D 101.2:H 62/14 A ILJ' vW HISTORY OF V V * Army Communications and Electronics at Fort Monmouth , New Jersey 1917 - 2007 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/historyofarmycomOOfort UNIV. OF FL LIS. DOCUMENTS PE»T. NOV 1 2 2C33 A U.S. DEPOSITORY HISTORY OF ARMY COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS AT FORT MONMO UTH, NEWJERSEY 1917-2007 , For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; DC area (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202) 512-2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402-0001 ISBN 978-0-16-081359-7 Prepared by the Staff of the Historical Office Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans U.S. Army CECOM Life Cycle Management Command Fort Monmouth, New Jersey 2008 Design and layout by Solari Creative Inc. This history is dedicated to all the men and women, military, civilian, and contractors who have served at Fort Monmouth, NJ; past, present and future. 9781 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword xiii Preface xv Acknowledgements xvii 1 . The Beginning and World War 1 1 Camp Little Silver 2 Camp Alfred Vail 3 The Radio Labortaory and Aerial Testing 4 Initial Use Of Homing Pigeons 4 Armistice and Demobilization 6 The Signal Corps School 6 2. Post War and the 1 920s 7 Signal School Development 7 The Camp Becomes a Fort 7 The Laboratory - Lean Years To Consolidation 7 Signal Corps Board 8 Post Organizations 8 Famous Firsts 8-10 Permanent Construction Begins 9 Citizens Military Training Camp 9 3. Peacetime Training - 1930s 11 Post Units - Maneuvers and Marches 1 Signal Corps School 1 Corps Laboratories and Radar 12 Famous Firsts 13-14 Completion of Pre-World War II Construction 16 Signal Corps Publications Agency 1 389th Army Band 1 4. Build Up and Training - World War II 19 Limited Emergency 1 Signal Corps Replacement Center 19 Local Sites Leased 21 Officer Candidates 21 Famous Firsts 22 Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps 22 Wartime Laboratories 24 Enhanced Use of Homing Pigeons 25 Fighting Falcons 27 End of the War 27 Project Diana 29 Celebrity Notes 30 5. Korea and the 1950s 31 Signal Corps Center 3 Continued Construction 32 Unit Movements 33 Fort’s Darkest Hour 33 Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories 36 Famous Firsts 36 Pioneering African Americans 3 Deal Site Tracks Sputnik 39 Satellites 40 Celebrity Notes 40 1 6. AMC/ECOM and Vietnam 41 Reorganization 41 Vietnam * 42 Famous Firsts 44 The Signal School Transfer 46 Celebrity Notes 46 7. The 1970s 47 ECOM to CERCOM/CORADCOM to CECOM 49 8. The 1980s 51 CECOM 51 Post Improvements 52 Tenant Organizations 53 Modernizing the Force 54 Cold War Connection 56 9. The Gulf War 57 10. A Decade of Realignment and Digitization - 1990s 61 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 63 Reshape II 67 Team C4IEWS Forms 68 Training the Work Force 68 CECOM ’s Responsibility for Information Technology and Support Broadens 69 Task Force XXI, Advanced Warfighting Experiment 70 The Digital Integrated Laboratory 72 The Battle Labs and Warfighting Experiments 73 Advanced Technology Demonstrations and Technical Achievements 74 Technology Applied to Logistics 77 Quality Improvement 78 Customer Service 79 Teaming for Change 80 CIPO: A Focus On Interoperability 81 Revolutionizing Military Logistics 81 Streamlining the Contracting Process 81 The Ordering Officer Program 88 Commercial Activities (CA) Studies 88 The Balkans 88 The War On Drugs 9 Hurricanes Andrew and Iniki 92 Earthquake at North Ridge 92 Operation Restore Hope 92 Rwanda 93 Operation Uphold Democracy 94 Operation Vigilant Warrior 94 Y2K 95 Famous Firsts 96 11. The 21st Century 97 Joint Contingency Force Advanced Warfighting Experiment 97 September 11, 2001 97 Homeland Security 98 Operation Noble Eagle 98 Operation Enduring Freedom 98 Transformation and Realignments in 2002 100 Knowledge Management 1 00 Enterprise Systems Engineering 100 C4ISR On-The-Move 100 371 Battery Mission 101 Life Cycle Management Commands and C-E LCMC/CECOM LCMC 101 BRAC 2005 101 Lean Six Sigma 103 Support to the Global War On Terror 1 03 Famous Firsts 107 Hurricane Katrina 1 08 Celebrity Notes 1 08 12. Historical Overview of the PEOs 109 Program Executive Office for Command, Control, and Communications Tactical 109 Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors 1 1 13. Landmarks and Place Names 1 1 Main Post 117 400 Area 1 3 Charles Wood Area 1 3 3 Off Post 135 14. Commanding Officers at Fort Monmouth 137 Afterword 1 54 Appendices A. Organizational Timeline 156 B. Fort Monmouth Tenant Activities 158 End Notes 1 60 Glossary 166 Index 170 * All photos and illustrations are courtesy of the U.S. Army, unless otherwise specified. The hardships and privations the pioneer soldiers of Camp Vail knew instilled a love in them for the place which was carried over to the period it became Fort Monmouth. Many of them, after their return from overseas in 1918, enlisted as military and civilian employees ofthe Fort. Many ofthem are serving today as instructors, engineers, of- ficers, and in other capacities. When asked to explain a loyalty that time had not been able to dim, one of the Camp Vail veterans said shyly, “The place sort ofgets into your blood, especially when you have seen it growfrom nothing into all this. It keeps growing and growing, andyou want to be part of its growing pains. Many ofthe local commu- nities have become very attached to Fort Monmouth because ofthefriendship instilled by the wise social counselors of Vail, planted notforjust a war period butfor as long as. ..Fort Monmouth... will inhabit Monmouth County.' Rebecca Klang, 1942 FOREWORD When I first arrived at Fort Monmouth in July 2007 to assume command of the CECOM Life Cycle Management Command, my perspective of CECOM and Army Team C4ISR was that of a customer as I had been the recipient of numerous command and control systems fielded across our Army over the previous 27 years of my career. My respect and admiration for this community were great, but only grew as 1 realized the scope and breadth of its enormous contributions, and learned about its illustrious history in conjunction with Fort Monmouth’s 90th anniversary. To honor this special event, and to capture in one volume accomplishments that not only changed and shaped the Army, but affected world history, this History ofArmy Communications and Elec- tronics at Fort Monmouth NJ 191 7-2007 was compiled. Learning about our history helps us to understand who we are and where we’re going. It pro- vides us a sense of our organizational identity. Author David McCullough once said, “History is a guide to navigation in perilous times.” As we face some challenging years ahead, this history reminds us how far we’ve come and how much we have accomplished. As you read this history, you will learn that our team has always risen to and overcome every obstacle and challenge which lay in its path, and I have no doubt it will continue to do so as we begin the next 90 years. To the many veteran members of the CECOM and Army Team C4ISR community, I hope you will enjoy reading about the great events and successes captured in our history, and reminiscing about those you personally helped to shape. To the new members of our community, you are now a part of this wonderful history, and I hope it will inspire you to continue the legacy of achievements for many years to come. Sincerely, Dennis L. Via Major General, USA Commanding PREFACE The name “Monmouth” has been synonymous with the defense of freedom since our country’s inception. Named for the brave Soldiers who gave their lives just a few miles away at the Battle of Monmouth Court House (June 28, 1778), this installation has been the site of some of the most significant communications and electronics breakthroughs in military history. Over the last ninety years, over 4,000 patents have been issued to Fort Monmouth inventors. Scientists, engineers, program managers, and logisticians here have delivered these technological breakthroughs and advancements to our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen. These innovations have included the development of FM radios and radar, bouncing signals off the moon to prove the feasibility of extraterrestrial radio communication, the use of homing pigeons through the late- 1950s, frequency hopping tactical radios, and today’s networking capabilities supporting our troops in the Global War on Terrorism. This history represents an overview of Fort Monmouth’s communications and electronics achievements since 1917. Fort Mon- mouth’s Soldiers and civilians have worked tirelessly to develop technologies and field equipment to enable battle command and protect the force. During WWI as Soldiers trained here were charged with establishing phone and telegraph lines on the front lines of Europe, significant strides were being made in the areas of combat photography, pigeon training, meteorology and radio intel- ligence back at the labs at Camp Alfred Vail. During WWII the necessity for early warning of aerial and submarine attack as well as pinpointing the location of mortar fire became paramount and scientists and engineers here raced desperately to develop and field long range and mortar locating radars - radars that would help win the war. During the Korean War, very high frequency radios, mortar locators and Fort Monmouth trained pigeons all helped to keep troops safer. As America geared up for war in Vietnam, Fort Monmouth experts fielded squad radios and night vision devices, revolutionary items that helped individual riflemen see and com- municate. Our logisticians were among the first civilians to arrive in the war zone during the Gulf War, providing hands-on technical assistance to Soldiers with communications-electronics equipment.