Tyndall Airmen modernize communications infrastructure

  • Published
  • By Airman Anabel Del Valle
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

The 325th Communications Squadron continues to engineer new cable routes to revamp Tyndall Air Force Base’s communications infrastructure as part of ongoing rebuild efforts.

Several information transfer nodes, which are the physical locations of high-speed data networks and telephone equipment, were left exposed and without protection after a Category 5 hurricane in 2018.

“The buildings they are currently located in are heavily damaged and scheduled for demolition,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Samuel Trutna, 325th CS cable and antenna supervisor. “Without relocating these nodes, they would have remained in non-environmentally controlled conditions which cause frequent outages for network and mission systems.”

Modernizing and improving the resiliency of core network services is essential to preventing outages from future natural disasters and ensuring Tyndall is rebuilt as the base of the future.

“It feels great to be a part of rebuilding Tyndall and knowing I am doing something that directly affects the mission,” said Senior Airman Trent Olson, 85th Engineering Installation Squadron cable and antenna systems technician. “The rewarding part of this type of work is making the customer satisfied by ensuring their job runs more smoothly due to the work we’ve done.”

Trutna says the relocation of ITNs is rarely done but was made possible with the help of the 85th Engineering Installation Squadron from Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, 325th Civil Engineer Squadron, 325th Contracting Squadron, and the Florida Department of Transportation.

Eric Grath, 325th CS cable systems technician, is a valued team member according to Trutna.

“Mr. Grath was instrumental in all stages of this operation,” said Trutna. “He was the driving force behind the designs, identifying affected users, behind the scenes preparation, and quickly troubleshooting issues.”

Trutna says the hard work put into these moves are paying off.

“I would be hard pressed to determine an organization that hasn’t been impacted by these ITN moves,” said Trutna. “All base users will have improved network uptime including during extreme weather conditions.”

The remainder of Tyndall’s ITN transfers are scheduled to be completed during the summer of 2021.