WASHINGTON –
Just as technological advancements remain constant, the District of Columbia National Guard’s G-6 training schedule remains equally constant for both scale and scenarios. Be it the Presidential Inauguration, the State of the Union, a natural disaster or any other high-visibility operation, communication is essential no matter the location.
“The most important part of any mission or operation is to be in sync with anyone tied to the mission,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Harry Melgares, G-6 NCOIC. “We need to ensure every player and stakeholder has the line of sight to reach everyone from leaders to ground troops to accomplish the mission.”
Recently, as part of a large-scale communications exercise (COMMEX), Staff Sgt. Melgares worked with communications Soldiers from all 50 states and four territories testing every system from radios to tactical satellite communications and conducting HF retransmission.
“It’s like any piece of equipment in your home or your vehicle—you have to constantly check it to ensure its components are working properly,” Staff Sgt. Melgares said. “We’re also getting ourselves prepped for unplanned mobilizations and deployments wherever they might be. So, at a moment’s notice we can and pick up and go.”
The exercise also included setting up the Joint Incident Site Communication Capability (JISCC) system, and a contingent communication center used in conjunction with various government partners to ensure versatility to operability. Should communications fail in one area, a JISCC would provide a communication source for responding units.
“We’re simulating a situation where we’re all able to operate at the same time,” said CPT Josh Watson, G-6 Tactical Communications Officer. “We normally do this level exercise at least once or twice a year because you never know what can happen in our environment, and it familiarizes all involved with each other’s capabilities.”
The D.C. National Guard’s G-6 is comprised of Soldiers responsible for the JISCC, cyber, information assurance, policy, and plans. If skillsets are not tested continually, confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data could be compromised by adversaries.