Photo By Sgt. Scott Akanewich | Sgt. Robert Flowers, B Company, 392nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, makes...... read more read more
FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, Calif. -- Combat operations in a theater of operations require many things from soldiers. Courage, selfless service, and dedication to duty only begin to scratch the surface of what is required to fight and win America’s wars.
However, none of these character traits can be fully operational without a simple resource we often take for granted – power, as in electricity. If the lights go out in a tactical operations center, a mobile kitchen trailer, or even a shower trailer, it’s just an additional obstacle soldiers in the field must overcome to accomplish their respective missions.
At Combat Support Training Exercise-91, this daunting task falls on the troopers of B Company, 392nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion.
“We’re responsible for setting up and maintaining for all the trainers and trainees,” said Sgt. Troy Rice, B Company, 392nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, nodal network operator-maintainer. “We operate the voice and internet communications.”
Conducting training at Fort Hunter Liggett provides the perfect environment for these signal soldiers to prepare for deployment, said Rice, an Augusta, Maine native and 11-year veteran with two combat deployments under his belt.
“In a place like this, we have the opportunity to coordinate command-and-control over long distances and have the capability to provide battlefield updates,” he said. “We have a total of 32 soldiers covering all the base camps and they’ve all had vigorous tasks.”
Sgt. 1st Class James Hummer, B Company, 392nd ESB, senior network operator, was also duly impressed with the atmosphere provided by the rolling hills and dry grasslands of central California, he said.
“I’ve never seen a better training environment,” said Hummer, a police officer from Phillipsburg, N.J., who has also been deployed to Iraq twice in his career. “Especially for the junior soldiers who haven’t been deployed. Going through this training is great for them because it gives our future leaders a chance to step up.”
According to Hummer, another positive gleaned from CSTX is that soldiers who normally only train on a one-weekend-per-month basis have the opportunity to immerse themselves in their respective roles full-time.
“Active duty soldiers do this every day,” he said. “But, these are perishable skills they need to stay knowledgeable about.”
One of the soldiers charged with running the logistics side of the operation is Spc. Alexandro Magana, B Company, 392nd ESB, cable system installer and maintainer.
“My job is to make sure everything runs smoothly, from paperwork to making sure the generators are up and running,” said Magana, of Reading, Pa. “We check those every four hours around the clock.”
However, checking a generator involves much more than just ensuring the unit is functioning, he said.
“We check to make sure the load is at the correct level, it’s at the correct frequency and has enough fuel,” said Magana.
The “load” is the proportion of energy being generated by a particular unit to how much is actually being used, said Rice.
“Too much voltage stored up in a generator is as bad for the unit as not having enough,” he said. “If the load drops below a certain range, it’s not good.”
In other words, if a generator is at 90 percent production, but only 50 percent is actually being used at a given moment, problems such as equipment and systems malfunctions can occur.
When all is said and done, though, it’s all about making the consumers happy, said Rice.
“The fewer complaints we have, the happier our customers are,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 07.15.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2012 14:51 |
| Story ID: | 91576 |
| Location: | FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CA, US |
| Hometown: | AUGUSTA, ME, US |
| Hometown: | PHILLIPSBURG, NJ, US |
| Hometown: | READING, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 132 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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