JOHN COFFELTEEditor

All of the Coffee County and Manchester first responders officially came on line on the statewide Tennessee Advanced Communications Network (TACN) Monday with a ceremony that included state and local leaders and representatives from all the departments involved.

Key proponent of the county and municipal purchase (called the largest single investment by a county into the system to date), Sheriff Chad Partin said at the ceremony, “I am grateful that our county leaders recognized the importance of joining TACN. In emergencies, every second counts. Now that we’re part of the TACN system, communication and interoperability will drastically improve. As a result, lives will be saved. The citizens and first responders of Coffee County are safer than ever before. Uniting all defines interoperability.”

The digital system in addition to providing instant communication among rescue, fire and law enforcement, the system will improve poor reception that has plagued the system.

Partin said the general public doesn’t always understand that communications is the first responders’ lifeline.

“When you’re out alone in rural Coffee County… and you’re trying to take in to custody three violent felons and you’re by yourself at 2 o’clock in the morning and you’re hollering for help, you’re hoping that somebody will answer on the other side of that transmission.

“Today we’re able to do that. Today we’re able to communicate with our partners at the State of Tennessee, Department Of Safety, highway patrol, TBI and if need-be in a time of crisis, our national guard,” Partin said.

The TACN system came together under the last two governors’ administration as a statewide emergency radio network. That infrastructure includes a system of digital band towers and the computer systems needed to support them. The county’s buy-in was for mostly the radios and portables that allow the departments the ability to access that network.

Currently, TACN supports 58,000 local, state, and federal government users statewide. In the last year alone, over 30 additional agencies have made the decision to join TACN to experience the statewide communications interoperability and the cost savings it delivers.

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security administers the TACN network, Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Jeff Long said at the ceremony that “(c)ommunication and interoperability across jurisdictions should have been solved after 9/11. Communication is key to a swift response from first responders, whether it be natural disasters, vehicle crashes, or crimes against individuals. Coffee County serves as a model to other agencies across the state as we continue to build reliable TACN service.”

He said that billions of dollars were given out, but still today first responders cannot talk to each other because agencies that upgraded their systems did so with a patchwork of non-compatible radios.

“Our goal is vision is to have every first responder in the state … to be on a common system so in a case of emergency, we can all switch over to a common frequency and be able to talk to each other,” Long said.

Long said the system will save money by cutting out duplicating infrastructure and maintenance.

Also speaking at the ceremony were state Representative Rush Bricken and Senator Janice Bowling.

Bowling said that the state cell phone user fee helps each county have the money it needs to have the money to respond to 9-1-1 calls.

“We have to make sure that those boards have funding,” she said.

Bricken said that during his time as a county commissioner on the Budget and Finance Committee, the county purchased a lot of new radios.

“It would be a funding cycle…I hope this TACN system is universal, the equipment is in place for the long haul. And to all the first responders, please, take care of your equipment,” Bricken said.

Partin introduced former County Commissioner and then-Chairman of Budget and Finance Bobby Bryan, who was involved in allocating the $2.1 million in ARP Covid relief funds to purchase the radios.

“I don’t have the words the sheriff does and the gift of gab the sheriff does,” Bryan joked. “I appreciate the work of the sheriff and his efforts in bringing this system to Coffee County.”

He thanked all those who played a role in bringing the system to the county. Partin called Bryan key to getting the project funded.

Manchester Mayor Marilyn Howard told the gathered about when she asked Manchester Police Investigator Ben Sneed how police work compared to his military deployment to Afghanistan.

The officer replied, “no (there) I knew what I was getting into when I had back up. When (an officer) stops a car, you don’t know if it’s a nice lady speeding … if it’s family or someone who has murdered his family.”

With the radios, Howard relayed, “I can get backup. I still don’t know what I’m getting into, but I can still get backup.”

County Mayor Judd Matheny recalled being a road officer in Baxter, Tenn.

“There was almost no radio coverage. I can remember how frightening those days were, when I was alone out there.”

Like here under the old analog system, officers would be totally isolated at times in areas with poor reception once they left their patrol car. He called it an incredible feat that the county has made an investment to prevent that.

Partin concluded the ceremony by calling for a radio check to Memphis THP station, Knoxville station and then county communications.

Partin was presented a model TACN radio tower before presenting plaques to Long and Bryan.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.