Communication is key

Photo By Timothy Koster | Pfc. Mike Blount with the 77th Sustainment Brigade from Fort Dix, N.J., uncoils electrical wire to layout in the Deployable Rapid Assembly Shelter set up on Forward Operating Base Freedom on Fort McCoy, Wis. The DRASH was assembled as part of Combat Support Training Exercise 2010.  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

08.11.2010

Story by Spc. Timothy Koster 

362nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

FORT MCCOY, Wis. -- On the modern battlefield, the ability to communicate quickly is as vital as putting rifles in soldiers’ hands. The less time it takes to send reports of enemy fire, unit locations, or requests for medical evacuations, the smoother an operation runs and the more lives can be saved. However, not all of the information the modern Army requires is on the battlefield.

Since the introduction of the internet, the demand for up-to-the-minute information has become a norm for the American public and a necessity for the American military.
Soldiers from the 842nd Signal Company of Pensacola, Fla., with the assistance of Soldiers from the 77th Sustainment Brigade, Fort Dix, N.J., and 300th Sustainment Brigade from Grand Prairie, Texas, have been wiring the Deployable Rapid Assembly Shelter at Forward Operating Base Freedom, on Fort McCoy. The DRASH will serve as a tactical operations center for the units on FOB Freedom.

“Without us, the DRASH wouldn’t have any type of communication or any type of internet access,” said Spc. Kody Galea with the 842nd.

With BikeTrack flooring, which has tracks running between two hardened plastic floor pieces, the soldiers can run cables under the floor to allow optimal connectivity without cluttering limited work space.

These wires provide power, landline phone access, the Army Reserve Network, internet, and intranet as soon as the TOC is up and running. Routing cables from one of the permanent structures on FOB Freedom to the DRASH took one day.

People assume when they get on the ground that communications will already be established, said Staff Sgt. Barry Kidd, Physical Security Non-commissioned Officer with the 842nd. It isn’t until they realize that they need to talk to someone or get on the internet that they need to get a hold of a signal unit soldier.

“Signal cannot be an afterthought,” said Kidd.

With the expedient work ethic of the 842nd Signal Company soldiers and its supporting units, communication will not be an issue for the unit occupying the structure for the duration of Combat Support Training Exercise 2010.

• Date Taken: 08.11.2010
• Date Posted: 08.12.2010 19:46
• Story ID: 54483
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US