Signal Battalion Soldiers Move From Mountaintop

Special to American Forces Press Service ^ | Jan. 8, 2004 | By Spc. Joshua Hutcheson, USA

[Calpernia]

On a remote mountaintop in northern Iraq, 10 miles east of the town of Tallafar, soldiers are getting ready to leave their outpost and join fellow soldiers here, and they're doing it the way soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) have been doing it for years: by air.

Soldiers from the division's 501st Signal Battalion set up a retransmission site eight months ago on a mountain close to Highway 1 to boost communications between convoys and units' headquarters, said Sgt. Lyle Follmer, radio team chief.

The soldiers had to find the area with the best reception, and that area ended up being on a mountain that's almost inaccessible by driven vehicles, said Capt. Brian North, commander of the battalion's B Company.

Many convoys were coming under attack in ambushes and by improvised explosive devices. By setting up the site as an FM radio relay to extend the division's communications abilities, the soldiers were able to keep vital lines of communication open between soldiers on the road and reinforcements at bases, thereby saving lives.

"The attacks continued, but the deaths ceased," Follmer said. "Not another soldier has died since we've been out here."

After eight months of living on a barren, rocky mountain, the soldiers' mission ended, so they packed up and left. But leaving wasn't as easy as loading up the back of a humvee and driving away.

That's where two UH-47 Chinook helicopters came in. In three trips, using hooks attached to the helicopters' underbellies, the Chinooks were able to carry four humvees -- two with remote access units attached to them -- a generator, and fuel and water containers. Smaller items, such as a refrigerator, large-screen TV, air conditioning unit and boxes of field rations were loaded inside.

"(The Chinooks carried) everything the soldiers required to live up here for seven or eight months," North said.

A team of eight soldiers from the 501st arrived at the site the night before the move. They worked together to prepare and rig the loads for transportation. They had to place nets underneath all the heavy equipment and vehicles and make sure the ropes that would allow the loads to be carried by the helicopters -- called "sling legs" -- would be able to support the weight of the loads.

"It wasn't a hard job, because I had plenty of time and squared-away people to help me out," said Staff Sgt. David Burnam, extension section sergeant.

Soldiers hooked up the equipment using rings connected to the sling legs. The helicopters slowly lowered to within a few feet of the ground, allowing the soldiers to make the attachment as quickly as they could.

Once they arrived at the Mosul airfield, soldiers called line-of-sight operators signaled to the pilots where to release the loads and land.

"I pretty much ground-guide them in, just like you would a humvee," said Spc. Jason Cubero, line of sight operator team chief.

Once all the soldiers and equipment landed at the airfield, the operation was complete.

"This is one of those great things we get to do in an air assault division," North said. "There's (noncommissioned officers) taking charge, and soldiers doing their jobs."

The soldiers said that while they are satisfied with the job they've done in Iraq, they're ready to return to their friends and family.

"The mission's over, and we're getting ready to redeploy," Follmer said. "I've got loved ones to be with again."

[Calpernia]

Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company and Bravo Company, 501st Signal Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), prepare to hook a humvee up to a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. The 501st slingloaded equipment from a remote outpost on top of a mountain in preparation for redeployment.

Spc. Jason Cubelo, line-of-sight operator team chief, Bravo Company, 501st Signal Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), signals for incoming UH-47 Chinooks carrying humvees to move right as they approach to drop off their slingloads. The 501st slingloaded equipment from a remote outpost on top of a mountain as they prepare to redeploy.

[Calpernia]

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501st Signal Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), prepare to hook a humvee up to a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. The 501st slingloaded equipment from a remote outpost on top of a mountain in preparation for redeployment.

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[blackie]

Signal Battalion Soldiers Move From Mountaintop ~ great pix ~ Bump!

[MEG33]

WOW!

[Billthedrill]

I hope they enjoy Pakistan.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Smaller items, such as a refrigerator, large-screen TV, air conditioning unit and boxes of field rations were loaded inside.

What are they watching on the TV??

Maybe life isn't so bad on the mountaintop after all!

[Lokibob]

A helicopter rotor builds up 1,000's of volts of static electricity. The person hooking up to the chopper occasionally get a zap that makes the spark you get walking across the carpet mild by comparison.

I always respect the guys that do it day after day. From having tons of equipment hanging over your head, often inches away, to the possibility of a static electricity zap, to the always possible equipment failure (read chopper problems), the guys that do this have big cajones.

[raynearhood]

USArmy Signal Corps! I've seen Signal elements clear buildings, vehicles, and even tanks (yes, I said tanks!). All the while providing comms for the fighter, providing security, and even dropping a couple MWR internet and phone lines.

Commo is the Best of the Best. Ask anyone what their favorite site to visit at any camp in Iraq and you'll get one of three answers: PX, D-Fac, or Signal.

[Spok]

Simper Vigilantes

[Calpernia]

Web conferencing? I've used large screens to implement that function or corporate offices. I would assume that is a needed function with the military. I'm just guessing though.

[raynearhood]

We use anti-static "Q-Tips" now. They're big, heavy rubber replacements to the old sling kits.

It feels like a baseball bat to the chest, knocks you clean off the top of the truck onto your a$$, and requires only a couple of days of medical observation to ensure it doesn't cause heart problems. An experience (and bruised butt) that I would not like to repeat.

[BushisTheMan]

Cool post...thanks!

[raynearhood]

"Web conferencing? I've used large screens to implement that function or corporate offices."

We call it VTC (video teleconferencing) and the O-6s and above love it. The big screen TV, though was most likely a personal TV. One advantage of being signal is your job often requires the use of a shelter that affixed to the back of HMMWV. There is usually enough room in these to fit the equipment that is attached to the walls of each kind of shelter, the external equipment needed for your site (hex tent, antenna kit bags, etc.), personal equipment, and some things to make life a bit easier, or to kill the boredom. I took a footlocker filled with books and beef jerky. My soldiers brought a TV, a PS2, an XBox, and an endless number of games and movies. When we would go on supply runs to Kuwait we would give whoever was going money to buy replacement DVD players, playstations, or whatever, as they did not survive the sandstorms well. As anyone will tell you the majority of your time that is not spent on shift is trying to fend off boredom.

[bruin66]

It feels like a baseball bat to the chest, knocks you clean off the top of the truck onto your a$$, and requires only a couple of days of medical observation to ensure it doesn't cause heart problems. An experience (and bruised butt) that I would not like to repeat.

Not to mention a reissue of underwear...

[Lokibob]

Been there, done that.

VN, 70's, a sling loader did me a favor, so I asked him what he needed. He said "a doz donuts would really help". So I go to the mess Sgt, give him a fifth of whisky for a couple of dozen fresh donuts to repay the debt. Take the donuts to the sling loader, he says thanks. later... in the club... I find out that donuts was the term they used for the ring connecting the chopper to the sling.

Military horse trades gone bad....

[raynearhood]

We used toilet paper to fill any empty spots left in the shelter. Charmin Ultra with aloe. I'm lean, mean, and I bleed green, but I'm no "hard-a$$."

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[Lokibob]

Thanks for your service to your country. This old soldier will never forget.

[Hatteras]

I did some work a few months ago on base down at the home of the 501st, Fort Gordon, GA. Where were they hiding these guys? The guys (and gals) I saw were some pretty geeky looking uh... soldiers.

Thanks for the article, I'm impressed.