When duty calls.
The V Team supports a basic training graduation livestream from Fort Jackson.
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You only graduate from basic training in the Army once, so it’s pretty cool that we’re doing this.
That’s Larry Bair, a Field Network Assurance Engineer, speaking from Fort Jackson in Columbia, SC. The fort is the largest and most active initial entry training center in the U.S. Army, training 50 percent of all soldiers and 60 percent of the women soldiers entering the Army each year.
“Usually, every week there is a graduation ceremony and family members would come in from all over the country,” said Larry. With the new COVID-19 restrictions not allowing large gatherings, there was going to be no way for family and friends to experience this spring’s graduations - so the Army reached out to Verizon for potential solutions.
“We brought in the SPOT (“Satellite Picocell on Trailer”) to allow the Army to livestream the ceremony so that family members can view it remotely,” explained Larry. “The SPOT was designed for first responders to communicate with each other in a crisis, but COVID-19 has showed us that we can use these in a different capacity.”
Often focused on the technical aspects of his job, Larry doesn’t always get to experience customers enjoying the fruits of his labor.
“On a normal day, you don’t get to see the gratitude and that you’re making an impact,” said Larry. “But when I saw the livestream and all the happy people, it really affected me. I’m very proud to be involved.”
