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Deployed comm helps keep Airmen connected to fight

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Travis Edwards
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan --  
When speed is of the essence, seconds count.

In the age of cyber technological advancement, the only thing that can slow down a force is the speed in which the technology runs. If technology breaks, momentum halts. That's when the help desk swoops in to save the day.

"The faster we fix a problem, the faster they can get to their mission," said Staff Sgt. Joseph Jenness, 376th Expeditionary Communications Squadron help desk supervisor, deployed from Cannon Air Force Base, N.M. "We support the whole base and its mission pillars to ensure the mission continues."

With more than 7,500 computers at the Transit Center at Manas, these five help desk Airmen have their work cut out for them.

"We answer all kinds of calls every day," said Jenness, a native of Riverbank, Calif. "From things we can't do, to updating permissions."

Answering questions on the phone is only the tip of the iceberg for this quartet of technological professionals. A few doors away from their main customer service hub is a dimly lit room filled with a range of tools, computer-diagnostic machines and a large, flat-screen television.

Jenness explained the room is used to take apart computers to troubleshoot hardware and software problems. They use this area to fix a computer that isn't working quite right.

"Depending on what the issue is, we set it up and work our way though a few tests," said Tech. Sgt. Jeff Thorpe, 376th ECS NCO in charge of the help desk who is deployed from MacDill AFB, Fla. "From the assessment, we replace the broken part, debug the hard drive or reload drivers to the computer.

Debugging is a process of finding and reducing the number of bugs, or defects, in a computer program, and drivers help control a particular device that is attached to a computer.

Most of the time, the operating system just doesn't work and they have to return the computer back to original specifications, or re-image it, depending on what the computer is used for, Thorpe added, who is a native of Charles Town, W.V.

When fixed, one of the Airmen from the team delivers the computer or device back to the customer at their work area.

The turnaround time for these work orders used to take, on average, two hours. Now, they have it down to 35 minutes, effectively cutting wait times by about 75 percent.

"At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the customer," said Jenness. "When we get a smile or thank you over the phone; that is what makes it worth it. It's the closest thing we get to proving we're doing our job right."

In addition to fixing computers, the far side of the diagnostics room houses an Airman who is the mastermind behind free Wi-Fi available throughout the base. Airman 1st Class Thomas McKeghney, 376th ECS MoraleNet administrator and Wi-Fi technician, ensures the Wi-Fi is in working order and available to all Airmen stationed and transiting through the TCM.

The speed of the internet is about 1.8Mbps, about the same as a moderate internet plan in the United States.

McKeghney, who is deployed from Joint Base Andrews, Md., and is a native of Philadelphia, Penn., keeps tabs on more than 100 different Wi-Fi broadcasting terminals throughout the base. With his giant monitor, he tracks the status of each Wi-Fi terminal and the total bandwidth consumption for the base, just in case there is a need to coordinate for more.

"We pride ourselves on customer service; in the end we want them to be back to work as fast as possible; the faster we do that, the faster they can get to the mission," said Thorpe.
Seconds matter; whether aerial refueling or ensuring modern technology used in the fight against opposing forces works properly. Without the right tools working as they should, we lose. These technicians go full throttle to ensure those precious seconds are with the Airmen in the fight.