The 25U Soldier in a Mobilized Army: Job of the Signal Support Systems Specialist

The 25U Soldier’s job title is Signal Support Systems Specialist. Some of that Soldier’s job duties may include: installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting signal support equipment, radio systems, and data distribution systems; provides technical support and training for users. A Noncommissioned Officer’s (NCO) duties may include: supervising, installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting signal support systems, radio systems, and battlefield automated systems; provides training and unit technical assistance; prepares maintenance and supply requests. After several years, assuming promotion and potential, your job title may change to Forward Signal Support NCO, Senior Communications Sergeant and so on. In the U.S. Army, you are required to do your military occupational specialty (MOS) and your duties as a Soldier. Thus, this is noticeable as a mobilized Soldier.

Maintaining communication equipment involves cleaning, performing function checks, and keeping an accurate inventory of items. To clean a piece of radio equipment like a vehicular antenna, you would use a wire brush to clean the connectors to remove any debris. Cleaning a hand mike for your radio in combat often means using your own saliva and any type of cloth. It would be important to perform function checks of your radio so that you know it works before you leave for patrols. To complete a function check of a radio, you would turn a knob to self-test and make sure you can read “Good” on the radio’s display. After the function check, you would do a radio check with your company and battalion to ensure that you can communicate a reasonable distance away, which in combat would be up to forty kilometers. When doing an inventory of items, you would coun...

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...ipment to train everyone on, but the radio is most important. For instance, some other important equipment would be the jamming devices that disable improvised explosive devices and global positioning systems. The communications sergeant is also responsible for developing the younger Soldier’s knowledge of communications. Therefore, the communications sergeant’s role is critical to the success of the army.

Mobilization often means the demand for effective communication sky-rocketed. You can expect working 7 days a week at any hour of the day. Limitations you thought would never change will be exceeded. 25U Soldiers have been known to sleep anywhere too, including crammed trucks, cracked pavement, and old warehouses. One thing for sure, life as a 25U is much different than the life of a civilian. You just never know what to expect when you are deployed.