36th Signal Battalion
The 36th Signal Battalion headquarters is located at Camp Walker, Taegu, and is composed of four companies and one detachment. It is made up of United States Army soldiers, Korean Augmentees to the U. S. Army, Department of the Army civilians and Korean Nationals.
The battalion operates and maintains Army strategic Defense Communications Systems, non-DCS base communications and information systems from the DMZ to the southern ports of Chinhae and Pusan in support of UNC/CFC/USFK/EUSA forces. The 36th Signal Battalion's subordinate units are Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 74th, 169th, 293rd and 501st Signal companies. These units manage isolated communications sites, fiber optic terminals, pulse code modulation and microwave terminals, technical control facilities and digital electronic switching earth terminal. They also manage telecommunications and, information centers, a consolidated information processing center, AM/FM TV transmission facilities and motor pools. Additionally, the battalion has the Regional Director of Information Management responsibilities for the southern two-thirds of Korea.
The Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment is located at Camp Walker, Taegu. It is composed of U.S. Army soldiers, Department of the Army civilians, KATUSA and Korean Nationals. Its mission is to provide administrative and logistical support for the command group and staff of 36th Signal Battalion. It is responsible for the training, combat readiness and welfare of all assigned personnel. Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment operates a consolidated motor pool, serving three organic and four non-organic units. It also operates a consolidated mailroom which services three organic units.
The 74th Signal Company, located in Pusan, is composed of U.S. Army soldiers, DA civilians, KATUSAs and Korean Nationals. The company operates and maintains all Army fixed Defense Communications Systems, non-DCS and base communications in a part of the southern portion of Korea. This includes Pusan, Changsan, Chinhae and Cheju Island. The company is dispersed with four operational sites located at least 90 minutes away from the unit headquarters at Camp Hialeah. Three of these remote microwave sites, located on mountain tops, use dirt and gravel access roads. The major operational elements of the company are Hialeah and Chinhae Defense Communications Systems; Pulmosan, Brooklyn and Changsan Microwave relay sites; Pusan Telecommunications Center, Pusan DSN, Pusan Outside Plant, and Masan and Kimhae Fiber Optics repeater stations. Additionally, the unit provides area DOIM support.
The 169th Signal Company, located in Taegu, is composed of U.S. Army soldiers, DA civilians, KATUSAs and Korean Nationals. The company's mission is to operate and maintain the Automatic Digital Network Switching Center serving U.S. Forces Korea, a Telecommunications Center, the Consolidated Information Processing Center, Information Center South, Korean Intelligence Support System Communications Element and Yongsan Support Facility. The Automatic Digital Switch has trunk interconnectivity to Hawaii, Japan, Guam and CONUS. Ninety-five percent of all record traffic processed in Korea passes through this switch. The Consolidated Information Processing Center, is one-of-a-kind facility in Korea. It houses the Electronic Mail Host and provides round-the-clock Standard Army Management Information Systems and executive software support for major support commands. The CIPC operates on a HITACHI EX27 mainframe computer with 64mb of real memory, eight GB of virtual memory and processing power of 8.5 million instructions per second. All STAMIS processing is done at this facility with output via high speed printers located in Taegu and Yongsan. The Information Center South provides integrated information, customer support and services with user training and displays. It also demonstrates and performs software clearing house services. Since its creation in February 1988, Information Center South personnel have trained more than 550 users on computers with the electronic mail class being the most popular. Classes are taught in English and Hangul.
The 293rd Signal Company is located at Waegwan and is composed of U.S. Army soldiers, Department of the Army civilians, KATUSAs and Korean Nationals. The company is an operational, fixed signal company deployed in its combat configuration over an area of 6,000 square miles in the southern portion of Korea. Two of the microwave sites, located on remote mountain tops, are accessible only by extremely treacherous dirt and gravel roads. A third mountain top signal site, Salem, is accessible only by helicopter or a two to three hour walk up a very steep mountain path. Unique mission requirements include maintaining a portion of the Korean DCS Wideband Secure Voice system and operating a major satellite earth terminal facility in the Defense Communications Satellite System. Additionally, the company has area DOIM responsibility for 20th Area Support Group. The company also maintains and operates two FM radio stations in the Vanderbilt radio net; one of which has radio wire integration capability.
The 501st Signal Company is located in Pyongtaek. Its composed of 71 U.S. Army soldiers, one DA Civilian, six KATUSAs and 39 Korean Nationals. The company's area of responsibility encompasses 7,500 square miles of territory. The operational facilities are located as close as two miles to the nearest site on Camp Humphreys to 154 miles, the farthest site at Kunsan Air Base. The major elements of 501st Signal Company are the Bucket Microwave Site, Camp Humphreys Defense Switching Network, Camp Humphreys Fiber Optic Terminal, Highpoint Microwave Relay, Richmond Microwave Relay, Suwon Fiber Optic Terminal and four digital microwave sites; three of which are located along the DMZ. The 501st operates and maintains the central portions of the Defense Communications System and non-DCS facilities in Korea. It also operates and maintains two telephone exchanges and one telecommunications center. Additionally, the company has area DOIM responsibility for 23rd Area Support Group.
