ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- Providing critical communications for a variety of mission sets, often in austere and isolated locations, is the focus of the 51st Combat Communications Squadron.
Operating out of Robins Air Force Base in Georgia under the 5th Combat Communications Group, the 51st CBCS is one of only four active duty expeditionary combat communication squadrons in the Air Force and can deploy anywhere in the world, building networks and establishing radio communications for both ground and air assets.
“Our mission is to provide communications where there are none,” said 1st Lt. Iris Siegmund, 51st CBCS flight commander.
For the past six months, the 51st CBCS has had a chance to put its training into action as it supported the 11th Air Task Force in its inaugural deployment to the Pacific. Transitioning from Saipan to the Republic of Korea and then to Guam, the 51st CBCS provided internet access and radio communication not just to the 11th ATF but also to flying units it supported, such as the 51st Fighter Wing in the Republic of Korea.
Much of this was thanks to the squadron’s expeditionary communication kits—portable systems designed to provide network, voice and data access in austere environments, such as Conex container offices in Saipan.
According to Siegmund, the six-month deployment—which included three multilateral exercises, as well as real-world missions in Guam and other locations—was a “very, very good learning opportunity,” especially because the 5th Combat Communications Group hadn’t been tasked with a mission in the Pacific region for the past several years.
“This is the first time in years that we’ve brought this big of a communications package out anywhere,” Siegmund said. “There’s been a bit of a learning curve, and it’s provided a lot of lessons learned and updates that can be made to help improve the customer service aspect.”
Siegmund’s team included 27 members total, most of them junior enlisted Airmen who hadn’t deployed before. Despite the relative “greenness” of the team, however, Siegmund said they had several wins throughout their time in theater. For example, her team was one of the first within their group to deploy with the ability to reset Common Access Card pins.
“It’s a pretty huge capability when you’re in the middle of nowhere on an island, and the only way to get your CAC reset is fly somewhere,” she said. “We have saved a lot of money for the Air Task Force, and now we have developed all the standard operating procedures to stand it up for future teams to bring it out. We’ve had a lot of little projects like that; it’s more about the small wins for us. People have taken the initiative and said, ‘We saw a discrepancy out here,’ and instead of just documenting it and sending it up, which is still needed, we’ve been able to get after these projects while out here and work through them. That’s something, capability wise, I’ve been really excited to see, because it’s very beneficial operationally, both for the 5th Combat Communications Group and for future units coming out to support Pacific Air Forces.”
In fact, Master Sgt. Dakotah Steele, 51st CBCS superintendent, said that his team has developed 31 SOPs across six different Air Force Specialty Codes on nonstandard executions for their equipment—and it was mostly at his Airmen’s own initiative.
“I’m very proud of that, because they’re taking the initiative to figure out how things are done that we don’t normally do, and they’re figuring out how to share that with people to prevent the loss of tacit knowledge,” he said.
While at Andersen, the 51st CBCS participated in a range of activities, from off-island Subject Matter Expert exchanges with regional partners to projects with the 36th Contingency Response Group’s 644th Combat Communication Squadron. Whether the team was supporting an exercise or integrating with real-world operations, Steele said they’ve been able to learn from their experiences.
“We’ve consistently improved at all levels,” he said. “Our technicians are becoming stronger technicians; our team leaders are developing some very good NCO and leadership skills. Especially with the Combat Communication Squadron’s whole mission being train to deploy, it’s been extremely effective and in line with what we’re supposed to be doing for the Air Force anyway.”
Overall, Siegmund said she was proud of how her team performed throughout dynamic, unpredictable and challenging situations while supporting the 11th ATF—adding that the lessons they’ve learned and the skills they’ve honed will set up future units for success in the theater.
“I think we have, if not the best team in the 5th Combat Communications Group, one of the best teams, in actually being able to get these kits up, just because we’ve had so much practice now, having to run through different scenarios,” she said. “As a team, we’ve done some really awesome things and productive projects that add value. I’m really hoping those lessons learned will set up future combat communications technicians and make a big impact.”