JTAGS, RSSC provides early warning, support to Soldiers in theater

By Ben Spears, USASMDC/ARSTRAT IG OfficeMay 11, 2011

CENTCOM JTAGS
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Joint Tactical Ground Station, B Detachment, 1st Space Company includes left to right, Back row: Sgt. Keith Suave, Sgt. Sean Carriere, Sgt. Ernest Dominguez, Staff Sgt. Joseph Knece; second row: Sgt. Melinda Saltzmann, Spc. Brandon Metzler, Staff Sgt... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
CENTCOM - RSSC
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The photo of the Regional Satellite Communications Support Center-CONUS team includes from left to right: Sgt. 1st Class Glenn Shockley (NCOIC), Alex White, Kevin Hamilton, Sgt. 1st Class Khemmony Kong, Jessica Chaplin, Carol McLaughlin, Staff Sgt. J... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command continues its support to operations in the U.S. Central Command area of operation with both boots on the ground in theater and from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla.

The Soldiers and civilians who work at the Regional Satellite Communications Support Center at MacDill AFB serve the CENTCOM combatant commander, as well as U.S. Joint Forces Command, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations, Joint Functional Component Command for Space, services, agencies and other users, as a single point of contact for satellite communications expertise to efficiently manage, plan and engineer Department of Defense SATCOM resources.

The Soldiers of Joint Tactical Ground Station, B Detachment, 1st Space Company, 1st Space Battalion of the 1st Space Brigade are a major part of the more than 60 Soldiers currently deployed from the brigade.

The JTAGS provides early warning for missile events to the combatant commander. These Soldiers normally spend nine months deployed from U.S. Army European Command and other JTAGS detachments. The Soldiers of the JTAGS detachment maintain 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week operations.

During downtime they perform maintenance on their equipment; conduct individual and collective training while maintaining their proficiency on their JTAGS mission. The detachment leadership also finds time to fit personal and professional development into their schedule. Soldiers are taking college courses as well as preparing for promotions by practicing for promotion boards and attending the Warrior Leader Course.