CAMP ATTERBURY JOINT MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ind., - "One, two, three, lift," a Soldier yells, as six other Soldiers simultaneously raise a tent moving it into position.
The sound of hammers striking metal-stakes fills the air as Soldiers secure other tents to the ground. Tent is an understatement. Indiana National Guard members from 219th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (BFSB) assembled a Standardized Integrated Command Post System (SICPS) during a training exercise to get better familiarized with the new equipment in preparation for their upcoming deployment.
Bob Rackley, lead trainer from Northrop Grumman Corporation, and a team of instructors travel the world training active duty, Guard and reserve Soldiers on every aspect of the system.
He said this system gives the Army a common tactical operations center, allowing Soldiers to receive identical training and equipment throughout the nation.
"This enables us to build a task force from any unit, and if I attached a different unit to the task force, then they would fall right in because they have identical equipment," he said.
Rackley said a large tent provides more than 1,120 square feet of usable space, to include a 12-ton environment control unit, also known as a heating and air conditioner, and is accompanied with a 33-kilo-watt generator. "The system is several tents connecting together to create a tactical operations center with more than 4,000 square feet of office space, where all the sections can operate together rather than in several tents scattered all over the place," he said.
Along with electricity and a controlled work environment, the system has internet, radio capabilities and live video feeds.
"This is especially important equipment for the state and the National Guard because of national disasters, such as a tornado," Rackley said. "The National Guard would have a command post that they could move right into a city that has been decimated by a tornado and set up the SICPS to support the state of Indiana."
Sgt. Maj. Richard Haston, operations noncommissioned officer in charge for the 219th BFSB, said SICPS could be utilized in a state or national emergency, and it would be a huge asset with real-time information and news.
"The SICPS will allow the 219th BFSB to operate in any environment, anytime and anywhere in the world with current and modern operation systems and information," Haston said.
Pfc. Alex Macomber, an intelligence analyst for the 219th BFSB, said it takes about one hour and 30 minutes to construct a large tent with eight people.
"This training is heavily reliant on teamwork," said Macomber. "You and seven Soldiers have to coordinate when to lift the tent simultaneously and then walk to place it in the right location."
Macomber said this training was a great experience, because it helped him build a stronger bond with his deploying Soldiers.
As the sun set and the chiming stopped, the only sound that could be heard in the open field where the SICPS waits peacefully is the hum of generators. But if disaster strikes, the Soldiers from 219th BFSB can utilize the SICPS in a moment's notice because of the training they received today.