The 1st Brigade of The Texas State Guard (State Defense Force) spent their February training drill ensuring their troops are all Radio Operator trained and certified. During natural disasters and statewide emergencies one of the first systems that becomes overwhelmed is the communication system. Whether it’s the result of an overload of the system or because the power system went offline the military needs to stay connected with local responders as well as Federal Agencies based throughout the country. No communications is not an option. To ensure that will never happen The Texas State Guard has backup communication stations based throughout the State. These key resources allows The Texas Military to communicate with all of its units and emergency responders throughout the state and country in any conditions.
Texas State Guard service members from the 1st Brigade earn their basic Radio Telephone Operator (RTO) certification at the Texas National Guard Armory, Grand Prairie, on Jan. 28, 2023. Service members completed the RTO course in Very High Frequency/High Frequency (VHF/HF) operations setting up single and dual-band routers and a 40 ft radio antenna. The course prepares guardsmen for natural disasters and coordinates emergency response efforts essential to assist communities.After the RTO class, a few TXSG service members gained hands-on radio operation experience. The operators participated in the setup, operation, and take down of a radio station, and a live event that went approximately 14 hours on air overnight, in the Amateur Radio Winter Field Day contest with plenty of coaching, questions and answers, and brainstorming.Congratulations to Sgt. Eric Soldevilla, 2Lt. Srinivas Inaganti, and Ltc. David Landers, licensed amateur radio operators, as each achieved First HF Contact, First National HF Contest, and other distinctions. Being the first such radio operation for this team, the team achieved a score of 4,000 points with an initial score goal of 1000 points, easily winning multiple distinctions in the radio community. (Photos by Cpl. Keith Bernabo and MSgt. David Johnson)
Source: Texas State Guard
