Veterans of the Tower Industry
Mike Britner served four years in the U.S. Air Force working on the guidance and control system of the Titan II ICBM, the same rocket that launched the Gemini astronauts into orbit.
“The 18 Titans that I maintained were buried all over northern Arkansas with nine megaton hydrogen bombs in the re-entry vehicles. Thank God we never had to use them and that they have long been decommissioned and used for the more peaceful purpose of launching satellites,” he said.
After 15 years with COMSAT in international satellite communications and a stint with U.S. Cellular as a network field engineer, Britner was hired by Lawrence Behr of LBA Group in 1996 and has been there ever since. In addition to LBA’s clients in the wireless and tower industries, he said he gets to stay in close contact with the military. LBA provides portable lightning masts to the Air Force, Marines, and Navy that are used to protect the Joint Strike Force F-35 fighter aircraft. “Those lightning masts in the photo (above) are needed when F-35s are parked and no hanger or sunshade is available.”
“It was an honor to serve and to continue working with the military,” Britner said. “We have several military facilities nearby in eastern North Carolina. Within the past year I have been at Camp Lejeune for an RF shielded room project, Ft. Bragg for two trade shows, and USMC Cherry Point for a tour and lightning protection discussions,” he said. LBA is also engaged via a prime contractor on a project in Kodiak, Alaska to reconfigure the U.S. Coast Guard’s NAVTEX transmit facility.
November 11, 2019
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