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Air National Guard leads Connecticut's joint inaugural support mission

By Capt. Bryon Turner, 103rd Airlift Wing / Published January 14, 2009

Connecticut Air and Army National Guard members anchor the antennae tower of the Joint Incident Site Communication Capability (JISCC) system. The JISCC allows global communication between federal, military, state and local authorities. (Clockwise from Left) Staff Sgt. Christopher P. Manner, 103rd Communication Squadron, Master Sgt. Gary M. Goncalo, 103rd Air Control Squadron, Staff Sgt. Ted Sevigny, Joint Forces Headquarters, and Staff Sgt. Tyler R. Waterman 103rd Air Operations Group work together to ensure the stability of the JISCC tower on June 5, 2008, during a training deployment to Camp Rell, Niantic, Connecticut. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Nicholas A. McCorkle)
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Connecticut Air and Army National Guard members anchor the antennae tower of the Joint Incident Site Communication Capability (JISCC) system. The JISCC allows global communication between federal, military, state and local authorities. (Clockwise from Left) Staff Sgt. Christopher P. Manner, 103rd Communication Squadron, Master Sgt. Gary M. Goncalo, 103rd Air Control Squadron, Staff Sgt. Ted Sevigny, Joint Forces Headquarters, and Staff Sgt. Tyler R. Waterman 103rd Air Operations Group work together to ensure the stability of the JISCC tower on June 5, 2008, during a training deployment to Camp Rell, Niantic, Connecticut. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Nicholas A. McCorkle)

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BRADLEY AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, East Granby, Conn. -- At the direction of Gov. M. Jodi Rell the Connecticut Air and Army National Guard will provide a high-tech communications system, and 12 personnel to support the Jan. 20 Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. 

"We will be attached to Joint Task Force District of Columbia," said Maj. John Warren, commander, 103rd Air Communications Squadron. "Our mission will be to deploy to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and provide communications capabilities to contingency operations in direct support of the presidential inauguration." 

Each state and territorial National Guard is equipped with a Joint Incident Site Communications Capability system which provides first responders with robust communication capabilities. 

"The JISCC enables local, state and federal agencies to communicate with each other via satellite, radio, telephone, and internet connectivity, while conducting operations in the field," said Warren. "Our joint team will provide a full spectrum of communications capabilities and seamless interoperability between government agencies as needed." Communicators from the 103rd Air Operations Group, the 103rd Communications Squadron, the 103rd Air Control Squadron, the 103rd Civil Engineer Squadron, and the Conn. Army National Guard will join JISCC teams from 11 other states and territories in the national capital region to provide equipment and technical support. 

"I am extremely proud of the leadership role our air operations group's air communications squadron has taken on this truly joint endeavor," said Lt. Col. Peter DePatie, commander, 103rd Air Operations Group. "This is the first deployment of the JISCC for real world operations and they are ready." 

This highly visible mission has created a buzz of enthusiasm within the JISCC team.
"I am ecstatic about the opportunity to take part in the historical event," said Airman 1st Class Brian Pagoni, a network infrastructure specialist with the 103rd Air Operations Group. 

The members of the JISCC team are eager to contribute their considerable skills to this event. While they quietly perform their duties behind the scenes, they hope to earn a place in our nation's history. 

"I am happy to be a part of this operation, it will be remembered as a historic event," said Tech. Sgt. Louis Manfredi, a firefighter with the 103rd Civil Engineer Squadron. "I will be able to look back and say I was a part of history."