US, Moldovan signaleers build communications interoperability

By 1st Lt. Orlando Florea (The 173rd Airborne Brigade)July 27, 2015

US, Moldovan signaleers build communications interoperability
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Sgt. Chreston Anderson, kneeling right, a paratrooper assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, conducts training on FM radios with, from left, Moldovan Army Capt. Ion Cebotari, Capt. Victor Goja, Capt. Valentin Mardari, 1st Lt. Victor Turcul... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
US, Moldovan signaleers build communications interoperability
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Sgt. Derek McGarry, center, seated, and Pfc. Rakeem Tolliver, kneeling left, paratroopers assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, conduct secure radio interoperability validation, July 22, 2015, using a Tactical Voice Bridge with, from left... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
US, Moldovan signaleers build communications interoperability
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – From left, Moldovan army Capt. Ion Cebotari, 2nd Lt. Vasile Cornei, and Pvt. Jvan Jintea, from the Moldovan army Signal Battalion demonstrate networking equipment to U.S. Army Sgt. Chreston Anderson, a paratrooper assigned to the 173rd Airborne Briga... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
US, Moldovan signaleers build communications interoperability
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Sgt. Derek McGarry, standing center, a paratrooper assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and from left, Moldovan army Lt Col. Andrei Ursu, Capt. Victor Goja, Capt. Andrei Sestacov and 2nd Lt. Vasile Cornei, from the Moldovan army Signal B... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

BALTI, Republic of Moldova (July 24, 2015) -- Signaleers, from the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the Moldovan army, conducted communications training here as part of Exercise Common Effort 15, July 20-22.

Common Effort brings together Soldiers from host-nation Moldova, Georgia, Poland, Romania and the United States to increase interoperability and contribute to European security.

As part of the exercise, signaleers, from the 173rd Airborne's 54th Brigade Engineer Battalion signal company and the Republic of Moldova's Signal Battalion, trained specifically to understand and integrate each other's communications systems.

During the training, signaleers conducted demonstrations and explained equipment capabilities and functionality. The signaleers then bridged U.S. and Moldovan radios using a Tactical Voice Bridge, or TVB, which directly facilitated combined communications. The TVB allowed the units to implement secure combined radio networks over FM and high-frequency.

"Working with the Moldovan signaleers has helped us improve communications interoperability by developing tactics and procedures that we can carry forward to future exercises and operations," said U.S. Army Sgt. Derek McGarry, a senior retransmission noncommissioned officer with Charlie Company, 54th Brigade Engineer Battalion. "The Moldovan Signal Battalion has proven to be a tremendous partner and brings many capabilities to support combat units."

The signaleers also conducted training on digital communications equipment, including network establishment, satellite operations and network maintenance.

"The Moldovan military obtained great training in radio, voice over internet protocol technology and satellite communications," said Moldovan Army Capt. Ion Cebotari, a technician with the Moldovan Signal Battalion. "Despite the fact that our equipment is different, we were able to bridge technologies on both tactical radios and digital communications."

The 54th Brigade Engineer Battalion's signal company regularly conducts combined communications training throughout Europe to bridge partner radio systems between NATO allies and partners and implement secure radio interoperability solutions for combat units.

The 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy, is the U.S. Army Contingency Force in Europe, providing ready forces anywhere in the U.S., European, Africa and Central Commands areas of responsibility within 18 hours.

Related Links:

Army.mil: Europe News

The 173rd Airborne Brigade

U.S. Army Europe