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Show ri ee Published in the interest of the personnel of Dugway Proving Ground 99 ads communications New digital system by Richard F. Fulton An important event in the history of communications took place in the Salt Lake Desert near the Nevada border in 1914. That event was the splicing together of two sets of copper wire, linking east and west with an ability to transmit voice communications' across the country. 4 Some 72 years later, just a few miles southeast of that point in the desert, communications history of another kind was made when Gen. Richard H. Thompson, commanding general of Army Materiel Command, pushed a small white button and activated Dugway Proving Ground's digital fiber optics communications transmission system. By so doing, the AMC commander activated an rt transmissions of voice, ability for computer data and video pictures between Dugway post headquarters at English Village and the installation's Materiel Test Center which is located 10 miles away. n This fiber optic transmission system, only the second such system in Utah, is part of the Dugway Proving Ground modernization program. According to the chief of communications and electronics for Dugway, Bernard E. Groharing, the existing communications transmission system bestate-of-the-a- Increases capability While Groharing candidly stated that the cost to use the new technology was approximately 15 per- - $173-million-dol- six-ye- ar . lar tween the two points, a copper system, had reached its capacity load and there was a need to that the :w The reason for this is, that while it costs a bit more to set up initially, the expansion capacity (ranging upward from the 90 megabit speed) is almost unlimited, he said. Also, since the laser extends from one end of the trunk system to the other, there is no requirement for expensive repeaters or booster stations. The project cost $714,996.69 and it began to take shape in January 1983 when a contract was negotiated between AT&T Technologies of Greensboro. N.C. and the Army. Since the digital fiber optic cable system is unfor construcderground, a separate tion work also had to be negotiated. The Pleasant Grove, Utah firm of Fogle and Sons Contracting was selected to install the underground high volume trunk line between the two Dugway Proving Ground locations. Actual construction work began in December between the English Village 1984, and the link-u- p and Ditto Materiel Test Area switching stations was made Jan.16. Today, Groharing said, what this project means is an ability for officials at English to watch a test taking place in the Carr Facility or out in the desert in real time and, thus, be able to make immediate contributions to the work. -- . ' j?t ' ' ' " ' :C : oJ?'D'-:- v ' What this project means for Dugway in the fu- ture, the post's communications chief added, is that through a local area network combining digi-tfiber optic cable technology and microwave transmission capabilities, the end result will be a way for post officials to see what is going on in al tests 50 or more miles away. The Dugway Proving Ground is a facility of the Army's Test and Evaluation Command which is headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. The Test and Evaluation Command is, in turn, a subordinate command of the Army Materiel Command which is headquartered in Alexandria, Va. and is commanded by Thompson. Dugway Proving Ground' has the mission of being the Department of Defense central point of contact for chemical and biological testing; and for testing of smoke and obscurants. Since Dugway is the executive agent for this program, millions of defense research dollars will be brought to Utah over the coming years. sub-contra- ct ' "; v ' not be conducting any tests with chemicals," said Surety cal Personnel Reliability the importance of the surety Pro- "However, not everyone can get into the program, either because of police record, drug use, undesirable character traits or medical reasons," Dunn said. On the medical side, the surety office works with the health . tests and the surety office procedures to be followed in case of a chemical accident, Dunn said, gram," Dunn said. "They must be cliemically qualified to work here." Officer Chris Dunn, explaining i tv office to the overall mission here. The mission of the surety office is to oversee all chemical operations for compliance, purposes. There are certain Army regulations which must be followed by personnel running The Chemical Accident and Incident Control plan covers the personnel are responsible for in their mission. "We make sure all employees belong to the Chemi- by Michael Perez "Without it, Dugway would :; Fifty miles away Office oversees chemical ttesSs here ' ;. It also means that the Dugway commander will be able to be in the post's emergency operations center at English Village, and through video capa-- . bilities be able to monitor events and activities taking place in the Ditto Range Control Office which serves as a forward area operations center. The new trunk line also will provide scientists and technicians such an excellent means of access to computer facilities located some distance from their laboratories. . Pointing to the unique capabilities of the system, Groharing said that half the capability of Dugway 's new system will be devoted to the transmission of video signals, with the remainder being ... ' Sine Dugway Is the executive agent for this program, millions ol defense research dollars will be brought to Utah. technology. Video signals Directorate for CommunicationsElectronics' chief of the maintenance branch, Mervin C. Pyne, made the suggestion to adopt a digital optic system, rather than using a traditional approach to the problem. ' -- - provide additional capabilities. It was during the study of this problem used to send computer data or voice transmissions. The fiber optic system, said Groharing, since it consists of laser flashes of light, is not effected by outside electrical impulses such as the discharge of. lightning from one cloud, to another, or by static electricity. The traditional method of using copper wire had both of these disadvantages, he said, adding that its also much cheaper in the long run to use new cent greater initially, he points out the use of fiber : optics provides 100 times the transmission capacity, with increased capability, and no future expansion problems. What the new system does is turn electrically-generate- d noise into a light signal and transmits that signal through a very thin glass strand that is approximately eight microns in diameter. For comparison purposes, a human hair - '100 microns in size is many times greater in size. Including plastic coatings around the glass, the entire Dugway Proving Ground digital fiber optic system is approximately the size of a human thumb in diameter. A comparable copper system, which incidentally only carries voice and not video signals, would be at least the size of a large dinner plate and maybe even greater. Groharing, noting that fiber optic technology is only about five years old, explained what the tem does is to turn electrically generated signals,' such as a dot or dash used in the telegraph system, into an extremely fast light signal He said that in laboratory tests, the system has been operated at speeds up to two gigahertz that is to say, some two billion bits of information (a dot or dash) per second. The Dugway system is currently operating at 90 megabits (90 million dots and dashes per second). laser-drjve- ' Thursday, February 13, 1986 Dugway, Utah Vol. 31 No. 3 . clinic and its Cholinesterase checks to see if the regulations are being met. program. This deals with blood tests to detect if a person has been chemically contaminated. There are areas which surety .. i our computerized document control center, a wide variety of regulations and e visits," Dunn said . Every 18 months, the surety office conducts a Surety Operations Inspection, or SOI. "Dugway has done exceptionally well on-sit- . Surety is also the concurring authority on documents relating to Dugway's chemical opera- tions. Document control includes test plans and standard . How does the surety office accomplish their mission? "We use operating procedures. Working in a chemical environment requires protection from all forms of chemical exposure. For this reason, the surety office works closely with protective clothing and ensures that all employees have a serviceable set of this clothing. in our last two SOIs," Dunn said. "I attribute this to the support which all workers put into their surety operations." Basically, the surety office can be referred to as the com- mander's Inspector General (IG) since it's his program we are overseeing, Dunn said. National Prayer Breakfast reminds Americans of values local breakfast topic at dining hall will be POWMIA start at 6:50 a.m. and the guest will be a former World speaker by Michael Perez The National Prayer Breakfast is an annual event which is Chemical Laboratory Specialist SP4 Jim Cruz checks bubblers in the cham lab here. The bubblers contain chemical samples that are being prepared for analyzing. Cruz was Dugway's soldier of the year In 1985. (JJ&. Army photo by Usa Slmunacl) The message further stated, "The nation is grateful for the The War II pic of the breakfast will be POWMIA. The breakfast will cost $1.80 for civilians and ofprisoner-of-wa- used to remind American citizens that spiritual and moral values play an important role in our nation's way of life. The national celebration is attended by the president and members of his cabinet and congress. peace." to- r. individual and collective contri- bution that members of the. armed forces make in both building and maintaining ficers and 70 cents for enlisted soldiers. peace." It was mentioned that current international relations are call- The Department of the Army issued a message stating, "Our nation seeks divine guidance. Throughout the world, men and women of the armed forces will gather in similar observances. As in past years, our goal is " Locally, it will be observed Feb. 20, at the Headquarters and Headquarters Company Dining Facility. The meal will ing for a strong peacemaking ef- fort and for this reason, people in the armed forces should themselves to certain, vital tasks. rede-dica- te r. Local observance will be Feb. 20 at 6:50 a.m. the HHC dining facicosts (1.80 for civilians and officers and 70 cents for enlisted soldiers. In lity. Prayer breakfast Among the tasks listed are: an increase in. understanding, the resistance of aggression and injustice, promoting human dignity, protection of human rights, an end to terrorism, the buildup of mutual respect, reducing fear, maintaining security and the preservation of freedom. Officials hope to screen everyone in 1986 by SGMRudl Williams Defense health officials, hope to have all of the more than 2.1 million active duty service members, plus more than 350,000 recruit applicants, screened for AIDS by the end of 1986. Some screening of active duty soldiers will begin this month, although full implementation of the testing program is unlikely before June. In accordance with the Oct. 24, 1985, DoD AIDS policy, those to be screened first are people already serving in areas of the world with a high risk of endemic disease (diseases found in significant incidences within a specific geographic region). "As an example, there are some virulent strains of malaria in parts of Central America and the Far East," said a DoD spokesman. "If your immune system is already weak, you might be in a lot of trouble in those areas. "There was a battalion of Puerto Rican Guardsmen training in Central America and 40 of them came down with a devastating parasitic disease," he said. They contracted it from small organisms living in the sand. Some of the victims ended up with scars two inches wide and Publishing Company, e private firm to no way PsbEsHtd by At Trtmscrfpt-Bulltti- ii fba af Army. Opisloat txprouod by tfce writers condas' with fke Dapartmant about a half inch deep. "These are some of the things we try to protect our people from,!' he added, pointing out that the main effect of AIDS is . to reduce or eliminate, the body's capacity to defend itself against diseases and infections. Every man and woman entering the armed forces as a recruit or through the Reserve Officers Training Corps, National Guard, Reserve or military academies is now being given the new AIDS blood test : 7 . If results of the test for the AIDS virus - known as HTLV-II- I (Human Virus Type III) -' show an individual has been exposed to -- wa mi parlnMSt ef the Army. Ths whether a person has the disease requires much more sophisticated tests. Since 1981, some 108 cases of AIDS have been detected in active service members, according to DoD officials. About half of the victims have died. AIDS victims will receive me- medical officer. Dr. William Mayer, assistant defense secretary for health af--' fairs, estimates that between 50 and 75 of the more than 25,000 people coming into the services each month will show positive signs of exposure to the virus. ; : ' Testing more than 300,000- . . people a year who apply for military service will cost taxpayers more than $1 million. The blood test, which became available this spring, doesn't show that a person has AIDS. It shows only that the person has developed antibodies in response to the virus having been present comiemd an ffidaJ xprtulM by Km Dt-this DvbBce apfMoranct of eavtrHMmtsts mstrti in are at some time. Determining the virus, that person will be rejected, said the Pentagon's chief Mtt dical treatment as long as they're able to function. When they become disabled, they'll be retired from the 'service in the same , manner as those with any other, disabling disease, . ; " Mayer said. , Recruit applicants with positive test results will be referred to their private physicians for tioa dM est censtitwt ; more thorough evaluation. Those whose reevaluation is negative and who demonstrate no signs of AIDS will be reeva- hi i f.i luated and reconsidered for ft u u entry into the armed services. Since AIDS can be spread through blood transfusions, and the services rely .on direct transfusions during wartime, it's necessary to screen out those who might have the antibody to pre- vent endangering the lives of wounded soldiers, Mayer said. "We know with certainty that if there is somebody with the virus' in his blood and we use him for a direct transfusion, the recipient will.receive the virus," 4 i Mayer, emphasized. tsdorMmtat by tfas Department sf the Amy. i II J i K - |