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# Sheriff network is first call for help for Minnesota Soldiers in Iraq

By Spc. Brian D. Jesness1/34th BCT Public Affairs

CAMP ADDER, Iraq - Convoy escort missions are often routine for Red Bull Soldiers, who travel up to 530 miles of Iraq highway. However, some circumstances on the road are anything but routine and require support to ensure safe accomplishment of the mission.

This support comes from the sheriff network of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division.

"They are the first call for help, the 911 for the guys out on the road," said Sgt. Maj. Edward Mills, senior noncommissioned officer in charge of the 1/34th BCT operations section.

The sheriff network is made up of five stations that cover a distance spanning more than two-thirds of Iraq from the Iraq-Kuwait border in the south and beyond Camp Anaconda in northern Iraq.

"They are like your local police departments covering a distance similar of Minneapolis to Kansas City," said Mills, of Farmington, Minn.

These sheriff stations monitor roadways to provide an up-to-the-minute status of current threat conditions and various back-up services for Red Bull Soldiers, other convoys on the road and Coalition Forces throughout Iraq.

While on convoys, the stations can be called to deploy medical evacuation helicopters, combat-air support, explosive ordnance disposal teams and quick reaction forces to aid Soldiers in hostile situations.

The stations are manned 24 hours a day to monitor and protect the brigade's vehicle movements throughout much of Iraq. They employ an intricate array of computer, radio and satellite technology to remain ready to come to the aid of convoys in any situation on the road.

"The biggest thing that we do is we are a direct connection for 1/34th convoys to answer their questions and help with their problems when they are away from home," said Sgt. Simon Cameron of Little Falls, Minn., a staff NCO at the Camp Liberty Sheriff station.

The network is maintained by a staff of more than 40 Soldiers working at five military installations in Iraq: Camp Anaconda, Camp Taji, Camp Liberty, Camp Scania and Camp Adder.

The 1/34th BCT has improved the concept of sheriff stations beyond the standards previously set by the Army. Before the brigade arrived in Iraq, Army sheriff stations didn't maintain constant radio availability and had limited vehicle tracking capabilities.

The Red Bull Soldiers at these stations were the first units in the Army to integrate a new communications technology called the Radio Internet Protocol network (RIPRnet) to their resources to protect 1/34th BCT Soldiers and Coalition Forces.

"RIPRnet allows convoys to communicate with the sheriff for the request of [medical evacuation] and recovery assets in case of an emergency," said Sgt. Maj. Danny Toivonen, operations sergeant major for the 1/34 BCT Tactical Operations Center at Camp Anaconda.

"Its wide range allows convoys a clearer and farther-reaching communication tool to further enhance the capabilities of combat logistic patrols in today's battlefield," said Toivonen of Barnum, Minn.

"The system has allowed our sheriff's net to keep a more consistent communication link with convoys throughout the area of operations," said Toivonen.

"We didn't create it, but we took it to the next level," said Mills.

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