CAMP CABRA, Kosovo – U.S. troops from Company C, 1st Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment conducted radio training at Camp Cabra, Oct. 31.
“We are practicing training on sending data over high frequency using the radios that we have in the company,” said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Brett Bowdren, signal platoon leader and a native of Charleston, S.C.
Bowdren said the training is important because it is an essential part of the soldiers’ mission.
“When they’re out on missions and at surveillance sites, [soldiers] will send pictures back through radio waves back to our TOC [tactical operations center], which will help us shape the next part of their mission,” Bowdren said.
U.S. Army Pfc. Johani Londono Jr., the instructor for the day’s training and a native of Miami, said the purpose of long range surveillance is being able to go out and pull surveillance and then send important information back to the command.
Bowdren said it is important to have junior soldiers conduct training because it shows the knowledge the younger soldiers have and that they can teach someone else. He said Londono did a good job with the class.
“We like to train within the team,” Londono said. “Every person should know their job.”
Londono said he has full confidence in his leaders and the knowledge they have passed on to him.
“They taught me everything I know about the radios,” he said.
The soldiers conduct regular training to maintain mission readiness. As a detachment, Londono said they like to conduct daily training so that everyone is constantly refreshing their memories on any little things that they may have missed.
“The radio is the most deadly weapon in the battlefield and we make sure we know every aspect of it,” Londono said.