The cutting edge isn’t always a blade

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX, UNITED STATES

06.16.2021

Story by Staff Sgt. Frans Labranche 

Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES)

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Marine Corps is known for being able to operate in the most austere environments on the planet. In these far-flung places, communication becomes even more important to completing a mission successfully.
This usually means a trailer sized communication satellite, which requires a truck or helicopter to deliver, but that may change soon. The Marines of 6th Communication Battalion out of Brooklyn, New York, are testing a new system that reduces that size to a backpack.
Several commercial satellite companies have been in a race over the past few years to bring better, faster solutions to places that have historically been left off major communication companies’ networks.
“With the equipment that we’re currently using, it takes a truly dedicated amount of manpower to deploy these machines,” said Sgt Mousa Aboura, a network administrator with 6th Communication Battalion. “Honestly, it isn’t the most rapid way of deploying communications versus this new technology. At a minimum it takes one Marine and about ten minutes to set up. It takes as long to just raise the dish on the current gear as it does to fully deploy the new, small system.”
While the current communication system works, the Marine Corps is working to become lighter and faster to prepare for future conflicts. A backpack-sized communication asset that is easier to set up and use goes a long way in making Marines more mobile.
“The new systems do all of the heavy lifting for us. We just have to make sure it has a clear line of sight, and the system does the rest of the work,” said Aboura.
A simpler system to operate also allows Marines from various occupational specialties to cross train and effectively employ the communication asset.
“Before this exercise, I knew nothing about this system. Learning it from scratch took about 20 minutes and I could cross train on a similar platform because the instructions with the gear are very easy to follow. Any Marine can open the box from any occupational specialty and easily set it up,” Aboura said.
That does not mean communication Marines are out of a job, but rather that they can be deployed more efficiently with top-of-the-line gear.
In Corpus Christi, Reserve Marines are employing the system as a part of an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) project, Colonias 21, where they are spread out among multiple medical and construction sites. Having a reliable means of communication better enables Marines to complete their mission and help the local community in need.
As new technologies emerge, the Marine Corps continues to adopt those technologies and become more advanced as a warfighting organization.

• Date Taken: 06.16.2021
• Date Posted: 06.21.2021 15:09
• Story ID: 399117
• Location: CORPUS CHRISTI, TX, US
• Hometown: BROOKLYN, NY, US