USAG YONGSAN, South Korea -- Seoul's Morning Calm Chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) invited Col. Paul H. Fredenburgh, 1st Signal Brigade Commander to speak at a luncheon on Dec. 11, 2013 at the Hartell House on USAG Yongsan.
December's forum focused on the capabilities of Korean military networks to flourish when under duress.
Allan A. Banks, the Vice President of Programming for Seoul's AFCEA chapter, mentioned during his introduction that their monthly meetings allow for networking opportunities to build friendly relationships and discuss information technology. AFCEA, a non-profit organization, promotes an open dialogue and strong relationships between government and civilian industries in times of peace to help ensure effective communications during wartime.
"We've wanted Col. Fredenburgh to speak for some time and we are glad that he is here today," said Banks. AFCEA invited Fredenburgh to speak to gain a better understanding of what 1st Signal Brigade provides for the Korean Peninsula.
Fredenburgh explained, "1st Signal Brigade's primary mission is to meet the requirements of the war fighter, deter North Korean aggression, defend the Republic of Korea and if necessary, defeat any adversary that would pose a threat to the U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance."
Fredenburgh emphasized that with the brigade's primary mission, the day-to-day mission, is to work alongside coalition partners to operate and maintain the requirements of signal communications.
"I want to stress that the importance is not focused just on the Army, but it is about a joint-coalition signal command."
The ongoing efforts of improving counter abilities against cyber-attacks are a high priority of the 1st Signal Brigade. "We rely on our networks heavily, and the threat of attacks against them is real. So we treat our computer systems like the war fighter weapons they are and conduct 'weapons checks' regularly," said Fredenburgh.
Another priority of the 1st Signal Brigade is providing signal support to its Eighth Army counterparts. "We provide advantages on the battle field; being able to see and communicate with our Soldiers is crucial to any operation," said Fredenburgh.
Another key concern for communications in Korea is staying battle ready while improving, expanding and upgrading signal communications across the peninsula. Fredenburgh said that regardless if there are upgrades to communications equipment or repairs taking place, the standard to be ready to fight tonight must be upheld.
Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) is another key aspect of the work 1st Signal Brigade does. C4I operations are currently taking place at USAG Humphreys as USAG Humphreys is transitioning and expanding to become the main hub for armed forces on the Korean Peninsula.
"C4I is a team sport, because it takes a great amount of teamwork to get the mission done under the operational constraints and limitations we face every day in Korea," said Fredenburgh. "Our brigade is working to do our part to enhance the overall C4I readiness of the Korean Peninsula."
Fredenburgh also addressed what he expects to see from the 1st Signal Brigade in the future.
"In the future, you will see a much more modern and leaner organization that continues to modernize our technology and achieves effectiveness to make the U.S. and coalition forces much more capable," said Fredenburgh.
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