Airmen deliver radio communications to servicemembers

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jeff Szczechowski
  • 455th Expeditionary Operations Group Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  What do you get when you take the rim of an old tire, bolt wood into the lug nut openings, and secure an 11-foot fence pole to it? After attaching an 8-foot rod to the top of the pole, the answer is a ground-radio antenna that makes the communication needs of security detail Soldiers here.

And what do you get when you take two innovative Air Force staff sergeants out of the Cryptologic Systems Group at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and send them here to support Operation Enduring Freedom? If you belong to the 455th Expeditionary Operations Group, you have got two noncommissioned officers who have shown a remarkable ability to think outside of the box. They have learned new skills and adapted to the environment around them, all while delivering expert radio-communications support to OEF customers.

Staff Sgts. Vincent Bess and Andre Locust were deployed here to manage the 455th expeditionary communications flight’s land-mobile radio section. They said they knew they were in for a challenge. Despite their technical training backgrounds and a quick equipment overview before leaving the United States, “this was the first time we’ve ever had to program and support (land-mobile radios),” Sergeant Locust said.

The task would take some getting used to, he said. With a little on-the-job training, they learned well. And then they learned to love their job.

“We’re back to our roots here,” said Sergeant Locust, with a look of satisfaction on his face. “This is the stuff we were originally trained to do more than anything else -- radio maintenance, installation and hands-on equipment work.

“Back home, you do quality-assurance checks and write reports,” he said. “Here, I’m actually out climbing towers and warehouses or going 50 feet up in bucket trucks, installing antennas.”

Sergeant Bess offered his own reasons for feeling good about his tour here.

“We’ve done so many things here that we never even dreamed of,” he said. “It’s been so different, and yet so much better, from what we were expecting. And remembering what we’re here for, we know we are making a difference.”

Bottom line, said Sergeant Locust, they are providing critical communication capabilities to the warfighter.

“The best part of the entire experience here is to be at the tip of the spear, providing much needed, crucial communication,” he said.

While maintaining day-to-day responsibility of more than 400 LMR assets has been their official duty, it is their “side jobs” that have made an indelible mark on the entire area of operations here.

In Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, the two installed a repeater system for another personal security detail element with the Army’s Criminal Investigative Division there. Repeaters are designed to increase the range of portable and mobile radios by receiving a signal from low-powered units on one frequency, then amplifying the signal and retransmitting it at a higher-power level on another frequency.

Their efforts expanded radio communications in the area by up to 10 miles, and increased coverage from the Kabul Army compound to the U.S. Embassy in the capital.

“Our work provided better convoy communication for personnel coming and going from Kabul,” Sergeant Bess said.

Expanded radio contact means better security for the convoys.

After the 455th EOG command post moved to the air terminal operations center, radio contact with incoming aircraft was cut in half. The sergeants were called upon to restore the communications capability.

“We had contractors install a 40-foot concrete pole, usually used for telephone and power lines, and put up one antenna with two ports -- a dual band antenna for VHF and UHF frequencies,” Sergeant Bess said.

Instead of having to install two antennas, one for the command post and another for the combat weather team, the two ports allowed them to re-establish communications for both units with one antenna.

“Not only did we get the command post back to original communication time, we actually increased the distance and made communication clearer,” Sergeant Bess said.

The added range allows more time for support people on the ground to prepare for incoming flights, since the command post can establish contact sooner.