SSC to conduct Wideband SATCOM training at Fort Detrick, Maryland

On November 14, Space Systems Command (SSC) announced that the Wideband Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Operations Center (WSOC) at Fort Detrick, Maryland, will soon be the permanent schoolhouse for the Wideband Transmission Controller Operator Course (WTCOC), which prepares Guardians for satellite transmissions control tasks on the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) and Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) constellations.

The new schoolhouse location consolidates training under the U.S. Space Force (USSF) and incorporates the live Wideband SATCOM Operational Management System (WSOMS) node sustained at Fort Detrick.

According to USSF Lt. Col. Patrisha Knight, deputy director, SSC, GPS Product Support, SSC/CGM, Military Communications & Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Program Executive Office, these moves support the WTCOC curriculum and provides students with real-time spectrum and mission monitoring capabilities previously available only at WGS operations centers.

“Wideband military SATCOM delivers critical long-haul communications to enable the Joint Force and its mission partners to fight and win in any environment and against any adversary,” said Knight. “Access to a live WSOMS node allows students to shadow WSOC operations to improve support for realistic training and expose students to operational scenarios they will encounter when supporting global military SATCOM operations.”

WGS centers serve as the “first line of defense” for users and terminal operators to support and troubleshoot critical military SATCOM links supporting the full spectrum of joint, combined, and interagency operations 24/7/365. Training was previously taught and hosted by the U.S. Army’s Cyber Center of Excellence (USACCoE) as the Satellite Systems Network Coordinator Course at Fort Eisenhower, Georgia.

Now under USSF, SSC/CGM is coordinating with Space Operations Command’s (SpOC) Space Delta 8 (DEL 8), 53^rd Space Operations Squadron (53 SOPS), and the U.S. Army Project Office – Wideband Control Systems (PO WCS) on both the integration of the Wideband Training and Certification System (WTCS) and sustainment of the live WSOMS node at Fort Detrick. Additionally, SSC/CGM will help build out training systems and environments that allow instructors to create scenarios to support specific training objectives. These will include high-fidelity training systems capable of simulating a wide variety of operational situations – including satellite anomalies, ground system faults, and benign to advanced threats – to effectively train and qualify WSOC operators.

Currently, WTCOC is an 86-day course encompassing 686 training hours that culminate in a qualification evaluation. Upon course completion, which includes passing rigorous evaluations as wideband transmissions controllers, graduates may serve at the squadron headquarters at Schriever Space Force Base (SFB), Colorado or any of the five WSOC detachments at military installations in Maryland, Germany, Hawaii, and Japan.

The Army transitioned management of the WTCOC in January 2024 to DEL 8’s 8th Combat Training Squadron Detachment 1 (8 CTS DET 1) as part of the transfer of the SATCOM missions to the U.S. Space Force. PO WCS and the WSOMS program of record are expected to complete the transfer from the Army to the USSF in Fiscal Year 2026 and will be managed under SSC/CGM.

Source: SSC

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