Commo Stories

[QRQ 30]

05B/18E is an interesting MOS. Sometimes we experience things just as interesting as the "fun & Games" of the others. Your stories are welcome and wanted. Let me start with "commo in the south."

In 1969 I was participating in an FTX just west of Pinehurst. I was due to make a commo contact and was, alone, getting ready to set up. It was cold and raining and I saw a woodshed which would give some shelter from the rain. I was using the PRC-764 so no generator man was needed. Just as I got set up there was a knock at the door. It opened and I saw four of the biggest shotgun barrals in the world looking me right in the eye.

One man sayrs "BOY, what are you doing here?" I explained that I was on a military exercise and we had permission to use the land. He replied that the "land" didn't include that building. He told me to pack my shit and git and forget anything I saw. Only then did I notice the shelves lined with 1 gallon milk bottles filled with a clear liquid.

[Kyobanim]

LMAO! I love reading your stories. Have to clean my monitor off everytime I see one.

[CommoGeek]

Not sure that mine would compare but here goes.

JRTC: The Base and the EMS guys built an"emergency SATCOM antenna" out of a couple of coffee cans, some spare coax, and the ubiquitous 100 mph tape and proudly displayed it with our E&E gear. I think we fooled every non-commo guy with that one. It took a week for them to realize that they'd been had and we never saw the staff guys again....

Moving out across Camp Blanding near the DuPont site (if you remember the Fox show "Boot Camp" you saw DuPont with all of the white sand from titanium and phosphate mining) and seeing a fire up ahead. We go into a security halt and one of the guys creeps up there and then comes tearing back to us telling us to do a 180 and meet up on the hardball. We move out the 200m or so and ask "Okay, WTF is your problem?" The fire was from our local pagan group and they were dancing and chanting and what not. We set up our comm site elsewhere.

Deployed to LATAM, being bored with the 00-0400 shift and manually scanning the FM freqs when you come upon some American voices in helicopters for about 30 seconds or so describing LZ's and flight paths and wondering what was that all about. Knowing that your TF's aviation assets are parked for the night.

Listening to 5, 10, or 15 MHz for hours on end. When you go grab some chow you can hear in your head "At the tone the time will be XXX hours, YYY minutes coordinated universal time. Beeeeeeppppppp." AND it doesn't go away!

[QRQ 30]

When the Army first introduced the tactical FM radios into Germany there was a minor glitch. The squelch activation signal was onb the same freq as the Bundesbahn switches. They had to be recalled for an emergency MWO.

[QRQ 30]

A friend of mine, George Allen, in Germany used to have a regular routine when he set up. He would stalk around the site and sight through his hands like a movie director. He would explain that the signal would bounce off of this mountain, glance off of that and then roll down the valley to the receiving station. He was a real ham and even convinced some unsuspecting team members.

OTOH if you choose a site properly, surroundimg hills and structures can attenuate and reflect signals making RDF more difficult for the enemy.

[QRQ 30]

Has anyone noticed the preponderance of Commo men on recon teams, including Plaster. That's because the "Echo" can truly "SHOOT MOVE AND COMMUNICATE".

[QRQ 30]

This isn't a story as such but I try to get at least thread going per week, so here goes.

Being a close friend of Marconi, the most modern means of communications I witnessed while in the Army was a demonstration of autodin and autovon. These used automatic switching and relay technology which was the precursor of today's cellular systems. The A-Team still relied of HF and burst transmissions.

Just prior to ETS I used to sit around and chew the fat with my operators. I told them that the day wasn't too far off when the CEOI would look like a time table for COMSATs and they would have small, portable sattelite communications systems permitting direct links all the way to the Pentagon, if needed, and they would get timely intell and even data transmissions. My dream has come to past, what are yours.

[lrd]

Originally Posted by QRQ 30

This isn't a story as such but I try to get at least thread going per week, so here goes.

I participated in a discussion yesterday about "old" vs. "new" communications technology and how to use various combinations of the two. It reminded me of this thread.

I'm bumping your thread, QRQ 30. I enjoy the stories.

[bubba]

I am still waiting for the "Buick hood ornamant" comm system like Kirk's LOL

[Max_Tab]

Originally Posted by QRQ 30

This isn't a story as such but I try to get at least thread going per week, so here goes.

Being a close friend of Marconi, the most modern means of communications I witnessed while in the Army was a demonstration of autodin and autovon. These used automatic switching and relay technology which was the precursor of today's cellular systems. The A-Team still relied of HF and burst transmissions.

Just prior to ETS I used to sit around and chew the fat with my operators. I told them that the day wasn't too far off when the CEOI would look like a time table for COMSATs and they would have small, portable sattelite communications systems permitting direct links all the way to the Pentagon, if needed, and they would get timely intell and even data transmissions. My dream has come to past, what are yours.

My dream is a satcom radio and ant, under ten pounds capable of transmitting 50 watts with a battery life of 10 day's, capable of talking to every radio in the military. And make it bravo proof.
While I'm dreaming I'd also like a chain of command that doesn't demand 24 hr voice and data comms.

[KolB]

Definitely a nice dream Max... Though I'd simply settle for a few more decent WB channels.

[Dino]

Back in February 1979 I led a Marine Corps Comms detachment in Northern Norway on a NATO Exercise. Had a horrible time with the HF (Aurora Borealis was amazing), so we had to use it in a point to point mode to contact the Royal Marines. When my Puerto Rican operator from the Bronx tried to raise the Brits so I could arrange a meeting, he looked at me in a more confused than normal manner and muttered something about the "Captain's boots". I turned away to light a smoke, trying to figure out what he had been told. I spun around and asked "did he say that the Captain was OOT and ABOOT? He though for a minute, brightened up and said "yessir, that was it!" I smiled and told him to reply back for their Captain to return my call.

As I walked down the hill side I noticed Martinez staring at me, in wonderment. "That was their Sergeant Major on the hook. He is from Scotland". "Sir, what has that got to do with anything?" he exclaims. I I snubbed out my butt and explained that the Sergeant Major was stating that his Captain was "Out and About" - their way of saying he was screwing off someplace." Well sir, if they would just keep to speaking in English......"


Semper Fi!
Dino

[The Reaper]

Dino:

Do not post again till you reread your registration notice, and read all of the stickies, rules, and intros.

You have failed to complete your profile, introduce yourself in the proper place, or in short, do any of the things we ask new members to do before wading into a conversation.

TR

[SF18C]

While I'm dreaming I'd also like a chain of command that doesn't demand 24 hr voice and data comms.

+1 Total 100% agreement!

Don't these guys realize that even if the equipment was 100% operational sometimes I just need to take a nap!

[Monsoon65]

We did a field exercise in Mena, AK in 1992. We had two GRA-4 poles set up with 500 foot long wire antennas in the antenna field. Normal operating procedure.

We had an extra one set up closer to our tents. Normal antenna pole, but this one had an outdoor color TV antenna on it, a rotor controller and the civilian white TV antenna wire leading into our tent.