FORT POLK, LOUISIANA — The 3rd Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment of the Florida Army National Guard conducted a communications exercise (COMMEX) prior to beginning their training event on March 11-12 at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana.
1st Lt. Jacob Gomez, the communications officer of the 3rd Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, commented on the necessity of maintaining communications throughout their upcoming training event across the various units within the battalion.
“This communications exercise is to test all of our equipment, including radio, data, satellite, basically anything that helps us talk to our units,” said Gomez. “There’s more than one or two lines of effort that are going to be in the exercise; everyone in the unit has a role to play, and every job has a role to play.”
As the communications officer, Gomez leads a section of 20 Soldiers and has instilled the importance of their work for the successful accomplishment of the mission. One of his Soldiers, Pvt. Elias Santos, a Signal Support Systems Specialist with the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery of the 3rd Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, commented on the essential need for communications during the exercise.
“Communication is the number one key for survival,” remarked Pvt. Santos. “There is a lot of pressure but seeing our efforts work in tandem with other military occupational specialties, especially air defense, is the most rewarding.”
The 3rd Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, part of the Florida Army National Guard, specializes in providing short-range air defense (SHORAD) using Avenger systems to protect critical assets, maneuver forces, and the National Capital Region.
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