MILITARY HARMONICS
I have been asked to document an experience we had a few years back with Army Intelligence. Reporting this fairly is hard as it is told far better by the customer than from me as I fear it may appear self serving. But if time might lose a detail or some of the people there might not always be available, I will give the incident as accurately as I can and ask that you verify it with the client when and if convenient.
At the request of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Defense, we installed, as a test, one of our power quality systems at the Headquarters of the Utah Army National Guard building in Draper, Utah. It is a large building and is also the national headquarters of the only Linguistic Corps. available to the United States. The reason for the location in Utah is due to the continual numbers of young men and women who are constantly returning from living in nearly every country in the world serving as church representatives. In two years they not only understand the language they know the culture behind it. This unit is responsible to handle any and all language interpretations for any language of interest to the U.S. Military and other U.S. intelligence organizations.
During the attack upon Iraq some years back, Arab communications written and otherwise were coming in to the Language Corps then sent back out to the commanders at Qatar on the Arabian Coast who were running the battle operations. Many of the Satellite exchanges needed to be sent more than once due to clarity and/or interference.
By the way, such exchanges are handled by a special organization called SCIF or Secure Communications Intelligence Force. Because of my work with the facility people at the building, I was invited to see what we could do to help them. I was given permission by the head of the SCIF, Maj. Ben Morris to come and test the power there to see if it might have anything to do with their problem.
We tested and read heavy harmonic disturbance at the point of the communication and made a suggestion and quoted a price to correct it. I was also pushed to do that because of the urgency of the need. Then I heard nothing for several weeks. Believing the problem solved I thought nothing more of it. One morning I received a call from Major Morris to please come out and see him as soon as I could. As I am not walking tape recorder, here is my best recollection (but simplified) of our conversation.
I was welcomed into his office and he told me he had a problem, and that I was the only bidder who suggested an answer. Then he handed me what I remember was a stack of some nine letters from the best electronic and power companies in the nation. All of them said the same thing. Each recounted in different words that they knew what was wrong but they did not have the answers yet and that the Army should not believe anyone who said they did. He asked me if I understood the situation he was in. How could he justify giving an order to a nobody just down the street who said he could do what the best companies in the world could not? He asked me if I understood what it looked like and his problem with spending money on me knowing what he did.
My suggestion was that since nobody else was even going to try, if I put in our equipment and it failed as well then he had no more than when he started and all the letters would be vindicated. My failure would cost him nothing. On the other hand if we succeeded, only then would he have to pay for the correction and the problem would be solved. His duty would have been met. It was a win-win for him in every way. With that understanding we were given a purchase order and hurried to install.
Well, it worked, we were paid, everyone was happy and I was invited to go to all the rest of the SCIF offices everywhere and fix their harmonic interference. It was suggested that I visit every military base, Federal Building, Intelligence Office including every CIA, NSA, FBI, Homeland Security and all other American intelligence locations which may have some form of the SCIF. Was I big enough to get to all of them in a reasonable time? No. It was far out of my ability so the idea was temporarily delayed.
One important request came in to communicate with Maj. General Jan Small who’s flag is at Fort Hood, Texas the home of a very large cyber system. With several conversations with Gen. Small and his aides, we explained what we make and how it might help them. Of note I gave Gen. Smalls’ aide a list of all the problems that over powering harmonics might create. The reply was a huge controlled but excited comeback wanting to know why I knew so much about all of their breakdowns and wanted to know who had been talking to me as they could not understand how such information got out. I assured them that it was all guesswork and that their reaction told me as much as anyone who reported might have said during a security breech.
We took a while to make sure that no one had in fact told me anything. I spent some time with the Army Corps of Engineers talking about harmonics and what happens in heavy use electronic locations. The report was that I was on target with my data and that the reality was that I might be able to do something about the headaches which were in place at most military and civilian electronic use locations.
Again, the issue was and still is, our size. We are too small of a company to take on such a huge undertaking without trained employees, and we lack enough inventory to begin the process of delivering to the needs of the U.S Department of Defense, including the big problem at Ft. Hood. More important is the fact that the same problems exist at other bases and SCIF locations wherever American Intelligence and/or electronic problems exist.
Verification of what I have written here can be done but only the way the military does it. Phone numbers to intelligence offices are not public. Neither are private offices of commanding personnel. Naval, Army and Air Force connections and communications with me and Power Control Company are being handled by a Master Sergeant here in Utah. Anyone who has ever dealt with the Military for any reason will know that Master Sergeants and Master Chiefs do everything. They make everything happen, carry out the orders of officers and pass the work down to their underlings. That is the way it is. Should anyone wish to verify any work done by myself or Power Control Company one would need to contact Master Sergeant Layne T. Oliver. I am happy to provide his numbers and location should you have a need and can let him know to expect your call or visit.
There are many other military experiences not written here about Helicopter Base improvements, hot transformers, power failure solutions, and military hospital corrections which he could tell you about. That will be up to him, and for the sake of brevity, I will not attempt to explain them here.
John Jackman, Engineer, Power Control Company October 2008
I have been asked to document an experience we had a few years back with Army Intelligence. Reporting this fairly is hard as it is told far better by the customer than from me as I fear it may appear self serving. But if time might lose a detail or some of the people there might not always be available, I will give the incident as accurately as I can and ask that you verify it with the client when and if convenient.
At the request of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Defense, we installed, as a test, one of our power quality systems at the Headquarters of the Utah Army National Guard building in Draper, Utah. It is a large building and is also the national headquarters of the only Linguistic Corps. available to the United States. The reason for the location in Utah is due to the continual numbers of young men and women who are constantly returning from living in nearly every country in the world serving as church representatives. In two years they not only understand the language they know the culture behind it. This unit is responsible to handle any and all language interpretations for any language of interest to the U.S. Military and other U.S. intelligence organizations.
During the attack upon Iraq some years back, Arab communications written and otherwise were coming in to the Language Corps then sent back out to the commanders at Qatar on the Arabian Coast who were running the battle operations. Many of the Satellite exchanges needed to be sent more than once due to clarity and/or interference.
By the way, such exchanges are handled by a special organization called SCIF or Secure Communications Intelligence Force. Because of my work with the facility people at the building, I was invited to see what we could do to help them. I was given permission by the head of the SCIF, Maj. Ben Morris to come and test the power there to see if it might have anything to do with their problem.
We tested and read heavy harmonic disturbance at the point of the communication and made a suggestion and quoted a price to correct it. I was also pushed to do that because of the urgency of the need. Then I heard nothing for several weeks. Believing the problem solved I thought nothing more of it. One morning I received a call from Major Morris to please come out and see him as soon as I could. As I am not walking tape recorder, here is my best recollection (but simplified) of our conversation.
I was welcomed into his office and he told me he had a problem, and that I was the only bidder who suggested an answer. Then he handed me what I remember was a stack of some nine letters from the best electronic and power companies in the nation. All of them said the same thing. Each recounted in different words that they knew what was wrong but they did not have the answers yet and that the Army should not believe anyone who said they did. He asked me if I understood the situation he was in. How could he justify giving an order to a nobody just down the street who said he could do what the best companies in the world could not? He asked me if I understood what it looked like and his problem with spending money on me knowing what he did.
My suggestion was that since nobody else was even going to try, if I put in our equipment and it failed as well then he had no more than when he started and all the letters would be vindicated. My failure would cost him nothing. On the other hand if we succeeded, only then would he have to pay for the correction and the problem would be solved. His duty would have been met. It was a win-win for him in every way. With that understanding we were given a purchase order and hurried to install.
Well, it worked, we were paid, everyone was happy and I was invited to go to all the rest of the SCIF offices everywhere and fix their harmonic interference. It was suggested that I visit every military base, Federal Building, Intelligence Office including every CIA, NSA, FBI, Homeland Security and all other American intelligence locations which may have some form of the SCIF. Was I big enough to get to all of them in a reasonable time? No. It was far out of my ability so the idea was temporarily delayed.
One important request came in to communicate with Maj. General Jan Small who’s flag is at Fort Hood, Texas the home of a very large cyber system. With several conversations with Gen. Small and his aides, we explained what we make and how it might help them. Of note I gave Gen. Smalls’ aide a list of all the problems that over powering harmonics might create. The reply was a huge controlled but excited comeback wanting to know why I knew so much about all of their breakdowns and wanted to know who had been talking to me as they could not understand how such information got out. I assured them that it was all guesswork and that their reaction told me as much as anyone who reported might have said during a security breech.
We took a while to make sure that no one had in fact told me anything. I spent some time with the Army Corps of Engineers talking about harmonics and what happens in heavy use electronic locations. The report was that I was on target with my data and that the reality was that I might be able to do something about the headaches which were in place at most military and civilian electronic use locations.
Again, the issue was and still is, our size. We are too small of a company to take on such a huge undertaking without trained employees, and we lack enough inventory to begin the process of delivering to the needs of the U.S Department of Defense, including the big problem at Ft. Hood. More important is the fact that the same problems exist at other bases and SCIF locations wherever American Intelligence and/or electronic problems exist.
Verification of what I have written here can be done but only the way the military does it. Phone numbers to intelligence offices are not public. Neither are private offices of commanding personnel. Naval, Army and Air Force connections and communications with me and Power Control Company are being handled by a Master Sergeant here in Utah. Anyone who has ever dealt with the Military for any reason will know that Master Sergeants and Master Chiefs do everything. They make everything happen, carry out the orders of officers and pass the work down to their underlings. That is the way it is. Should anyone wish to verify any work done by myself or Power Control Company one would need to contact Master Sergeant Layne T. Oliver. I am happy to provide his numbers and location should you have a need and can let him know to expect your call or visit.
There are many other military experiences not written here about Helicopter Base improvements, hot transformers, power failure solutions, and military hospital corrections which he could tell you about. That will be up to him, and for the sake of brevity, I will not attempt to explain them here.
John Jackman, Engineer, Power Control Company October 2008