Team brings captured base online

4/24/2003 - OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM (AFPN) -- Warfighters had a big problem as coalition combat forces pushed through Iraqi defenders: their tactical communications systems were not enough for the job at hand, but a better, more permanent solution wasn't yet available anywhere near the front.

Air Force engineering installation teams stepped up to the challenge with a breakthrough way to quickly assess and project what was needed at captured enemy bases to bring them online, this time fighting against Saddam's regime.

Recently captured Tallil Air Base, near An Nasiriyah in the southern Iraqi desert, was the test case for this new approach. Instead of a whole EI team, combat communicators deployed only a team leader, one active duty engineer and an Air National Guard engineer with installation experience. The unique active-Guard team mix brought to bear the extensive practical experience so often found in Guard units and was a constant force multiplier throughout the deployment.

EI warriors now serving throughout Southwest Asia have a proud history and tradition. They're a small but productive military organization that epitomizes total force. Active duty and Air National Guard units work side by side to engineer, install, and document permanent communications equipment, fiber optics, telephone cable, radios, computers, and navigation equipment.

The Tallil team got the first taste of the job ahead when they inspected the base, saw how the "previous management" built it and then had to decide whether the current communications system could be used in some way. The close look also allowed the team to determine the right number and mix of engineers, installers, material, and vehicles needed at the base.

The team found that many manholes were damaged, most buildings had no communications hook-ups and the air traffic control tower's cables were ripped out of the walls and piled on the ground. Empty concrete pads showed where antenna towers once stood.

The team first determined that the manhole and duct system could be used to run communications cable despite the damage. They also salvaged several Iraqi air force antenna towers and worked out the proper control tower configuration with Tallil's airfield manager. The team made sure Air Force and Army units at Tallil were careful to preserve whatever communications equipment still existed. Their efforts helped ensure that the base will get what it needs to lift it to Air Force communications standards.

"We made a lot of progress in just a few days," said Lt. Col. Mark Adams, the EI team leader. "Our teams saved money and time by identifying what was useable, coordinating support before larger teams arrived and also got the right (mix) of EI troops, material, and equipment started here much earlier. EI truly has an early role to play in the reconstitution of a bare or damaged base," he said.