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In late June 1917, Camp Little Silver, NJ, consisted only of pup tents and tent pegs. The First and Second Reserve Telegraph Battalions were training Soldiers on telegraph technology and, before long, more battalions arrived at the camp. At the end of 1917, 2,416 enlisted men and 448 officers would arrive at or pass through the U.S. Army Signal Corps training post on their way to the "Great War." Here also, the Signal Corps Radio Laboratory would begin devising means to communicate with the Army's newest flying machines and to meet other specialized communication needs.
From this fast-paced start, the installation that was officially renamed Fort Monmouth in 1925 began a tradition of superb service to the Nation. In the 90 years that followed, the post would shrink and grow at intervals as missions formed and changed. An array of organizations carrying varied and changing banners would pass through before the mission of training Signal Corps Soldiers would pass to another installation. The fast pace, however, continued well into the 21st century because of the sustained focus on Army command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) technologies.
Among the many technological contributions here were numerous milestones in the development of radar. Vanguard I, the Army's initial foray into satellite communications, was developed at Fort Monmouth in the 1950s with the pioneering use of solar power and is still in use today. Fort Monmouth is where the first artificial quartz crystals were devel- oped, leading to the design of the first portable "walkie-talkie" radio. It is where the Army built the first mobile, digital computer, and much to the dismay of lead- footed drivers, the world's first hand-held radar was built here. Engineers here also made significant contributions to telephone switching system, laser rangefinder, and night vision technologies. "If you were to remove the historic technologi- cal contributions to the modern world made by Fort Monmouth, this would be a much less advanced and much less enlightened world," said MG Dennis L. Via, Commanding General (CG), U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC).
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