Newest mobile air shelter set up for training

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Force Expeditionary Center Public Affairs
FORT DIX, N.J. (AFNS) --  The newest model of deployable, mobile command posts is set up at the Air Force Expeditionary Center's main building here to give Airmen a view of what that may work on when they deploy in suppot of the war on terrorism.

The Hard-sided Expandable Lightweight Air Mobile Shelter, or HELAMS, eventually will replace the Mobile Air Reporting Communications, or MARC, shelter.

"We will train students on both the MARC and HELAMS under one course until the MARCs are phased out," said Tech. Sgt. Don Colbert, the Mobile C3 Systems Course director. "The HELAMS is used to make students familiar with set up and operations specific to the new shelter. The old advanced course was three weeks long. Now, the new Mobile C3 Systems Course will be four weeks long to cover all the new material."

Staff Sgt. Joshua Sager, a Mobile C3 Systems Course instructor, said the HELAMS is highly mobile and quick to set up. It's a rugged container that provides a reliable, environmentally controlled area to work and has a design that provides reliable, weather-resistant storage and an air transport capability for installed equipment, supplies and auxiliary equipment that is shipped in the shelter and then removed for use during setup and operation.

"By replacing the MARC, which was put into service in the mid 1980s, the HELAMS provides for more workspace and a new high frequency radio system that requires less power to operate and much quieter than previous system," Sergeant Sager said. "It also offers a significant weight reduction -- it's 2,500 pounds lighter than the MARC. Additionally, the HELAMS has a smaller load footprint when transported -- a full pallet position smaller, and has an easier to deploy wheel set for ground transportation."

As the MARC did, the HELAMS provides a portable command post for contingency response forces. 

"The HELAMS also provides a secure setting for classified briefs, communications security and operations security," Sergeant Colbert said. "It is climate controlled to increase reliability of communications systems."

Sergeant Colbert said he's happy to have the latest technology available for students and it should pay big dividends for the Air Force.

"Our HELAMS unit will provide the latest hands-on training required to help Airmen be ready to deploy with the shelter," he said. "The new shelter is a bonus for us to have for training and also in the long run, it will provide mobility forces the best equipment available to complete their duties in a bare-base environment."

Comment on this story  (comments may be published on Air Force Link)

View the comments/letters page