FORT BENNING, Ga., (May 18, 2016) -- Soldiers from the 57th Expeditionary Signal Battalion stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, arrived at Fort Benning March 28 with one specific mission - to upgrade the network switches across post.

This is no small feat as it includes over 1,400 switches, requiring the Soldiers to install approximately 50 switches per day.

The upgrade features some valuable benefits as it aims to get everyone on the same page security-wise, said Ron Nash, director of the Fort Benning Network Enterprise Center, the group working with the Soldiers to complete the project.

"It's not as much about increased performance of the desktop as it is about increased security behind the scenes. So many of the Army users bring special needs to the network and wind up having to develop their own network segments or break rules, so this equipment allows us to more securely parse out the network service so everyone's needs are met, but at the same time we can do the security," said Nash.

In addition to security benefits, upgrading the switches gives the Network Enterprise Center a more consistent platform to manage, said Nash.

While this project is beneficial to Fort Benning, it also provides an exceptional training opportunity for the Soldiers, said 2nd Lt. David Chacko, battalion maintenance officer for the 57th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, a part of the 11th Signal Brigade.

"This project was a really good opportunity for these (Soldiers) and they are making the most of it," said Chacko. "These are our signal Soldiers so they are really excited to get to do this project," said Chacko, who added that they don't often come across projects like this outside of deployments.

While upgrades such as this are happening at every Army post, the Soldiers working on this project have enjoyed immense success in part due to the partnership with the Network Enterprise Center, said Chacko.

"The Network Enterprise Center did a really good job of laying the groundwork for us to come in be able to have a lot of success so far. The Soldiers have been achieving an unprecedented install rate of like 50 installs a day," said Chacko.

The Soldiers are scheduled to return to Fort Hood in June. As of May 11, 1,131 of the 1,400 switches have been installed in 534 of the 632 buildings that were targeted.