Special Ops Signal Bn provides special support for Operation Iraqi Freedom

Army Communicator, Fall, 2003 by Patrick Flood

Fort Bragg is the home of the United States Army's only Special Operations Signal Battalion. This organization is charged with providing support for Army and Joint Special Operations Forces including: Army Special Forces, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations, Special Mission Units and Theater Special Operation Commands.

At the time of the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, 112th Signal Battalion was engaged in military exercises and operations in five different countries spread across three continents.

Since reactivation in 1986, 112th Signal Battalion missions and deployments have been worldwide and continuous, providing communications support to Army and Joint SOF organizations. In fiscal year 2001, the battalion supported six overseas joint exercises, including deployments to Thailand, Jordan, Mali, Nigeria, Germany, Korea, four Joint Readiness Training Center exercises and four internal Battalion Signal Strike exercises. With only two line companies and a headquarters company, at this pace, it was challenging to maintain well-trained and deployment-ready operators, capable of operating the high tech systems.

Identifying the need to restructure in order to better support training, unit readiness and deployments, LTC Robert T. Bell, former commander of the 112th Signal Battalion, (2000-2002), activated Company C as a third line company in July 2001. This allowed the battalion to institute a three-cycle training model. Each 90 day cycle is denoted by a color (red, green and amber) representing a specific focus for that company.

Each of the companies rotate through the three cycles with one company ready to deploy in support of joint and Army SOF missions at any given time. The Red Cycle is considered the support cycle. The focus of the Red Cycle company is leaves, schools and post support. The Amber Cycle company supports all missions whether in the Continental United States or outside CONUS. The Green Cycle company executes an intense training cycle consisting of ranges, technical training and certification, as well as, individual, collective and crew tasks which contributes to the company's readiness. This culminates in a Signal Strike validation exercise and Command Inspection and Mission Assumption Brief.

The validation determines whether the company is fully trained to assume mission support anywhere in the world. Through the disciplined implementation of the cycle system, the 112th Signal Battalion was trained to fight and win while maintaining an exceptional state of readiness prior to Sept. 11, 2001, and the beginning of the Global War on Terror. United States Army Special Operations Command and the Department of the Army recognized this exceptional status by awarding the unit the Army Award for Maintenance Excellence (runner-up for 2002 and 2003), and the 2002 Department of the Army Deployment Excellence Award.

Realizing the impact that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks would have on soldiers and their families in this unit, the 112th Signal Battalion leadership stood ready to support combat operations. Within 96 hours of the attacks, Company A redeployed from Camp McKall, N.C., where it was conducting its mission assumption exercise, Signal Strike, and began crisis action planning in support of proposed operations in Afghanistan.

Company A deployed to Uzbekistan on Oct. 4, 2001, and established communications for the 5th Special Forces Group within 24 hours of their arrival. On Oct. 7, 2001, in the President's address to the nation, the President announced to the American public that he United States military [had] begun strikes against Al Qaeda terrorists training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Since that historical announcement, the 112th Signal Battalion has deployed over two hundred soldiers to eight countries on three continents in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Almost two years later, the 112th Signal Battalion continues to support Operation Enduring Freedom with its soldiers deployed in Afghanistan and other locations around the globe.

While the 112th remained committed to its ongoing mission in Afghanistan, the battalion deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Exercise Early Victor in September 2002. During Early Victor, the battalion established a cohesive relationship with the SOF units it supported. The rapport between the battalion and the supported units was strengthened through the establishment of procedures and the identification of key leaders and their roles and responsibilities.

In November 2002, to further strengthen the confidence in this relationship, the 112th Signal Battalion incorporated two Special Forces Groups in to the largest Signal Strike validation exercise in the unit's history with two companies from the 112th Signal Battalion deployed throughout the U.S. This experience allowed the companies to establish installation procedures, equipment strappings and recovery procedures that were synchronized with the Signal Centers for both Joint Special Operations Task Forces and Forward Operating Base Headquarters built around the two Special Forces Groups. The lessons learned during Early Victor were reaffirmed during the Signal Strike and the December 2002 Central Command's exercise Internal Look.