Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM (USAFENS) --  It's not just jet fuel that launches B-52s to the fight. It's electrons forming air-tasking orders streaming through a secure, secret military network that ignites the bombers into flight.

"No comm, no bomb!" and "If you can't talk, you can't fight a war," boast the troops of the newly named 100th Air Expeditionary Group Communications Flight here. With that motto affixed in their minds, the recently formed team of deployed airmen and civilians ensures bombers get to war and necessary communications traffic flows unhindered.

Master Sgt. Chris Norrod, superintendent of the flight, has watched his network control center team grow from 15 to 34. They've come from around the world to build 24-hour service, create more than 1,400 user and e-mail accounts while shaping the backbone of a network crucial to winning the war with Iraq.

That means creating a robust, second-to-none secret traffic network to get info to intelligence planners and aircrews. The communications team also built an "alternate duty location" in the community activity center. It doubles as a sort of "Internet Café" where home-sick airmen can check their e-mail or make morale calls back home.

Expanding a network from 250 to1,500 users does not come without pitfalls, Norrod said.

"When 1,400 people arrive on your door step, they all want immediate access," he said.

He added that despite a few minor glitches, everyone seems pleased with the service provided. "We worked as quickly as we could to get everyone network access and e-mail. With more than 1,200 computer users and a more than a dozen B-52s to fly, the base network had to be tough and technologically sound," said Norrod.

This base's network is set-up on six core platforms, called routers. Each router connects users through massive points of collection, called nodes. Each node has hundreds of users plugged into it, pushing thousands of gigabytes of secret and public data through each day. A typical base network also uses World Wide Web server, e-mail server, Internet address controllers and the omnipresent firewalls for security.

This is no different in wartime. Norrod's team has also added an intricate secret communications system. Through a wired system of PCs and other hardware, senior planner can deliver war orders to the airmen that include flight plans and targets.

The flight superintendent also mentioned that most of the hardware and software was in place before aircraft and airmen arrived, so the base only needed to purchase 17 PCs and a few odds and ends for the influx of troops.

"One thing we never know is exactly what will be needed, so we prepare for every capability,"

said Staff Sgt. Max Parris, Network Manager. "The network is new and untested." The base completed a total upgrade of the fiber optic infrastructure and networking equipment used to support all facilities on the base in April.

"Since then," Parris said. "We've had problems, but have worked through each one to make this network one of the best in the Air Force."

Parris pointed out with this volume of users, the network has performed well noting that more than 75,000 e-mails and thousands of terabytes of traffic flow in and out every day.

Norrod said his team has triumphed given the nonstop pace of operations. "They've approached everything enthusiastically. They want to do this job," according to the 19-year veteran. "I couldn't have asked for a better group of folks to be in the fight with."

Parris' enthusiasm welled up when talking about comm's relationship to the mission. "Everyone in this office knows he or she contributed to any B-52 launch. That's a great feeling."

-- USAFENS --