1st Lt. Jason Shin, Bravo Company platoon leader, 304th Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade, sweeps the entrance of the mess tent after a snowfall during Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, and Integration. (Seo Ki-chul / U.S. Army)
1st Lt. Jason Shin, Bravo Company platoon leader, 304th Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade, sweeps the entrance of the mess tent after a snowfall during Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, and Integration. (Seo Ki-chul / U.S. Army)
Soldiers from the 304th Signal Battalion erect tactical FM antennas on Hilltop 448, near Yongin. (Seo Ki-chul / U.S. Army)
Spc. Justin Bates, a wire system installer with the 304th Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade, conducts a voice check on a tactical phone. (Seo Ki-chul / U.S. Army)
YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — A company of 14 soldiers spent most of this month camped out in the snow ensuring radio signals traveled clearly between Korean and U.S. military leaders as they conducted their biggest combined military exercise last week.
Company B, 304th Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade set camp on a hill about an hour from the North Korean border to relay voice and data information for commanders during the week-long exercise.
The small company was one of the groups during the last week that performed “actual” missions, rather than the simulated ones that make up much of the action during the war games, according to 1st Lt. Jason Shin, who oversaw Company B’s work last week.
“We’re the only site that is completely in the field,” Shin said Thursday morning during a phone interview.
Foal Eagle and Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration wrapped up over the weekend after thousands of American and Korean troops staged a war-like response to an unnamed enemy. It was the 44th annual Foal Eagle exercise and the fourth time it’s been combined with RSOI, first held in 1994.
Shin said he and his soldiers went up to Hill 448 about three weeks ago to set up the equipment and begin testing for any problems. “Initially, we had to work fast and furious to get our links in,” added Shin, 27, of La Mirada, Calif.
The soldiers linked UHF signals between Command Post Tango, where U.S. commanders run the exercise, to leaders of the 3rd Republic of Korea Army, who are stationed nearby, Shin said.
“Our links have been solid since day one,” he said.
This was Spc. Michael Gregory’s second year with the 304th and working 12-hour shifts during RSOI and Foal Eagle.
“I love it up here,” he said Thursday. “It’s a big team effort. That’s the best part about it.”
The soldiers set up one tent for sleeping and another stocked with a few cooking stoves, a DVD player and television and tables for mealtimes. Gregory, 23, of Montgomery, Ala., said he also enjoys the weather. It snowed Wednesday night.
Gregory said he felt that the pressure of providing live radio links in the past week really has prepared him for actual wartime.
“I feel better prepared to go out into the field and know what to look for in real-war missions,” he said.
