The White Falcon - 06.08.1993, Qupperneq 4

Signal company troops bounce, scatter and listen
Story and photos by
J03 (SW) Andreas Walter
Having placed troops and support equip-
ment into the far reaches of Iceland and
successfully performing pre-planned scenar-
ios, Northern Viking ‘93 is now complete.
As part of the communications or COMEX
segment of the exercise, 28 active duty sol-
other half to continue on to Akureyri.
The soldiers had a chance to test their abili-
ties with communications when a mechani-
cal problem surfaced with one of their trucks.
“The field problem proved that even in the
most prepared situations, little inconveniences
can crop up. This was an ideal scenario to test
our gear’s ability to reach Keflavfk. In the
end, the problem was resolved on the spot
and the trip continued on,” said Maj. Lanny
Lee Carroll USAR, Communications and
In order for the signal company to fulfiUj
the requirements of their mission, a clefl
signal needed to be received on the southed
part of Iceland, or in the capital city of
Reykjavik.
“We employ a method known as TROPO,
short for tropospheric scatter. A wide signal
is sent skyward where it hopefully bounces
off the atmosphere and back down to a re-
ceiver. After colliding with the atmospheric
level, the signal broadens considerably, thus
the term ‘scatter’,” said Sgt.
Delgado.
He went on to explain the prob-
lems that the signal troops faced
once they reached Akureyri.
“The town of Akureyri sits at
the end of a fjord, nesded down in
a valley and compledy surrounded
by mountains on three sides. In
order for us to accurately send a
clear signal, or shot, to the relay
station, it must travel without hit-
ting obstacles. We were faced
with these mountains all around
us, and so were forced to move our
equipment and find alternative
locations every day.”
This sounds fairly straightfi
ward, yet there are complication?
that take place behind the scenes.
“Each time a new sight is se-
lected, the owner of the land must
be found, and permission asked of
the individual to use the land. We
found nothing but open and will-
ing personalities among the
ive
I
A 50 year old Army quonset hut forms an interesting backdrop to the communications setup.
See AKUREYRI on page 5
diers from the 514th Signal Company from
Ft. Bragg, Ga. were in Akureyri to set up a
line of communication from the northern
town to Naval Air Station, Keflavfk.
“If we can get phone connections from up
here to the base, we’ve successfully com-
pleted our mission,” stated Sgt. Oscar
Delgado, team chief for the signal company.
As an integral part of the whole Northern
Viking exercise, the COMEX element was
designed to test equipment under varying
conditions, and to assure that in the event of
a natural disaster or emergency of sorts,
communication could be retored to the outer
limits of the island.
The troop convoy left the base the night of
July 29 and split up in the town of Borganes,
with one half going to the interior of the
island to set up a signal relay station, and the
Electronics Staff
Officer for the
Iceland Defense
Force (IDF). Car-
roll is a member
of the Army Aug-
mentation Unit
assigned to IDF,
and was filling a
role as an ob-
server and advi-
sor to the signal
company.
“I let the guys
work their prob-
lems on their own
and kept my
hands off,” he
added.
1st. Lt. Joel Nadeau applies make-up during the FTX in Akureyri.
4
The White Falcon