BELLOWS AIR FORCE STATION, Hawaii -- Six Soldiers from the 307th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 516th Signal Brigade, 311th Signal Command (Theater) provided top notch communications support for the fourth iteration of Operation Pacific Response, a joint collaboration of more than 200 military and civilian personnel from across the globe and from all branches of the service, both Active and Reserve Components.
"This exercise is an opportunity to pass on knowledge and prepare the service members to respond to natural disasters in the Pacific area of responsibility," said Maj. Kyle Noda, Regional Contracting Office Contracting Management Officer, 413th Contracting Support Brigade.
The 307th Soldiers arrived early to set up full spectrum voice and data communications for this disaster training exercise hosted annually by the 413th CSB Nov. 16-22.
Personnel from Bravo Company, 307th ESB, spent a week at Bellows Air Force Station, establishing communications capacity and providing critical communications support to the exercise.
The team was responsible for the installation, operation, and maintenance of a command post exercise network, supporting more than 200 subscribers with central processing units, field phones and voice-over-internet-protocol phones. They were also responsible for laying more than 2,000 feet of category 5 cable.
"Our communications support has been excellent," said Lt. Col. Cevonia Joshua, Regional Contracting Office Military Deputy, 413th CSB. "We have been up and running from day one with uninterrupted service."
The exercise provides opportunities to build capacity between the fiscal triad of contracting, resource management and legal personnel through training, team-building and collaborative problem solving.
This year, the scenario involved members of the fiscal triad providing assistance to troops conducting humanitarian assistance operations after an earthquake in a fictional country.
Members of the triad had to work with local vendors to procure supplies and services, and tackled scenarios dealing with corruption, bribery, and fraud. Along the way they had senior mentors to guide them and facilitate training.
The 307th ESB Soldiers worked directly with military and civilian personnel from the Army, Army Reserve, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps from Alaska, Hawaii, Japan, Washington and Virginia to provide communications support.
"Personnel from 307th stepped right in and reacted quickly to ensure we had all the support we needed," said Noda. "Every year our communications support improves and we look forward to building communication capacity for future exercises."
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