 02.01.2020 08:55
• Story ID: 361287
• Location: HOHENFELS, BY, DE