BATTALION S-2/S-3/IMO
KEY PERSONNEL:
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S-3
MAJ Neil Khatod,
SGM Dana Bowie,
CPT Jonathan Melton,
CPT Joshua Walker,
1LT Allison Paganetti,
CW3 James Ebeler,
SFC Robert Lynn,
SFC Grover Norton,
SFC Preston Johnson,
SFC Robert Limtiaco,
SFC Joan Rush,
SFC Sean Sato,
SSG Vernon Walton,
SSG Bruce Polly,
SSG Mahoma Tello,
SSG Terrance Mobley,
SGT Christopher Lawrence,
SGT Supriya Vidic,
SPC Patricia Labas,
SPC Anthony Wallace
IMO CW2 Daniel Dunn, SFC Tremayne Webber, SFC Mark Peacock, SSG Roland Sanders, SGT Timothy Pruitt, SGT Christopher Nast, SGT Joshua Jerles, SGT David Gibson, SGT Franklin Jeffries, SPC LeShan Jones, SPC James Pulliam, SPC Alvin Wilkerson S-2 SSG Michael Tolias |
40TH ESB MISSION
The battalion’s main was to successfully conduct the operational base communications mission in support of combat operations in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) 07-09. Provide communications support to all Multi-National Force-Iraq, Multi-National Corps-Iraq, Multi-National Security Transition Command- Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) 07-09 as the Army O&M Command in Iraq-- Maintain a fully trained and disciplined force ready for any mission or change of mission assigned to the unit--ensure companies maintain common and technical Soldier skills by monitoring training events, ranges, PT tests, schools, etc. Maintain a realistic and sustainable training plan which focuses on our Signal responsibilities and warfighting skills. Provide engineering, resource planning, and installation of critical communications infrastructure as directed by MNF-I CJ6-- integrate cable platoons into companies with DSSTs for unity of effort and increased efficiency. Establish Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for TCFs and Cable Platoons.
Mission HIGHLIGHTS
FY08 began with the execution of a myriad of pre-deployment training events that culminated in approval to deploy the battalion. The first elements of the unit left for Southwest Asia and the end of November closely followed by the Battalion’s main body on 9 December 2007. 40th ESB spent 10 days at Camp Buehring, Iraq. Five hundred and eighty six of the battalion’s Soldiers completed the required training for Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, and Integration (RSOI), including HMMWV rollover, advanced medical, improvised explosive device (IED), and counter-insurgency operations training.
Following RSOI training it was time to divide the battalion into groups of Soldiers to deploy to five different bases in Iraq, and to Kuwait and Qatar. This was accomplished with seamless efficiency and after a brief overlap and very little time to celebrate the holidays, the 40th ESB assumed authority for the mission in Iraq with the 67th Signal Battalion and the 518th TIN Company on 8 January.
Bravo Company remained at Ft Huachuca until May 2008 providing contingency communications support for NORTHCOM’s homeland defense mission during the hurricane season. Bravo Company deployed in May 2008. Due to the geographic dispersion of the bases and the complexity of the mission, Bravo Company too was reorganized into two companies bringing the battalion to a total of seven companies. These two companies, Bravo and Echo, flowed into Iraq and replaced the 35th Signal Battalion at seven additional operating bases located in northern and southern regions of Iraq. By month’s end the 40th Expeditionary Signal Battalion had assumed complete control of the operational base communications network in Iraq.
40th ESB planned, resourced, installed, operated, maintained, and protected the largest, most complex operational base communications network ever to support an active warzone. They demonstrated exceptional tactical and technical skills under combat conditions with 473 Soldiers and 535 contract employees and an infrastructure comprised of 14 technical control facilities and 14 help desks as well as extensive fiber optic and cable plant. Team 40th kept two three-star and a four-star headquarters informed and able to leverage the network in the fight, and worked tirelessly to understand the needs of the warfighting customers and to “fight the network” in support of maneuver forces across the battlefield.
The battalion leaves ITO far better than it found it in terms of communications infrastructure. Among the myriad of accomplishments, Team 40th: engineered a solution to refresh the components of the antiquated Coalition Military Network which extends DSN, SIPR, NIPR, and CENTRIX services to remote sites across the Iraq Theater of operations (ITO); implemented a Local Service Management and Reporting Process that resulted in better local service visibility; managed one of the world’s largest local area networks on Victory Base; coordinated, planned, and provided oversight for the completion of Speicher commercialization project, resulting in the 132 end user building installation on schedule; coordinated and planned cable support for FOB Union 3 and FOB Shield for Army Forces, Coalition Partners, and other government agencies in the International Zone; migrated circuits from the antiquated DS3 Radio to commercial fiber in the IZ; coordinated and provided project oversight for the fiber ring installation supporting MNF-I’s Regional Theater Internment and Reintegration Centers for over 17,000 detainees; planned, gained approval, and began a project to improve the network connectivity between Camp Liberty and Camp Victory, including the emplacement of a TCF on Camp Liberty; planned, coordinated, and provided management oversight over a theater wide defense in depth equipment refresh plan which includes over 2,000 switches, firewalls, bluecoat servers, and routers across 16 sites; developed the vision and integrated the efforts with ITT/TACSWACAA to transform the Regional Network Operations Security Center- Iraq (RNOSC-I) organization, doctrine, skill sets, and procedures to better manage services, network trunks, and facilities; planned and coordinated a VBC fiber and copper mapping remediation plan that has updated years worth of neglect for over 1600 copper telephones and over 735 switches connected to the cable infrastructure; planned, coordinated, and resourced Operation Cable Rodeo that brought the entire battalion’s cable leadership teams and standardized survey and cable run techniques/standards across the battalion; spearheaded crisis action planning to execute a short notice expansion of the operational base network at Camp Basra to support the MNC-I Tactical Command Post which allowed for an initial operational capability of SIPR, NIPR, and DSN to be placed in the Corps CP on Basra within 30 minutes of arrival.
The battalion concluded the fiscal year by hosting a Commander’s Conference during which each company shared plans that identified the communications infrastructure projects that would have to be completed in order to fully commercialize each operating base. Finally, the battalion hosted a pre-deployment site survey with the 50th Expeditionary Signal Battalion in preparation for them to replace the 40th in early 2009. Both events were major milestones in the deployment signifying that the unit was entering the final stages of combat operations in Iraq.
