by Senior Airman Emmanuel Santiago
103rd Airlift Wing, Public Affairs
7/10/2014 – SEA GIRT, N.J. — Airmen from the 103rd Air Control Squadron deployed to the National Guard Training Center here June 8 – 18 where they successfully established remote connectivity to specific simulation systems located in Connecticut, an achievement that, according to unit leadership, had never been accomplished before by any air control squadron.
The deployment began with an advanced echelon team, or ADVON, led by Lt. Col. John Breisler and 2nd Lt. Fred Bond, both assigned to the 103rd ACS, which left for Sea Girt on June 5 to prepare for the arrival of the bulk of the unit’s Airmen, who departed on June 8.
“ADVON and main body convoy arrivals at the tactical site were smooth and efficient,” said Lt. Col. John Breisler, who served as the deployment’s chief of maintenance. “The convoy commanders managed their respective convoys well; this is significant considering the number of newer unit members in the convoys.”
The mission was to deploy much of the unit’s equipment and personnel via convoy to establish a functional tactical site in the field. From there the goal was to utilize radio, satellite and various theater deployable communication systems to connect with multiple locations, including their own home station in Orange, Connecticut, where some of the unit’s Airmen remained and participated.
The unit is trained and equipped to establish largely self-sufficient tactical sites from which they provide command and control support to military aircraft. From establishing generator power and building tents from which to work, to connecting operations modules to remote radar feeds and setting up on-site communications, a deployment like this is a significant undertaking. But the men and women of the 103rd ACS are no strangers to these tasks, having supported missions throughout Southwest Asia in recent years.