by Dr. Sheldon Hochheiser and Rosemary O'Brien Throughout our nation's history,
the effectiveness of our military has been predicated on our ability
to communicate, both on the field of battle and off. While battlefield
communications has evolved dramatically since World War I, significant
communications changes have also taken place in the area of personal
communications, enabling members of the armed services to stay in
touch with loved ones whether stationed on bases worldwide, aboard
ships or even in forward-deployed locations such as Iraq.
Much of the advancing technology in personal communications has been
the result of the combination of public and private resources, corporations
and the military joining forces to respond to the needs of America's
armed forces, changing field conditions and the communications challenges
of each major military conflict.
World War I
The first group
of American Operators to arrive in France.
During World War I, telephone technology
was rapidly advancing. The growth of the American telephone system,
culminating in completion of the transcontinental telephone line in 1914, alerted military leaders to the
potential of telephone technology for the war effort. That is why,
in 1917, General Pershing recruited teams of AT&T technicians to build
and operate the telephone system of the American Expeditionary Force
in France. Hundreds of American French-speaking
operators, known as "Hello Girls," volunteered for service, and, as
civilians, were sent to France to operate the switchboards of the
system, which connected with the existing French commercial telephone
system, making possible phone calling throughout France. However,
with the Transatlantic Line not destined for completion until 1927,
it was still impossible for soldiers to use the system to call home.
Despite the many advances in phone technology, letters still remained
the most reliable form of communication for troops stationed overseas.
World War II
Sailors calling
home on arrival in New York, 1945.
Beginning two years before America's entry
into World War II, a nationwide military build-up led to the proliferation
of military camps and bases across the United States. AT&T set up
public phone centers on many of those bases, allowing soldiers and
sailors to place, what was for some, their first-ever long distance
call to loved ones back home. But again, soldiers stationed overseas
were forced to rely on letters and the military post to communicate
with family and friends. Even though cable made telegrams possible
from overseas and radio telephone circuits made transatlantic calls
possible, these modes of communication were still quite limited and
restricted to official military use.
Korea, Vietnam and Cold War Communications
Communications changes evolved slowly throughout the Korean and Vietnam
conflicts. While calls from the front were still not possible, soldiers
stationed in some European countries, such as Germany, had access
to civilian phone facilities, often in local post offices. The cost,
however, which ranged from $3 to $4 per minute, was prohibitive for
most servicemen and women.
To help make international calling easier for servicemen and women,
in 1983, AT&T began offering USA Direct Service, which allowed soldiers
to dial a number from bases overseas and reach an AT&T operator in
the U.S. The service, which was first offered in the Philippines,
had spread to 12 countries, including the United Kingdom, France,
the Netherlands, Australia and Japan by 1986.
Modern Communications
It's only been in the past decade and a half, starting with the first
Gulf War, that communications from the front have truly become possible.
During Operation Desert Storm, the use of satellite technology led
to enhanced communications for the first time.
Faxes, packaged
and ready for delivery to the troops, Operation Desert Fax Headquarters,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Initial communications during the first Gulf
War were provided thanks to the advent of facsimile machines and an
innovative program that allowed family and friends back home to communicate
with loved ones serving overseas in a faster, more efficient way than
ever before. AT&T launched "Operation Desert Fax" which allowed family
members to fax, at no charge, more than 500,000 personal messages
to U.S. military personnel stationed in the Persian Gulf. Loved ones
could send a fax from any private fax machine, or from those in AT&T
phone centers. These were then collected overseas, put in envelopes
and delivered with military mail to the troops.
Towards the end of Operation Desert Storm, AT&T installed a portable
satellite earth station in Kuwait, which, with 720 lines, helped rebuild
the communications infrastructure damaged in the conflict. The portable
satellite earth stations restored calling ability from Kuwait to the
rest of the world - and allowed military personnel to call home from
a forward-deployed location for the very first time.
The technology applications included
both large satellite dishes attached to banks of phones as well as
more portable phones with satellite uplink systems. The portable phones,
used primarily for official military communications, were also used
widely by reporters in the Gulf. This solution was also later used
to support troops in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia.
Satellite technology also brought improved
communications for service members afloat. In 1995, AT&T partnered
with the U. S. Navy to address the needs of sailors and marines by
introducing affordable maritime calling capability for ships on deployment.
Today, about 200 U. S. Navy and U. S. Coast Guard ships deploy with
AT&T Direct Ocean ServiceSM on board. AT&T also provides the calling
products and services that make it possible for Sailors and Marines
to make prepaid phone card, calling card and collect calls with cellular
phones as their ships enter foreign ports. In a typical year, AT&T
meets ships at 103 ports in more than 70 countries, providing cellular
phones and the ability to call home with AT&T USADirect® Service.
To support troops stationed in the Middle East during Operations Enduring
Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, AT&T constructed calling centers in forward-deployed
camps and kabuls in Kuwait, Afghanistan, and most recently Iraq. In
Iraq, initial AT&T service came from 600 mobile satellite phones each
about the size of a typical cellular phone, affording troops complete
portability while in the field. Working with the Army and Air Force
Exchange Service (AAFES) and the military, AT&T now has more than
50 stationary phone centers in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, with
more than 1200 phones powered by satellite technology. These phone
centers have already helped support millions of phone calls from U.S.
troops stationed in Iraq in recent months.
A CyberZone
Café.
The rapid rise in e-mail and Internet-based
communications has led to new ways for service personnel stationed
at home and overseas to supplement voice communications with the Internet.
In 2001, AT&T installed its first CyberZone Café at Ft. Benning, Georgia
to provide high-speed Internet access for service members on base.
Today, there are 40 AT&T CyberZone Cafés on U.S. Army and Air Force
bases, including 28 in the U.S., three in Germany and nine in Kuwait.
Personal military communications services, essential to providing
human connections between our armed forces and those back home who
support them, have been developed through innovative collaboration
between government and telecommunications companies. Whether enabling
a mother serving in Iraq to call her son on his birthday, a son in
Kuwait to go online to send Mom flowers on Mother's Day, or a sailor
at sea to call to find out whether he had become a father, AT&T's
leadership in communications is helping ensure that the men and women
who serve in defense of our nation are only a phone call or a click
away from home.
Dr. Sheldon Hochheiser is the Corporate Historian at AT&T.
Rosemary O'Brien is General Manager Military Markets, at AT&T.
