JCSE demonstrates capabilities at West Point

  • Published
  • By Nick Stubbs
  • Thunderbolt Editor
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  When your military career field is technology rich, there's nothing more rewarding than showing off all your toys and capabilities. That goes double when you are showing them to a group of tomorrow's military leaders at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Four members of the Joint Communications Support Element recently visited the academy as part of a military career day, taking along a number of the communication gadgets the joint service unit uses on the job. A highlight of the visit was a live satellite link to a forward location in which one of the cadets got to video conference with his best friend, who it turned out was assigned to the location in the link-up.

Staff Sgt. Mathew Lavalley, one of the JCSE team members at the academy, said there was a fair amount of interest in JCSE and the technology the unit uses to ensure communications during time of war, including internet, secure and non-secure telephone lines, satellite links and video feeds even from the most remote parts of the world.

"It (the visit) came off great," said Sergeant Lavalley. "We set up quickly, had very few technical issues and looked really good."

That pretty much sums up the goal of every mission JCSE takes on, as the unit is known for being able to hit the ground and have "comm." Established in very short order.

The power and importance of communication during conflict, if not already known to the cadets, was illustrated during a live video conference conducted between the academy and a forward location, where Col. William Burnham spoke to cadets from the field half a planet away. When one of the cadets realized his best friend, and best man at his wedding, was assigned to the colonel's unit, Colonel Burnham mustered him to the video camera. The two friends chatted and caught up courtesy of JCSE technology.

"They (the cadets) got to see that within 15 minutes VTC (video teleconference) could be established and two best friends could be brought together," said Sergeant Lavalley, adding it's the same technology and immediacy JCSE brings to the fight.

Other JCSE members who attended include Lt. Col. Jeff Worthington, 2nd JSCE commander, Sgt. Shaun Ellis and Cpl. Iliana Flores. While the request to attend came on short notice, JCSE responded well, Sergeant Lavalley surmised, and the team is looking forward to holding similar demonstrations in the future.