31st Chief of Signal looks forward to serve Regiment

Fellow members of the Signal Regiment:

Greetings from your 31st Chief of Signal. I am truly honored, excited, and humbled by the incredible opportunity and tremendous privilege to serve as our Army's Chief of Signal and as the Commanding General, U.S. Army Signal Center. Simply stated, it's great to be back at Fort Gordon! I look forward to working with all members of the Regiment as we continue to simultaneously transform the Regiment and execute our mission in the Global War on Terrorism. I know that every member of the Regiment is working hard to make this happen. Although we have achieved much success in both areas, there is still plenty to be achieved.

We really are living in a time of incredible challenges. I know many of you reading this column have faced the real challenges of deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan and some of you are actually reading this edition of the Army Communicator while deployed in harm's way. Many of you are assigned to organizations that are radically changing into the modular UEx and its Brigade Combat Teams. Just staying up with all the changes is a real challenge. The goodness is that I know collectively there is no challenge insurmountable to the Signal Regiment. Our history is full of many significant accomplishments and the future is just as bright as a result of all the magnificent work you are doing today.

These are exciting times in the military, and particularly the Signal Corps. Never before in our history has change been so commonplace. And, we are transforming while at war. The new equipment and capabilities we are fielding will significantly enhance not only the Army's ability to communicate, but also our joint and coalition partners. To name just two of the many ongoing programs, at the tactical level we are fielding Joint Network Nodes, part of the Joint-Network Transport Capability--Spiral and at the strategic level the TELEPORT program is upgrading the legacy Standard Tactical Entry Port sites. The networks and information systems provided by the Signal Regiment are at center and are key enablers to every ongoing transformation effort in U.S. military.

I have been blessed throughout my entire career to have served with outstanding Soldiers, government Civilians, contractors and senior leaders. I would not be writing this column as the Chief of Signal had it not been for many of you. From my first assignment as a platoon leader in the 1st Infantry Division's Signal Battalion to my most recent assignment as the US Pacific Command J6; whether or not the assignment was tactical, strategic, or joint, I have had the opportunity to work with so many talented people who chose to serve our country--all of you. Without a doubt, it has been a very rewarding experience. Please accept my personal thanks and appreciation for everything all of you do. I am awed by the dedication and professionalism of the Regiment.

Look forward to a continuing dialogue in this column.

ACRONYM QUICKSCAN

JNN--Joint Network Node

JNTC-S--Joint-Network Transport

Capability--Spiral

STEP--Standard Tactical Entry Port

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