LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The 47th Communications Squadron and a contractor conducted maintenance on the installation’s giant voice system, formally known as the mass notification system, here on Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, June 29, 2018.
Over the years, weather, age and humidity have corroded and damaged the MNS system, causing some of its poles to operate at half of its capabilities.
To address the issue both the 47th CS and a contractor worked together to tune and replace broken drivers in the system to restore loudness and clarity.
“The giant voice is an integrated mass notification system installed on Department of Defense installations,” said Maj. Emmanuel Matos, 47th Flying Training Wing Communications Squadron commander. “With the push of a button, this system can rapidly deliver clear and intelligible voice commands to base personnel regardless of whether they are inside or outside of a building.”
Laughlin’s system, which comprises of 16 35-foot concrete poles, with four speakers individually pushing 400 watts of audio each, notifies base personnel of emergency situations, as well as marks the official start and finish of a duty day.
“It has taken us an entire week to travel around and take the back off of the speakers to update the drivers,” said Jesse Atkinson 47th Communication Squadron operations flight director. “This is the installation’s warning system, [so] if we had an active shooter this is the system that we’d use to project the words that say ‘Lockdown, Lockdown, Lockdown.’”
The giant voice system keeps the base populace alert and informed, causing it to be an integral part of the installation’s safety plan.