Fort Detrick Standard 20 Jan 2005
Post's handheld radios expand range with new system
Detrick linked to metro system; can speak to Pentagon, Meade in crisis
by Staff Reports
It will soon be possible for Fort Detrick personnel to talk to someone at the Pentagon or Fort George Meade, Md., over handheld radios.
The new Land Mobile Radio Communications system links Fort Detrick and 10 other Army installations in the National Capitol Region area through a wide-area network communications system where personnel can communicate on voice quality handheld radios, said Mike Batt, manager of the new radio system.
The system also features an interoperability gateway, giving Fort Detrick and the other Army posts access to talk to Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., public safety and law enforcement officials on the same frequency.
The National Capitol Region is the first Department of Defense agency to install the linked trunk radio system, although other local and state agencies across the country either have or are planning to purchase the system, said Batt, senior voice telecommunications engineer and frequency manager with the U.S. Army Garrison Directorate of Information Management.
It is financed by U.S. Army's project manager for Defense Communications and Army Transmissions Systems, assistant project manager for Base Radio Systems who awarded the $11 to $16 million contract to M/A-Com, part of Tyco Electronics and a leading manufacture of Internet protocol-based public safety communication systems. The contract includes site preparation, training and life-cycle maintenance.
New tower
To support the system, a 150-foot tower and shelter were installed in November behind the 302nd Signal Brigade's Headquarters Building along Porter Street.
The latest technology P-25 radios deliver digital voice quality conversations compatible with the federal government's secure communications policy.
"It's part of a Homeland Security initiative to have emergency responders communicating on the same frequencies," said Batt, citing the breakdown of communications during the World Trade Center's collapse on Sept. 11, 2001, when many firefighters, police and other emergency personnel were unable to communicate with each other on their diverse radio systems.
Better than current system
Fort Detrick currently uses a system installed about 12 years ago that limits the range of communications to the post or within just a mile or so away, said Capt. Dan Shereika, chief of the Fort Detrick Police Department.
"The new system will give us much more flexibility and options during emergency situations and the capability to communicate with local emergency personnel. It also has secure channels when we have a special operations incident," said Shereika.
Batt can operate the system from servers installed at the Telecommunications Office in Bldg. 810.
"I can program each radio or the entire system on the fly to meet the user's requirements for any situation," he said.
The project was originally an extra duty for Batt who came to Fort Detrick about three years ago from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
"Now, it's taken over my job," he said.
He gets help from his assistant, Xiomara Nichols, to oversee the installation of the system and get it up and running.
"It's going to revolutionize the way our emergency personnel can communicate," Batt said.
