Posted on 11/05/2005 5:14:24 PM PST by SandRat
AL ASAD, Iraq (Nov. 5, 2005) -- Twenty-one leathernecks from Marine Wing Communications Squadron 28 practiced establishing a communications link in a forward operating base at Al Asad, Iraq.
The training prepares the Marines in the event they are called upon to establish phone and Internet service in an area where communications are sketchy or nonexistent.
As Marines and other forces continue to hunt down insurgent fighters in the Al Anbar province, the ability to bring communication assets to the battlefield, regardless of location, is invaluable to accomplishing the mission and bringing Marines home alive.
“The bottom line is ensuring the safety of our own,” said Master Sgt. Anthony W. Erwin, the staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the troposphere radio scanner team that sets up and operates the necessary equipment.
The training evolution marks the fourth time the team practiced the operation in the sands of Iraq.
Second Lt. Katheryn M Buehler, the officer-in-charge of the TRC team, said her Marines were training to set up communications for a forward area refueling point, a mission they may very well encounter while supporting the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Fwd).
“If they set up an expeditionary airfield, we would provide the communication services,” she said.
The early morning process began with designated Marines ensuring the safety of a particular area, and creating a perimeter inside which, a makeshift communications facility can be raised.
Then, all the parts and equipment necessary are put into place. Large tents and different communications-specific vehicles are set up in a matter of minutes. Two large disks, each a part of the TRC-170 communications system are raised and then staked into the ground like camping tents.
“If we don’t do that, the wind will knock them down,” said Cpl. Travis W. Snider, a multichannel radio operator from Franklin, Tenn.
Snider and the Marines he works with set up the TRC-170 to create a signal that allows users 100 miles away access to Internet and phone services. Other Marines, like Lance Cpl. Derek J. Tryon, a single-channel radio operator, set up a signal that allows only phone services. It’s difficult work, but Snider is proud to be doing it.
“If my job is to come out here so people can be safe, then that’s what I’m going to do,” he said. “It’s why I joined the Marine Corps.
Usually, it takes the team approximately two hours to set up all the different equipment and establish a signal.
“That’s what we strive for, and we’re pretty successful,” said Erwin. “For the number of rehearsals we’ve done so far, that’s outstanding.”
Erwin and his Marines will continue practicing, making their operation quicker and more efficient until they receive word that it’s time to do it for real.
“We rehearse this all the time in case they ever have to send us out,” he said. “We never know when we’ll get the call.”
MARINE COMMS --- 26 hundred hertz out!
BTTT
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