FORT EUSTIS, Va. (USTCNS) --- Warm, dusty vacuum-tubes softly glow inside the large, richly veneered wooden consoles, each bearing an elaborate nameplate reading Silver Tone, Atwater Kent, or Philco. Perhaps the Texaco Star Theater buzzes with static as it coughs from one of the huge monaural, cloth-covered speakers … ah yes, the good old days of radio.

One might think large and cumbersome radio equipment like this is ancient history now relegated to attics and museums.

Surprisingly, in this age of palm-sized computers, miniature cellular phones with full internet access, and despite modern transistorization, many of the two-way VHF radio units still in use are just as unwieldy as those icons of the 1940's and until recently, still used during Deployment Support Command port operations.

All that's about to change thanks to DSC's customer focused Information Management team-which gets the job done by staying on the cutting edge of technology.

One of the deployment challenges DSC's Information Management team is working to overcome addresses how to maintain reliable communications between shipboard DSC cargo specialists and those staging cargo outside the vessel on the docks. Until now, the only radios powerful enough to breech the ship's superstructure from deep within the hold have been the massive VHF variety.

Maintaining that technological edge, the DSC may soon be able to step into the 21st Century with compact communications equipment one might expect to see in a James Bond or Inspector Gadget movie.

Testing a new briefcase-sized system first developed for use by the Central Intelligence Agency, these DSC communications specialists recently proved a task that once took a full day could now be completed in minutes, according to Robert Shepard, DSC's Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Information Management.

"We knew there had to be a better way, then we discovered this brand new system. More testing is still needed, but it's clear that this equipment is a breakthrough," Shepard said. "The VHF system previously used took at least one deployment support team member a full day to temporarily install the heavy, footlocker-sized radio repeater on the ship and then string hundreds of feet of antenna wire all over the vessel. Those days are numbered.

"In contrast, the new briefcase containing the radio repeater is opened, two short antennas are attached, and the communication system is operational. We will need a little better headset on the handheld radio units, ones that don't pick up the ambient background noise, but other than that minor problem the system works perfectly," he added.

"With most other high tech equipment, the price for miniaturization and rugged portability is high, but these new units cost approximately one-fourth what the old system cost," explained Shepard. "Those older units had more functionality than we really needed. By re-looking requirements and getting only what was needed, we were able to investigate these compact, cost-conscious alternatives."

Along with the reduced initial investment, use of more compact equipment would greatly reduce the manpower needed to transport, temporarily install, and then remove the equipment. If the remaining tests, which are slated to take place within the next few months, are as successful as the first one, the equipment could be implemented as early as next fiscal year.

Testing took place in March aboard the Military Sealift Command's new Bob Hope-class USNS Fisher, the second of the large, medium speed, roll-on, roll-off vessels in the Navy's newest series of ships named in honor of the famous Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.

The Fisher, which was conveniently berthed in Newport News, Va., near the DSC's Fort Eustis headquarters, served as an ideal test bed for the equipment. Almost as large as an aircraft carrier, the vessel is typical of the platform that would require a two-way communication system during a large exercise or operation. (FROM MILITARY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT COMMAND - DEPLOYMENT SUPPORT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).