The electromagnetic spectrum is an invisible battlefield where Soldiers wage a communication war against the adversary's electronic signals. Electronic warfare (EW) specialists from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team (2ABCT), 1st Cavalry Division trained at Training Area 60 on Fort Hood in identifying, disrupting, and destroying the adversary's electronic systems Aug 27-30.
"First, we're out here to help demonstrate the capabilities of the systems," said Capt. Alex Ceballos, 2BCT EW OIC. "It's one thing to get a PowerPoint presentation. It's another thing to come out here and see how it works. And secondly, to help us develop our tactics, techniques, and procedures and to start thinking about how we are going to employ these systems on a regular basis."
After three-weeks of classroom instruction, Soldiers put theory into practice with a new equipment capabilities package and a consolidated team of EW specialists at the brigade. Before the consolidation, EW specialists were distributed to each battalion.
"In July the brigade pulled up the EW personnel from battalions to facilitate the training on the new integrated package of mounted and dismounted systems," said Ceballos. "The consolidation allows more effective employment of electronic warfare capabilities for the brigade and makes training more effective. "
Ceballos said the brigade was looking for a more streamlined process for electronic warfare training in new mounted and dismounted equipment capabilities. When the training audience consolidated, mobile training teams were resourced, training events confirmed, and the effectiveness of the EW teams significantly increased which has a sufficient impact on the brigade's ability to use organic assets to fight the adversary.
The training event allowed newly arrived Soldiers the opportunity to familiarize with the new capability and work as a part of a consolidated EW team.
"This is a new capability for the brigade, said Sgt. 1st Class John Eastteam, 29E, electronic warfare specialist. "Every command and control element has communications, pushing down information. Someone is communicating, talking over frequencies. Our job is to find the signals of interest or frequencies and pinpoint their location. It's a chess match."
Eastteam said the new capability makes EW more relevant, giving the commander an opportunity to win on the battlefield with organic assets previously requested through other branches of service. Prior, EW specialists were liaisons between the brigade and the Air Force. With organic systems, the brigade can allocate teams to embed with recon teams or infantry forces to locate the enemy and gather signal information to provide immediately actionable information.
"The Airforce has limited assets and is in high demand in theater," said Sgt 1st Class Jose Roldan, EW NCOIC. "This equipment brings capability down to the brigade level, so we can target the enemy and increase the lethality of the brigade."
The EW specialists took the cyber transition course to improve mission planning and to integrate cyber effects into their mission sets. Ceballos said the training had given them a better understanding in coordinating cyber with higher echelons.
EW has entered a new frontier with dismounted capabilities and a group of electronic warfare specialists excited about the new skills they bring to the fight.
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