ATLANTIC CITY AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.J. --
Hundreds of miles from home, Airmen from the Massachusetts Air National Guard's 212th Engineering Installation Squadron are in South Jersey doing final telecommunications upgrades that culminate a ten year project. The unit, which is based out of Otis Air Force Base, Ma., is a specialized group that travels throughout the northeast region assisting other National Guard bases with communications infrastructure.
"Atlantic City is an enjoyable place to work. This is one of the bases we've been supporting for a long time," said Master Sgt. Keith Delage, as his team was working to splice cables deep in a manhole. "I've been coming here for about eight years now, and the leadership and other Airmen from the 177th Fighter Wing have been very helpful with getting us what we need to get the job done."
The latest mission for the 212th EIS has lasted two weeks, and has seen Air National Guardsmen from across the communications career field teaching each other their trade.
"This is great for our new guys that are training," continued Delage, "because on jobs like this we do cable pulls, work with copper and fiber, and even antenna work. We have radio Airmen assisting with splicing, and infrastructure guys shadowing and assisting the radio Airmen, so it's a great learning experience. They're getting the full spectrum of communications."
"Once again, the professionalism of the 212th is apparent in their work," said Lt. Col Thomas Dahl, commander of the 177th Communications Flight. "They have been repeating years of quality service to the 177th Fighter Wing."
Airman 1st Class Jonathan Tuxbury, an RF radio specialist from the 212th EIS on his first trip said," It's been really interesting and educational seeing the Air National Guard cyber spectrum, all of those layers coming together. We have RF radio specialists, airfield systems specialists, and cable/antenna systems Airmen all working together to complete the mission."