|
MIDDLE EAST (November 12, 2008) - Fast,
accurate communication is essential for modern warfare, especially
for a Marine Air Ground Task Force like the 26th Marine
Expeditionary Unit, which integrates command, aviation, ground
combat and logistics assets into one complete unit.
Only through accurate and timely communication, can a dynamic
unit like a MEU coordinate its assets effectively with higher and
adjacent units.
This communication is housed in the Marine Corps Joint Task
Force Enabler, which is the hub that connects many of the MEU's
electronic communications capabilities.
Secure and unsecure internet, telephone, and satellite
connections all flow from this instrument in the MEU Command
Element's communication section.
But, an information relay system this diverse presents its own
set of unique problems to which 26th MEU Marines improvised a
unique answer.
Enabling all of these communications capabilities requires a
great deal of heavy, cumbersome equipment, and therein lay the
problem for the Marines, who as part of a MEU, have to be
lightning-fast in their ability to respond, move and set up when
needed.
"When I first saw the JTF-E, it was spread out over five
Humvees, and could barely move from parking lot to parking lot,"
said Capt. Jonathan J. Pfuntner, assistant communications officer,
26th MEU.
Pfuntner, who is currently deployed for his second tour with the
MEU, said mobility was immediately identified as a problem since
the vehicles were packed with equipment, they couldn't fit the
Marines who would operate it.
After returning from his first MEU deployment, Pfuntner
immediately began looking for a solution.
There was no ready-made option.
Pfuntner and his Marines took available parts and pieces of
Marine Corps gear and came up with the answer - an M23, 7-ton
flatbed truck with a "mech-shelter" attached to the back.
"It's nothing fancy," said Master Sgt. Gary A. Paquin,
noncommissioned-officer-in-charge, JTF-E. "We kind of modified
stuff and pieced it together."
When fully assembled and running, the JTF-E looks like a monster
truck crossed with a camper.
The olive-drab sides of the container fold down and provide
space inside for a host of Marines and equipment. Flashing lights
blink on banks of computers to the constant hum of cooling
fans.
Temperature, climate control and ease-of-setup were factors in
the decision to move from multiple Humvees to 7-Ton based platform,
according to Paquin.
"Because everything is stored and stays in the container,
there's a lot less movement of gear," said Paquin. "It saves on
wear and tear as well as remains cooler,"
Overall the new equipment has increased capabilities, increased
equipment life, reduced the overall footprint of the JTF-E, and
increased the expeditionary nature of the system, according to
Paquin.
"Essentially, we are totally mobile." said Paquin. "We do not
have to rely on another Humvee coming with a piece of equipment we
need that may be on another [Landing Craft Air Cushioned], and once
we get there it is pre-wired and ready to go."
The system has proven successful throughout the six-month
predeployment training period and through the deployment so far,
Pfuntner gave the credit to his Marines
|
