FORT BLISS’ ONLY AUTHORIZED NEWSPAPER ʻBest TDY everʼ Marine Corps wife earns Holloman’s 8th FS in New Orleans ■ 8A Military Spouse of the Year ■ 1B Thursday, May 16, 2019 Connect with the Bugle at: Fort Bliss, Texas @FortBlissTexas 1st AD and Fort Bliss fortblissbugle.com • Click on the eEdition Dawn Arden / U.S. Army Army leaders ask a military family to re- spond to a survey as part of an Army-wide effort to resolve inadequate housing on in- stallations. Army senior leaders introduced an action plan that outlines steps to remedy military housing issues to the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Wash- ington, D.C., recently. Housing executives, Army leaders dis- cuss plan of action By Kimberly Hanson | U.S. Army REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – Three major actions must happen to course correct the state of Army hous- ing, said the four-star general offi cer re- >> KATCHI KAPSIDA sponsible for Installation Management Sgt. Alon Humphrey / 3rd ABCT, 1st AD PA during a forum with the presidents of the A Republic of Korea Army troop stands in with 4th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team “Bulldogs” Soldiers as they Residential Community Initiative com- prepare to qualify on the Expert Infantryman Badge Medical lanes at Camp Hovey, South Korea, April 24. The concept of EIB testing lanes is to test panies April 26. candidates on fundamental warrior tasks. To see more pics of South Korean and American troops qualifying for the EIB, turn to page 5A. During an RCI CEO roundtable at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, to address widespread reports of defi cient hous- ing conditions, Army Materiel Com- mand Commander Gen. Gus Perna told the seven executives responsible for Communications in Motion privatized housing across the Army to maintain focus on Soldiers and families through the phases. Iron Soldiers train “The bottom line is that we must win back the trust of our residents,” Perna on infl atable satellite said. “It is about action, not words.” First, the current focus and response communications to the issues must continue, includ- ing timely completion of work orders, system T2C2 proper quality control measures to en- sure standards are met, quarterly town By Spc. Matthew Marcellus | 1st Armored Division halls to keep residents informed and ad- Communications is a key warfi ghting func- ditional oversight and involvement by tion and being able to communicate in the garrison commanders, said Perna. most austere environments is a vital aspect of “The metric is not about quantity - operational success. how many work orders are completed In order to ensure tactical readiness on fu- or how much we have done,” he said. ture mission sets, Soldiers assigned to 1st Ar- “It is about quality and our response to mored Division headquarters’ G6 signal staff the very real and serious issues being re- section trained in constructing and operating ported. Our Soldiers and families need the Transportable Tactical Command Com- to know we are taking care of them.” munications heavy and lite systems during a Second, the Army and the partners training event May 2 at the Mission Training must improve communication and re- Center at Fort Bliss. build confi dence with Soldiers and “We are currently training with the T2C2 Spc. Matthew Marcellus / 1st AD families. Educating residents on the re- equipment as we’re going away from govern- Staff Sgt. Joshua Polle, a multichannel transmission systems operator-maintainer with the 1st Armored sources available to them is critical, said ment-provided equipment toward more com- Division’s G6 staff, hammers a stake to secure and anchor the Transportable Tactical Command Communi- Perna. mercial and off-the-shelf equipment,” said cations system May 2 at the Mission Training Center at Fort Bliss. In addition to Army hotlines estab- Staff Sgt. Joshua Polle, a multichannel trans- lished at each installation to report hous- mission systems operator-maintainer with the command capabilities in a mobile and adapt- can take the T2C2 system in one truck with ing issues, each RCI partner has devel- division’s headquarters G6 section. able operation. two Soldiers who are highly-trained and mo- oped a mobile app intended to improve The T2C2 is an infl atable satellite antenna, “This system is important, as it allows com- bile to set up the system in 30 minutes to pro- communication fl ow. Training for Army developed by an Army small business partner, manders to send smaller teams out to sup- vide communication capability.” leaders who manage installations is also that provides a signifi cant upgrade in the Ar- port smaller units and detachments working The T2C2 system provides robust high- now a requirement. my’s communications capability and effi cien- in remote areas,” said Polle. “We won’t have bandwidth network communications and mis- “Previously, many garrison com- cy, providing fast voice, video and data com- to send out a large team which can take two sion command at the tactical edge signifi cant manders didn’t see RCI oversight as one munications to the Army’s tactical network to trucks, a generator and six or seven heavy of their key responsibilities,” said Lt. obtain the situational awareness and mission cases of communications equipment. Now we See COMMUNICATIONS Page 3A Gen. Brad Becker, commander of Instal- lation Management Command. IMCOM has since instituted a 90-min- inside this issue FORT BLISS ■ Unit News ...................................3A ute block of training for all incoming Agile and lethal Friday Saturday Sunday ■ Community .................................1B garrison commanders, and rolled out training for all current garrison com- 4-27 FA conducts gunnery training ■ 6A ■ Sports .........................................9B manders, focused on their housing re- Success of 1st SFAB ■ Off Duty ....................................12B sponsibilities, Becker said. proves ‘Army got it right,’ commander says ■ 10A ■ Army Classifi eds .......................13B IMCOM is also focused on educat- #19 Army football claims Partly sunny Cloudy, mild Partly sunny ■ Commercial Classifi eds.............14B ing residents about the resources avail- Commander-in-Chief’s trophy ■ 9B Hi 85, Lo 57 Hi 79, Lo 60 Hi 89, Lo 63 ■ Puzzles .....................................14B able to them within the Army Housing See HOUSING Page 2A 2A • May 16, 2019 • FORT BLISS BUGLE ★★★ ACROSS THE FORCE ★★★ HOUSING Continued from Page 1A Offi ces on each installation, Becker said, Army demonstrates which many families don’t realize are unaf- fi liated with the RCI Housing Offi ces. Army extended ranges for Housing Offi ces exist to support all military families, and can be advocates or support to those who are having issues in their homes. precision munitions Third, long-term planning to prevent a By Devon L. Suits | Army News Service recurrence and maintain momentum is criti- cal, said Perna. To this end, discussion topics WASHINGTON – The Army recently dem- ranged from fi ve-year development plans to onstrated extended ranges for the guided mul- improvements in the move-in and move-out tiple launch rocket system, and two 155mm process ahead of the summer surge. cannon artillery precision munitions. A common theme across the table was that Aligning with the Army’s top priority – success will require a strong partnership be- Long-Range Precision Fires – these changes tween the Army and RCI leaders. support the force’s need for both close and “Both of us need to be held accountable deep-strike capabilities against a near-peer Combat Capabilities Development Command to our roles and responsibilities,” Perna said. adversary. The Army test launches a Tail Controlled Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System recently. The tail- The forum was the fi rst in what will be- Last fall, the Army conducted demonstra- controlled rocket is an improvement over the current XM30 Guided MLRS. come a regular meeting between Perna and tions of the new XM1113 and Excalibur the housing partner executives. M982 munitions from a prototype Extended ranges and to get increased rates of fi re,” Multiple Launch Rocket System, or TC-G, Range Cannon Artillery, or ERCA self-pro- Granitzki said. reached 139 kilometers during a demonstra- pelled howitzer “We are still maturing our demonstrators, tion at altitude. The XM1113 Insensitive Munition High component technology and subsystems, in “This takes a product that exists in the Ar- Explosive Rocket Assisted Projectile is slated advance of future demonstrations to transition my’s inventory and nearly doubles the range,” to replace the Army’s aging M549A1 rounds. our systems to programs of record,” he added. he said. “By moving the control surfaces to Currently, the M549 rounds can reach about GMLRS the rear, we’re giving it more control, maneu- Did you know … 30 km. The Army has also made improvements to verability, and range.” … That Fort Bliss Financial Readiness Pro- The XM1113 reached 72 km during a dem- the XM30 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket “To support the new device, the Army fab- gram offers the following classes for free? onstration, said Rich Granitzki, Long-Range System, or GMLRS, nearly doubling its range. ricated a composite smooth-bore tube, ensur- FRP also offers Consumer Complaint Resolution. Precision Fires Science and Technology ad- The current XM30 rocket is a GPS-guided ing a clean launch for the guided rocket,” said FRP supports active duty, survivors, family mem- viser for Combat Capabilities Development bers, and DA civilians with their fi nancial affairs. The high-speed rocket equipped with