Combat Comm provides crucial capabilities Published Oct. 29, 2009 By Senior Airman Benjamin Wilson 52nd Fighter Wing, Public Affairs CAMPIA TURZII, Romania -- The phrase "communication is key" is used so often not many people stop to think about how important it really is. During a deployment to Romania for Operation Dacian Thunder, members of the 81st Fighter Squadron and its supporting units enlisted the help of the 1st Combat Communications Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to keep them connected to each other and their home unit. The 1st CCS was among the initial wave of people to land in Romania, setting up the communications support needed to run the mission within 72 hours and will be working 24/7 until the last Airmen leave. Some of the services provided by 1st CCS include secure and unsecured internet connections, DSN phone lines, land mobile radios, and air-to-air and air-to-ground communications for the A-10 Thunderbolt II, said 1st Lt. John Myers, 1st CCS officer in charge. "Whether you want to touch back to base using our DSN phones, check your email or check your web mail," Lieutenant Myers said, "we provide that capability." Senior Airman Troy Wilburn, 1st CCS radio frequency transmissions technician, is among the 13 members of 1st CCS supporting Operation Dacian Thunder. Airman Wilburn, who is on his first TDY with the unit, says he prefers being in a combat unit to a typical communications squadron. "I like the ability to go out the door and support different countries," Airman Wilburn said. "It's really good to see all the cooperation and how everybody works together." The 1st CCS provides the capabilities needed for everyone to work together and get the job done. "Our guys have done a tremendous job coming here and setting everything up from scratch," said Lieutenant Myers. "We have all the capabilities up and running so all the pilots and maintainers can do their jobs."