Soldiers from 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, 304th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade work together to set up the Light Weight High Gain X-Band Antenna (LHGXA) to provide communications support for the Signal Theater Exercise Dec. 1 at...

Soldiers from 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, 304th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade prepare to finish the assembly of the Light Weight High Gain X-Band Antenna (LHGXA) to provide communications support for the Signal Theater Exercise...

USAG YONGSAN, South Korea -- The 304th Expeditionary Signal Battalion came to Yongsan from Camp Humphreys to provide signal support for the Signal Theater Exercise Dec. 1.

"We provide tactical data and communications," said 2nd Lt. Daniel A. Herb, 1st Platoon's Platoon Leader, Charlie Company, 304th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade. "Our job is to take our equipment, and be ready to move and set up anywhere."

In support of 304th Expeditionary Signal Battalion's mission to provide communications for the exercise, 1st Platoon was in charge of setting up the rugged and powerful Light Weight High Gain X-Band Antenna (LHGXA). The LHGXA is a large and highly mobile tactical antenna with a 16-foot-diameter to send and receive data.

Deployed and operated by military personnel worldwide, the LHGXA was built to provide field units reliable, user-friendly communications. The dish is mounted on a towable trailer and allows for rapid deployments.

Staff Sgt. Lawrence R. Brew, Charlie Company's Networks Operations Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge, said, "While this type of dish is considered older technology, it is still a firm staple to Army communications."

Brew said the LHGXA's concept and design is not state of the art, but it allows units to communicate and receive signals from one horizon to another. "Once it is set up, we can communicate globally in a matter of seconds," said Brew.

Soldiers like those from the 304th Expeditionary Signal Battalion that are responsible for operating and maintaining communications equipment like the LHGXA, increase the size of the battlefield by increasing the range of communications.

The 1st Signal Brigade enables joint and combined command, control, communications, computers, and information management operations throughout Korea to support United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, United States Forces Korea, and Eighth Army's ability to lead, direct and maneuver available forces during armistice, crisis, or war.