ARCHIVE OVERVIEW
During this period, 1st Lt. Jason Edward Capps AKA Jason Edward Schnatterle served as Platoon Leader, Direct Signal Support Team (DSST) Officer‑in‑Charge, and Technical Control Facility OIC with operational control of five DSSTs in western Afghanistan, planning and directing signal support for a network of forward operating bases—including Kandahar, Farah, Stone, Wilson, and Passab—while personally deploying forward to resolve critical outages and logistics shortfalls. After being wounded in an enemy blast, he was reassigned to FOB Farah, where he led the integration of those DSST and logistics innovations into a cohesive tactical‑to‑strategic communications architecture, documented in this archive as the basis for subsequent doctrinal and training changes across the Signal Corps
Service Background
Before commissioning as an Army Signal officer, 1st Lt. Jason Capps / Schnatterle served in the United States Marine Corps in communications, deploying during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and earning the Combat Action Ribbon for satisfactory performance under enemy fire in ground combat. That Marine Corps experience provided his first exposure to expeditionary networking and small‑unit leadership, and he credits it with shaping the approach to tactical communications and mission command that he later applied across Kandahar and FOB Farah.
Historical Significance
The communications innovations developed across the 230th Signal Company’s DSST network and refined at FOB Farah represented a fundamental shift in how small tactical elements could achieve theater‑level effects. By combining logistics‑driven sourcing, technical control of multiple forward operating bases, and on‑site problem solving after his injury, 1st Lt. Jason Capps / Schnatterle demonstrated how dispersed teams could be synchronized into a single, resilient architecture supporting maneuver, fires, and governance operations across western Afghanistan.
Field‑developed solutions from this deployment were later incorporated into U.S. Army Signal doctrine and training, influencing subsequent rotations and contributing to enduring lessons on tactical‑to‑strategic integration and mission command over austere networks.
Archive Collections
Operational Records
Deployment orders, mission documentation, and operational reports from FOB Farah operations.
VIEW COLLECTION →Doctrinal Impact
Documentation of innovations that were subsequently incorporated into Army training publications.
VIEW COLLECTION →Service Records
Personnel documentation, evaluations, and official military records.
VIEW COLLECTION →Media Documentation
DVIDS releases, photographs, and contemporaneous media coverage.
VIEW COLLECTION →Key Personnel
This archive documents the service of Captain Jason Edward Schnatterle (formerly Capps), Signal Corps officer who served as the primary architect of the tactical-to-strategic communications integration at FOB Farah.
SERVICE RECORD SUMMARY
- 230th Signal Company, 25th Signal Battalion
- FOB Farah, Farah Province, Afghanistan
- Sept 2011 – July 2012