RAF CROUGHTON, England -- Airmen from 422nd Communications Squadron hosted a tour and training emergence of their High Frequency Global Communications System for Airmen from the 48th Communications Squadron and 100th Communications Squadron at Royal Air Force Croughton, England on August 9, 2018.
The purpose of the visit was to enhance their knowledge of how the variety of operating systems work in these types of specialized facilities, and give the Airmen experience with some of the radio and antenna equipment before possibly being stationed at one of the thirteen across the globe.
These HFGCS sites are a network of single sideband shortwave transmitters the U.S. Air Force utilizes for communication with aircraft in flight, ground stations and some U.S. Navy assets.
“It is useful when you get the opportunity to see what other communication Airmen are doing and build on those relations, which strengthens our capabilities.” said Staff Sgt. Dorian Brooks, 422nd Communications Squadron Radio Maintenance Supervisor.
By the end of the tour, each Airmen had a better understanding of how the facility transmits emergency action messaging, what specialized maintenance requirements are needed at the HFGCS, how the operator console is configured and how the different communications sites are connected to one another to meet U.S. Strategic Command’s overall mission requirements.