U.S. Army Signal Corps celebrates 150 years

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – The men and women of Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, celebrated 150 years of the U.S Army Signal Corps June 21 with a five-kilometer run and luncheon here.

Approximately 250 servicemembers and civilians participated in the run. Gold, silver and bronze medals with the signal corps crest inscribed on the back were given to the runners who finished first, second and third.

The luncheon commemorating the Signal Corps’ anniversary was used as a forum to educate attendees on its history.
 
“They can talk about us, but they can’t talk without us,” said Lt. Col. Joseph L. Hilfiker, Combined Joint Task Force-101 CJ6 (communications) Director from Grand Rapids, Mich.

The Signal Corps’ mission is to provide and manage communications and information systems support for the command and control of combined armed forces. From the Civil War to present day, the corps has provided all forms of communication between U.S. military forces.

During the Civil War at the Battle of Gettysburg, a signal station and an artillery unit were placed on “round top,” Hilfiker said at the luncheon, referring to one of two hills south of Gettysburg, Penn. He added that, if it wasn’t for receiving reports of a division-sized confederate attack, the Union Army would have been overrun and the United States would not be known as it is today.

The Signal Corps made its debut in the Army June 21, 1860, when Congress appointed Albert J. Myer, a medical officer, to be signal officer with the rank of major. Myer was made signal officer after the Army adopted his flag-signaling system called “wig-wag,” which allowed various flag movements and designs to be designated to coded meanings.

However, the Signal Corps was not authorized as a branch of the Army until March 3, 1863.

“It’s good to know that what we have been doing for 150 years, we are still contributing,” said U.S. Army Spc. Nekia S. Reese, a CJTF-101 cable installer and maintainer from Florence, Ala.

Following tradition, a cake was cut by the oldest and youngest service members attending the luncheon. U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy J. Vester, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, command sergeant major, from Portland, Ore., and U.S. Army Pfc. Rphael A. Rush, a hub node manager from Atlantic City, N.J., got the honor.

“It’s a good time to celebrate the good things we do and to contribute to the fight in Afghanistan,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Alex D. Pitts, CJTF-101 hub node platoon sergeant of Flint, Mich.