WEBVTT

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My tenure as commander of the 311th was

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from 2010 to 2012 ,

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and at that point in time we were

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integrating the first Signal Brigade

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into the 311 Signal Command .

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We were also deploying our battalions

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into Afghanistan . The 307th

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ESB deployed to

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Afghanistan in October of 2010 . The

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commander at the time was a Lieutenant

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Colonel McPhail , who is now Major

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General McPhail and commander of NETCOM .

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On the sad side of my tenure as

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commander , We lost a soldier during

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that period of time . Staff Sergeant

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Araceli Gonzalez O'Malley was lost .

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So when you think about your tenure ,

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you think about good things and you

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think about the things that were harder .

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The other hard lessons that we had to

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learn were from the Great Eastern Japan

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earthquake in March of

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2011 . We lost all of our fiber

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connectivity to Korea when that

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earthquake struck . The team came

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together though in times of hardship

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like that . The team always comes

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together in miraculous ways and being

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in a multi-compo unit , especially ,

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it's just so heartening to see how all

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of our soldiers and civilians come

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together in that way . The Fukushima

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nuclear plant melted down as a result

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of that earthquake , and our soldiers

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on Japan were some of the first folks

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to volunteer to help out in the local

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community . So those are the

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two major things that I think about

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during my tenure was deploying and

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losing a soldier , having a major

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crisis occur , and seeing the great

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unit come together to respond in the

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way that they did .

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So my command sergeant Major was

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Sergeant Major Kevin Thompson . So my

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rapport with Command Sergeant Major

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Thompson was built on trust . With

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a theater the size of the Pacific IOPAC ,

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you must divide and conquer in order to

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ensure that our soldiers and civilians

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have what they need . You're traveling

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a lot and you have to trust that .

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He can go one direction and you'll go

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the other , and you'll take care of the

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same sorts of things as the senior

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leaders of the command .

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The importance of the 311 Signal

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command in the Indoac Theater really

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can't be overstated , and I've

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mentioned the earthquake in Japan

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knocking out the communications in

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Korea . There's an old saying in the

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Signal Regiment that they can talk

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about you but they can't talk without

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you , and we don't sit around waiting

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for a lot of

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applause for what we do . If things are

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quiet , that means things are going

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well . And during those sorts of events ,

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the entire theater recognizes the

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importance of the 311 in the Pacific .

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We are the connectivity end to end .

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When the UsurpC commander G6 talks

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about this theater , they talk about

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the tyranny of distance , and our job

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is to make that irrelevant . And when

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we don't hear from them on a daily

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basis , that means we're succeeding .

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Because they can communicate and

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command and control across that tyranny

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of distance because of the

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communication systems that we provide .

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My fond memories of my time in the 311

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Signal Command are precisely what we're

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doing here this week on the island ,

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which is bringing together the leaders

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from Japan , from Korea , from

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California , from Guam , from Okinawa ,

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wherever they are to share their

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experiences , to learn the differences

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of their roles and their

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responsibilities in those dispersed

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locations . To mentor , to learn ,

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and to socialize and to have fun , and

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it was so rare that everyone was able

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to get together that those times

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particularly stand out . One of the

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special things I've experienced since I

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left the 311 Signal Command is that the

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command team has always taken the time

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to stay in touch with the former

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commanders to . Recognize that there

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can be value in bringing us back

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together to hear our experiences , and

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I've always felt connected to the 311

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Signal Command since I've left as a

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result of their consideration in doing

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that .