Unit's 'jump' has dual reasoning (11th Signal Brigade)

Sierra Vista Herald, Sierra Vista Arizona ^ | Bill Hess

[SandRat]

WILLCOX — Some soldiers of the 269th Signal Company jumped from Fort Huachuca to this agriculture community in northeastern Cochise County Tuesday.

In the military, “jumping” is the movement of a unit from one place to another, like what is happening the next couple of weeks with the 11th Signal Brigade during Huachuca Thunder 2006, an exercise to validate the brigade’s communications equipment.

But Monday’s jump for a small group of the 269th also was to show appreciation to students at the Willcox school system, especially the middle school students.

The students became pen pals with one of the 269th’s sister companies, the 69th, most of whose soldiers are in Iraq. The 269th and 69th are part of the brigade’s 504th Signal Battalion. The 69th is due back from Iraq in May.

Sarah Williams, 12, said she has corresponded with Spc. Alyce Hightower.

“I asked her what did she like to do and if she had a pet,” the sixth-grader said.

Hightower’s response was she likes to dance but doesn’t have a pet, Sarah said.

A student at Willcox Middle School said she enjoyed the pen pal program because it gave her the opportunity to write to a soldier and express her appreciation for what Hightower was doing.

Jesus Machado, 12, has written six letters to Sgt. 1st Class Bobby Brown.

“I asked him about his family,” the sixth-grade student said.

The soldier’s response was that he has a daughter and a dog named Otiz, Jesus said.

The middle school student also wanted to know how Brown faired on his physical training test and the response from the noncommissioned officer was he aced it, getting a 300.

Some of the 269th soldiers put students through some PT at the park.

Jesus said he could do a few push-ups, but Sarah remarked, “I couldn’t even do one.”

Besides push-ups, soldiers and students ran around a serpentine paved area and not always did the GIs come in first.

Sixth-grade teacher Mercedes Rivera said the pen pal idea had two goals. First was to instill patriotism in the students. The other was to improve their writing skills.

“I thought it would help on their AIMS test,” Rivera remarked.

And the pen pal program did bring some writing scores up, she said.

Of the approximately 400 students from elementary school through high school who took part in the Monday event, 200 of them — all middle school students — were involved in the program, Rivera said, adding it was all letter writing through the postal service.

The display of Signal Corps equipment was designed to show the students what soldiers use when deployed.

Some students had the opportunity to use a remote control device to hook up a box and move it around. Others sat in the control chair of a pole truck, which was not operated.

Students also had the opportunity to talk on a radio, which they enjoyed, Sgt. Gus Gonzalez said.

“Hi, I can hear you,” or “I can’t hear you; speak louder” were some of what the students said through the radio, said Gonzalez, an assistant section sergeant in the 269th.

What surprised the young people was that the radio system they were using had a distance of 40 miles, he said.

When it came to the Triband, a special piece of equipment that incorporates a dish that can connect to a satellite and provide multiple communications to users, the students were interested in seeing the dish rotate, said Sgt. Matthew Green, a Triband team chief.

Soldiers took off their battle gear and allowed students to put the equipment on.

Students put on gas masks, body armor, helmets and other gear, although most students declined to have the heavy knapsacks put on their shoulders.

More than one student could only comment “wow, heavy.”

First Lt. Joseph Kachmar, the 269th’s executive officer, was in one area helping the students put on the gear.

The object of the administrative jump was to let the students know what the brigade does.

The exercise began Monday. That night, the 269th tore down its site on the fort and moved out early Tuesday morning to set up in Willcox, Kachmar said. Later Tuesday, the unit would jump back to the post and set up again and return to the exercise.

The brigade is not only at various post sites. Elements of the organization will be at Chandler, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Douglas, Picacho Peak and Safford in Arizona, as well as Lordsburg, N.M.

Tuesday’s dual jumps will not be the final ones for the unit during the exercise.

“We’ve already been told we’re going to jump at least twice more,” Kachmar said. “We don’t know when or where.”

[SandRat]

Fourth-grader Katie Kraus wonders if her classmates can say something other than "hello" as she learns about military radio use from Sgt. Gus Gonzalez of Fort Huachuca. (By Ed Honda-Herald/Review)

[SandRat]

Can I hear a Dit-Dah, Dit-Dah, and see a Wig-Wag, Wig-Wag for the 11th Signal Brigade???

[E.G.C.]

BTTT