Stars and Stripes, DC
May 5 2007

Troops from 42 nations network at exercise

By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, May 5, 2007

BAUMHOLDER, Germany – They speak in an obscure language about things
like frequency management and interoperability. Wires are everywhere
around them, running in a tangled web beneath towering antennas and
satellite dishes aimed at the sky.

More than 1,000 communications experts from around the world are busy
in Baumholder, where they’re engaged in a two-week program with a
simple objective.

`It’s all about communication,’ said Navy Lt. Nancy Harrity. `This is
so commanders can talk with their troops in the field. You’ve got so
many different nations here. They come together and learn so much
from each other.’

U.S. European Command is sponsoring the 13th annual Combined
Endeavor, a communications and information systems exercise at Lager
Aulenbach in Baumholder. The exercise includes a forward operating
site at the Air Institute in Yerevan, Armenia. The purpose is to
ensure that systems are ready to operate during deployment,
minimizing the potential for a breakdown in the heat of battle.

For Marines out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., the exercise is that first
opportunity to test a new piece of equipment: the Remote Subscriber
Access Module. The switching device is easy to carry and allows for
multiple telephone functions in the field.

`It’s brand-new. This is our first international exercise and it’s
going well,’ said Marine Sgt. Elisandro Patino, a switch technician
with the 8th Communications Battalion.

The telephone switching machine was introduced in January, Patino
said.

Around the training area in Baumholder, one communication tent backs
up to another. Country flags, as numerous as the languages being
spoken inside the mini-communication compounds, are posted outside
the tents. Some 1,200 personnel from 42 nations are participating in
the exercise. NATO and Partnership for Peace also are taking part.

In one tent, Croatian technicians were sending messages to their
Finnish counterparts in a point-to-point communication test.

`We’re conducting a lot of tests and learning what other nations do,’
said Ivan Puhalo, a second lieutenant in the Croatian army.

It’s not all business, though.

The Croats, in particular, are using the international exercise as an
opportunity to promote tourism back home. Travel brochures are
stacked in their tent and rest near a bottle of wine – a gift from
the French.

`It’s a beautiful country,’ said Puhalo, making his pitch for
Croatia.

Each year, new pieces of technology are incorporated into the
exercise. A decade ago, hand-cranked phones were commonplace in the
field, Harrity noted. But not anymore.

`It’s amazing how quickly the technology has moved forward,’ Harrity
said. `These are the people who make that happen.’

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