WIESBADEN, Germany -- U.S. and German signal units connected for the first successful videoteleconference between their units March 4, signaling a major step forward in interoperability for the two NATO alliance members.
The VTC connected U.S. signal units in Wiesbaden and Grafenwoehr, including 5th Signal Command Headquarters, 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 102nd Signal Battalion, U.S. Army Europe G6 and the Joint Multinational Simulation Center, and elements of the Bundeswehr Communication and Information Systems Command (BwCISCOM) in Kastellaun via a Bundeswehr multipoint control unit in Cologne.
The VTC was conducted as part of "Gelber Merkur" (Yellow Mercury), a semiannual joint services signal exercise that allows BwCISCOM to set up and test signal equipment and train Soldiers and junior officers in signal related tasks.
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eugene Gardner, senior signal warrant officer, 5th Signal Command, said several technical challenges had to be overcome to establish the VTC link, including bandwidth, equipment compatibility and media transmission.
"We had to get the two VTC hubs (in Cologne and Wiesbaden) talking to each other, which they hadn't ever interfaced before," he said.
Gardner said the VTC was conducted over ISDN and Internet protocol in what he described as a breakthrough of VTC interoperability. The VTC was the result of several months of planning, coordination and tests with BwCISCOM headquarters in Bonn and the 282nd CIS Battalion in Kastellaun, which Gardner said helped to develop trust and build interoperability.
"The trust between services and nations is very important -- it sets the stage for future interoperability," Gardner said. "If we can figure out a foundation to build on, then we can work on it from there."
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5th Signal Command's mission is to build, operate and defend network capabilities to enable mission command and create tactical, operational, and strategic flexibility for Army, Joint and Multi-national forces in the EUCOM and AFRICOM areas of responsibility.
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