Twitter
Facebook
Without notice, they appear from behind the huge 15-foot white screen, some with bundles of red and blue network cables thrown over one shoulder, some with long tubular fluorescent lights and others with massive green storage cases in tow.
They busily hang a bundle of wiring here, a row of lighting there, only stopping briefly to ensure everything is in its place before disappearing again behind the screen, returning momentarily to continue with their tasks.
These are the Soldiers and civilians of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command G6 section working to get the 21st TSC Operations Command Post communication systems up and running during Austere Challenge 08 held at Grafenwöhr Training Area March 25 to April 3.
Their job is to provide all communication and network support, including reach-back capabilities to home station from the OCP as they track incoming units and equipment arriving into the country.
***image1***“We are one of the first on ground to place the communication support,” said Master Sgt. Juan A. Rivera, G6 operational noncommissioned officer in charge. “This includes NIPR, SIPR, classified, unclassified, printers and on-the-go communications, which is a part of a system used to track how the forces are doing in the fight and whether they need fuel support or water support.
“G6 is very important when it comes to tracking our enemies or just tracking our friendly forces and being able to communicate back and forth,” he said. “If we are not communicating, we’re never going to have situational awareness. We won’t know whether an enemy is coming or not.”
Just like the units that are being tracked, G6 had challenges to overcome during the exercise. This time, it was the adverse weather conditions, terrain and power source.
Sergeant Rivera said he relies on the vast expertise from within his section to overcome the obstacles during the mission.
***image2***“All the Soldiers from the G6 section have been to all different kinds of areas, especially combat zones,” said Sergeant Rivera. “Because of their experience, we can come up with other ideas to overcome any obstacles.”
Sergeant Rivera said G6 can get the OCP up and operational quickly because when a problem arises the Soldiers do a great job resolving it.
“Everybody is doing an outstanding job,” said Sergeant Rivera. “They have been reacting very fast when it comes to any issues. The team is working in good harmony and we try to go ahead and maintain the communication flow.”
