ARMY AL&T


Harnessing Technology for War and Peace


The Signal Corps transferred the Aeronautical Division to the Army Air Service in 1918 but lost no time in meeting the technology challenges of World War I. Chief Signal Officer MG George Squier worked closely with private industry to develop radio tubes, creating a major signal laboratory at Camp Alfred Vail (later renamed Fort Monmouth), NJ. Early radio telephones were introduced to Europe during the war.


COL William Blair, a director of the Signal Corps laboratories at Fort Monmouth, patented the first Army radar (radio detection and ranging) device in May 1937. Mass produc- tion of two radar sets had begun before World War II. This radar became one of the most important communications developments of World War II, along with the production of tactical radios.


As of March 1942, the Signal Corps was one of the first organized com- ponents to supply both the Army Ground Forces and the Air Forces. It was responsible for establishing and maintaining communications service schools for officers and enlisted per- sonnel at Fort Monmouth. The Signal Corps developed radar, a term used to designate radio sets and similar equip- ment. However, the SCR-268 and 270 were not radios at all, but for top-secret reasons were designated as such. Radar emerged historically from the defensive need to counter the possibility of massive aerial attacks. Radar technology contin- ued to be developed and upgraded at the Fort Monmouth laboratories during World War II; development continued into the Cold War.


In 1946, the Signal Corps bounced radar signals off the moon, paving the way for space communications. The Corps also grew the first large quartz crystals used to manufacture electronic components, leading to the development


45 OCTOBER –DECEMBER 2010


of the circuit card. In December 1958, with Air Force assistance, the Signal Corps launched its first communica- tions satellite in space, demonstrating the feasibility of worldwide communica- tions. This led to the development of the first military Very High Frequency radio, which was used extensively during the Korean conflict.


The Vietnam War required high-quality telephone and message circuits, leading to the development of troposcatter radio links that could support locations more than 200 miles apart in a tropic environ- ment. The Signal Corps also developed a satellite communications service known as Synchronous Communication Satellite and a commercial fixed-station system known as Integrated Wideband Communications System, creating the Southeast Asia link in the Defense Communications System.


The escalation of the Vietnam conflict and the number of troops involved created an increasing need for an expanded communications infrastruc- ture. In spring 1966, the assorted Signal Corps units were reassigned to the newly formed 1st Signal Brigade. By the close of 1968, this brigade consisted of six Signal Corps groups and 22 signal battalions.


Advancements Continue Since the 1980s, development of com- munication technology has continued, upgrading older-technology radios and communications equipment with radios that send signals across many frequen- cies, “hopping” from one to another at lightning speed. Later generations of these radios were combined with encryption devices for improved secu- rity. By the advent of Operation Desert Storm, all Army units were deployed using the most secure communications equipment in the world.


On June 21, 2010, MG Randolph P. Strong, Commanding General, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics


Radio Operator CPL John Robbins, 41st Signal, 41st Infantry Division, operates his SCR-188 radio in a sandbagged hut at Station NYU, Dobodura, New Guinea, during World War II. (U.S. Army Signal Corps photo by T/4 Harold Newman.)


Command (CECOM) and Fort Monmouth, and a former Army Signal Corps Chief, said that with the closure of Fort Monmouth on the horizon, the day was one of both celebration and commemoration. “Fifty years ago, our predecessors buried this time capsule in honor of the 100th birthday of the U.S. Army Signal Corps,” Strong said. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Corps, Strong and others ceremoni- ously unearthed the capsule to prepare it for its move to the Army Signal Center and School at Fort Gordon, GA.


Command Historian Melissa Ziobro also commented, “I think it is really going to highlight just how far com- munication electronics technology has come; but I think it is also going to reinforce how little the Signal Corps mission will have changed.” The U.S. Army Signal Corps Museum has received the time capsule and is plan- ning an interment ceremony. The capsule will be reburied at Fort Gordon until June 21, 2060, when it will be opened to commemorate the Corps’ 200th anniversary.


ROBERT E. DEMUS is a CECOM Contracting Center Procurement Analyst. He retired with more than 20 years of service in the Army Signal Corps. He holds a B.S. in public admin- istration from Brenau University. Demus is certified Level III in contracting and is a member of the Army Signal Corps Regimental Association and the National Contract Management Association.


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