by Tech. Sgt. Craig Lifton, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- Joint Airborne Battle Staff members here are similar to 911 operators in the air as they ensure convoys operating throughout Iraq are never without communications.
JABS crews flying on board C-130 Hercules aircraft fill in the gap wherever ground communication is limited in the war zone, which is especially important on the dangerous Iraqi roads where improvised explosive devices, vehicle malfunctions and accidents threaten mission success.
"The Army needed an airborne communications platform," said Capt. Seana Jones, the Multinational Corps-Iraq JABS Detachment commander. "We can be more mobile and can provide coverage in the communications gaps."
The JABS was created to fill the Army's need to keep in constant communications with convoys as they travel throughout Iraq. Ground communications stations dot the countryside, but due to distance, terrain, mechanical issues and atmospheric conditions, the ground systems can't always provide 100 percent radio coverage.
"JABS is a crucial part of the convoy mission," said Army Spc. Jamie Lipscomb, a movement control specialist with the 486th Movement Control Team from Kaiserslautern, Germany. "Without JABS, it would be virtually impossible to speak with the convoys."
Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen make up the JABS crew. Coming from different bases and career fields, these servicemembers are joined to fulfill the JABS mission.
"I am learning about how the other branches work," said Army Spc. David Jarvis, a signal support specialist deployed to JABS from the Army Garrison in Bamberg, Germany. "Everyone brings something different to the table."
Operating on board a 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron C-130s, the JABS crew listens to convoy communications traffic. When ground communications are out, the convoying servicemembers can rest assured, knowing that JABS is overhead.
"Either we intercept the call and pass the information on, or they call us directly," said Captain Jones, a New Smyrna Beach, Fla., native deployed from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. "We can call out a quick-response force, explosive ordnance disposal or aeromedical evacuation."
Ensuring the servicemembers on the ground are ready for the fight is what JABS brings to the team.
"It's essential to the guys on the ground," said Navy Chief Petty Officer Dan Boyles, an avionics technician from the Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Va. "JABS gives the warfighters on deck a warm, fuzzy feeling to know they can count on us."
When JABS first started in March 2007, they had to start from scratch. They improvised and adapted to make the mission a success.
Resembling a police and fire emergency dispatch center in the air, the operating area -- four chairs arranged around a sturdy and equally secured table with laptop computers on top -- comes fully secured on a pallet, connected by cables to a second pallet with their communications equipment.
"We look out for all of the convoys," said Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathan Humphreys, an operations specialist deployed to the MNC-I JABS Detachment from the Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. "We know what can be potentially harmful and relay the information to them."
"When JABS first started, they strapped down a card table and four folding chairs," Captain Jones said. "Now, we use chairs from salvaged vehicles that are comfortable and can recline."
The radio system, known as the Joint Airborne Communication System, or JACS, was large and difficult to move on and off the aircraft. The newest JACS weighs 80 pounds and fits in a box.
The 777th EAS aircrews said they are proud to be a part of the mission.
"We work seamlessly with the JABS crew," said Capt. Kevin Eley an aircraft commander with the 777th EAS and native of Vienna, Va. He is deployed from Little Rock AFB, Ark. "We are one team, one fight."
As convoys continue to roll out on to the roads of Iraq, JABS crews keep an open ear to their communications, ready to help at a moment's notice.