ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam - Soldiers from Alpha and Charlie Companies, 307th Expeditionary Signal Battalion (ESB), are deployed to Guam to conduct a relief in place of Soldiers from Bravo Company, 307th ESB.
B Co Soldiers from the 307th ESB have provided vital signal support to Task Force Talon for the past year. A Co and C Co Soldiers from the 307th will continue to support the Task Force for the next 6 months. Task Force Talon is the first deployment of the Army's new Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. 307th ESB Soldiers provide communications support to the THAAD battery and its high-tech systems.
307th Soldiers on this mission will have the opportunity to field the 307th's new equipment which recently returned from reset operations. Upgrades to the equipment allow the 307th to better perform its mission of expeditionary signal support. This will be the first real world mission in the Pacific where this new upgraded equipment will be utilized. The experience the Soldiers gain on this mission will help their team and the rest of the 307th ESB perform future missions.
When asked about the opportunity to field the new signal equipment, Spc. Rebekah Jones-Lovett, a transmission system operator-maintainer from A Co, stated, "[This] is a great system that gives us more redundancy. It was difficult to set up because we were not familiar with the fiber link we were using, but once we configured everything correctly, it turned out to be a simple painless process."
As part of this mission, Soldiers from all three of 307th ESB's line companies have the unique opportunity to work together on a real world mission. Soldiers from A Co and B Co are stationed at Helemano Military Reservation in Hawaii where they typically do not have the opportunity to interact with C Co Soldiers who are stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska. B Co Soldiers who have been in Guam for six to twelve months are ensuring A Co and C Co Soldiers are ready to assume their mission for the next year.
"This mission is a great opportunity to meet people from within our Battalion since we are located on two different posts," Sgt. Ulysses Morgan, a senior transmission system operator-maintainer from C Co, said. "It was great to see how quickly everyone just clicked as a team out here."
Morgan also added, "In the future, it would be great to have more Soldiers from Charlie Company come out here and interact with other Soldiers from the 307th companies in Hawaii."
For some of the Soldiers out here, this marks their first actual mission since joining the 307th ESB. Their involvement in this implementation of the new colorless core mission offers both a great opportunity as well as a formidable challenge.
This mission is Pfc. Johnathan Chavarria's, a transmission system operator-maintainer with A Co , first one since joining the 307th only a few months ago.
"I was a little nervous at first, but actually getting to use the equipment was a great opportunity," Chavarria said. "Now that I have seen the equipment in use, I have learned a lot, and I am very confident in my ability to use it."
This also marks the first mission for Pvt. Demichael Burton, a cable system installer-maintainer with A Co.
"It's a huge benefit to come out here," said Burton. "I learned a great deal about troubleshooting, and I look forward to continuing to learn more."
In only a couple of weeks, A Co and C Co Soldiers will fully assume the mission, allowing B Co Soldiers to return to their families and friends back in Hawaii. This mission will present challenges and obstacles for the 307th Soldiers to overcome, but they have proven themselves more than capable of dealing with anything that may come their way. Their leadership is fully confident that they will continue to live up to the 307th ESB motto and "Provide the Best!"
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