TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT, Pa. -- From a Colombian airbase in the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) to a French base in the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), Tobyhanna Army Depot personnel provide a distinctive set of skills to sites around the globe supporting a state-of-the-art Army surveillance system.

The Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System provides the capability to detect, locate, classify, identify and track surface targets with a high degree of accuracy in nearly all weather conditions. The system enhances warfighter effectiveness by assessing their environment and providing surveillance, targeting support and threat warning.

Tobyhanna's involvement includes forward maintenance and repair, and future sustainment of two dozen EMARSS and their subsystems, according to William Sharman, Aerial Sensors Branch chief at the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command's Integrated Logistics Support Center (ILSC), Aberdeen, Maryland.

"Tobyhanna Army Depot's organic field support representatives (FSRs) provide depot forward maintenance capability to the 224th and 15th Military Intelligence battalions," Sharman said.

More specifically, depot FSRs conduct on-site forward tasks for EMARSS mission payloads and sensors. Currently, 13 depot FSRs handle the workload, but future plans are to employ a total of 15.

Sharman remarked that the workload initially came to Tobyhanna because of its quality of work on a similar system.

"The depot has a long history of providing very similar support to the Guardrail program. EMARSS displaced Guardrail at the 224th and 15th MI battalions, so there were FSRs already in place," said Sharman. "Tobyhanna has the organizational history, knowledge and talent to assume the EMARSS FSR mission."

Guardrail aircraft were first deployed in 1971 to monitor Soviet troop movements and are still in commission today thanks to constant modernization, but the four EMARSS variants provide added capability and increased effectiveness of surveillance operations. One advantage is that EMARSS can connect to ground systems, including the Distributed Common Ground System -- Army, through the Common Data Link. Another is that flight crews are able to use screens to receive and view intelligence information in real-time pertaining to their area of responsibility.

Joe Fantanarosa, chief of the depot's C4 Program Management Division, said Tobyhanna's Guardrail FSRs have undergone extensive training to get up to speed on EMARSS technical changes. Seven FSRs supporting the 224th MI Battalion at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, went through about 130 hours of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) training and have been instructed on what Fantanarosa calls "nuance changes" within the new system. The other six FSRs, who support the 15th MI Battalion at Fort Hood, Texas, are enrolled in OEM training courses.

The timeline of Tobyhanna's EMARSS mission support includes unit garrison and deployed locations. The ILSC, along with U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command and Tobyhanna partners, are continually assessing FSR requirements to determine proper staffing levels given unit operations tempo.

Of course, providing long-term support in unique locations presents its fair share of challenges.

Tobyhanna's FSRs cover 570 hours of mission time and an additional 720 hours of maintenance per month between SOUTHCOM and AFRICOM locations, though the long days are just one of several challenges facing depot FSRs, according to Hector Miranda, equipment specialist in the C4ISR Directorate's Intelligence Collection System Branch and EMARSS FSR.

"For one, there is no place from which to get personal hygiene products," said Miranda of an AFRICOM location. Internet access is provided by the base but with limited bandwidth and a high price tag -- seven gigabytes per month for more than $70. Though living conditions at this particular site are adequate, the same can't be said of the food.

"There is only one place to eat and the food take some getting used to," said Miranda, who has spent time on EMARSS missions in both SOUTHCOM and AFRICOM areas of responsibility.

Sharman commends Tobyhanna FSRs for their dedicated support despite facing unfavorable conditions.

"Tobyhanna is well-suited to carry out the EMARSS mission because of personnel who are mission-oriented and flexible to meet rapidly changing requirements," he said. "The dedicated and skilled FSRs provide critical support to unit commanders around the world."

Future EMARSS support includes hardware and software sustainment, an effort that will face additional challenges going forward.

"Tobyhanna's challenge with EMARSS will be to support missions around the globe given manpower constraints while controlling life cycle sustainment costs," said Sharman.

Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna's Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C4ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners.

Tobyhanna's unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum logistics support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, post production software support, technology insertion, modification, foreign military sales and global field support to our Joint Warfighters.

About 3,200 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the command's mission is to research, develop, acquire, field and sustain communications, command, control computer, intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors capabilities for the Armed Forces.