C & E Section
(Communications & Electronics)

Captain
Karen Oland
Regiment C&E Officer

Amateur Radio Ops click here.

Duty description:

The C & E Section of the 3rd Regiment of the Tennessee State Guard is structured and operated according to U.S. Army Signal Corps standards. The mission of TNSG C & E Section is likewise essentially the same as that of the Army Signal Corps with the exception of limitations owing to non-availability of certain communications technologies within the state.

The mission of the TNSG C & E Section is to provide and manage communications and information systems support for the command and control of combined statewide forces. C & E support includes Network Operations (information assurance, information dissemination management, and network management) and management of the electromagnetic spectrum. C & E support encompasses all aspects of designing, installing, maintaining, and managing information networks to include communications links, computers, and other components of local and wide area networks. C & E forces plan, install, operate, and maintain voice and data communications networks that employ technologies available to the Tennessee State Guard. They integrate tactical, strategic and sustaining base communications, information processing and management systems into a seamless statewide information network that supports knowledge dominance for the Tennessee State Guard and cooperating agency operations.

Amateur Radio and the TNSG

Many 3REGT troops are also FCC licensed Amateur Radio Operators (ARO). Although most are normally assigned to sections other than C & E, these individuals will also contribute to TNSG radio communications effectiveness as capability continues to expand and become a critical factor in statewide and local mission fulfillment. These operators strictly follow all FCC regulations for Amateur Radio licensees in addition to the general operating procedures that are traditionally observed by the Amateur Radio community.

If you are in the 3REGT and are a licensed ARO or you are interested in obtaining an ARO license, please contact 1st Lt. Oland.

Amateurs holding a Technician Class FCC license form local VHF traffic nets (simplex or repeater based) that support TNSG operations and training within an immediate incident/training area. All that applies to the ARO HF nets detailed above also applies to these ARO VHF nets.

Signal Manuals & Documentation

The following manuals and forms relate to C&E operations within the TNSG. This section will expand as additional materials are collected and posted. For example, MP3 or WAV files of stations participating in simulated or actual radio nets will be placed here as an aid in learning acceptable Amateur Radio and TNSG net procedure.

History of the Signal Corps

The Signal Corps was authorized as a separate branch of the Army by act of Congress on March 3, 1863. However, the Signal Corps dates its existence from June 21, 1860, when Congress authorized the appointment of one signal officer in the Army, and a War Department order carried the following assignment: "Signal Department--Assistant Surgeon Albert J. Myer to be Signal Officer, with the rank of Major, June 27, 1860, to fill an original vacancy."

Under Major Myer's command, the unit transformed sign language used to communicate with deaf persons into a semaphore system incorporating red and white “wigwag” flags. During the Civil War, the Signal Corps operated air balloons and telegraph machines. By the time the United States entered the First World War in 1917, the corps had integrated the airplane and more advanced technology into its communications systems.

In World War II, the Signal Corps' size and role in military affairs increased dramatically. From a staff of 27,000 persons, it expanded to over 350,000 men and women by 1945. The need to coordinate swift and accurate communication for air, ground, and naval units required more sophisticated technology and services. The Signal Corps pioneered in the development of radar to detect approaching aircraft as well as mobile communications and deciphering machines.
 
In addition to its primary role in military transmissions, the unit also played a key role in producing training films for army and civilian personnel, and documenting combat missions. During World War II, noted Hollywood producers, directors, and photographers (such as Darryl Zanuck, Frank Capra, John Huston, and George Stevens) all served in the Signal Corps. They brought their talents in the motion picture studio to the field of battle, while dozens of others provided instruction to the personnel.
In the European theater of operations (ETO), Signal Corps photographers took part in the landings in North Africa, Italy, and later Normandy. On D-Day (June 6, 1944), members of the unit hit the Utah and Omaha beaches, forwarding the first film of the amphibious assaults to England via carrier pigeons. The Signal Corps subsequently documented every major military campaign in the ETO, producing millions of feet of combat film and hundreds of thousands of developed still images. From these sources, the Army supplied the news media in the United States and elsewhere with imagery of the war, using 24-hour air delivery service and later sophisticated telephoto electronic-transmission equipment
 
In the course of photographing World War II, the Signal Corps also played a crucial role in documenting evidence of Nazi atrocities and the Holocaust. Many of the early still and moving pictures of newly liberated Nazi concentration camps were taken by Army photographers such as Arnold E. Samuelson and J Malan Heslop. A number of these images were later transmitted to news agencies in America and other countries, where they helped to inform the world about the horrors of Nazism and the plight of concentration camp prisoners. The U.S. Army and the Allied military governments of Germany eventually used these photographs to confront German prisoners of war in the United States and the German population with the evidence of Nazi crimes.

Signal Corps Links

http://www.signalcorps.org/

http://www.us-army-info.com/pages/mos/signal/signal.html


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