The Mission
In January 2004, with coalition forces actively engaged across Iraq, IPXCOM deployed 6 field engineers to Baghdad to deliver mission-critical IT and Communications infrastructure. This was not a remote deployment from a safe base — it was boots on the ground, in-country, under armed escort for the full duration.
The assignment: install, configure, and commission communications systems supporting coalition force operations. Four and a half weeks later. Network live. Mission complete.
The project was a 5-year duration engagement with the Sandi Group, Louis Berger, Parsons, Lucent, DynCorp, US Army, and various Baghdad-based companies.
The deployment also included travel to and from the Green Zone — Saddam's Palace — to meet L. Paul Bremer, Head of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and the top civilian authority governing Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein, to discuss various infrastructure projects.
What It Took
Most technology companies deploy to safe environments — data centers, corporate campuses, controlled facilities. IPXCOM deploys where the mission demands. Baghdad in January 2004 meant navigating active conflict zones, operating under armed escort, and maintaining the composure to deliver precision technical work under extraordinary pressure.
The IPXCOM engineer on the ground won the company's Salesman of the Month Award for the Baghdad deployment — not because of a sales quota, but because of what it represented: the willingness to go where others won't, and the capability to deliver when it matters most.
When it has to work,
IPXCOM goes where others don't.
A Pattern, Not a One-Off
The Baghdad deployment was part of a broader defense track record that includes the Northrop Grumman Blue Force Tracking program — 17 Earth Stations deployed globally for battlefield command-and-control, earning IPXCOM the Northrop Grumman Supplier Excellence Award from a field of 3,000 competitors.
From Pacific islands accessible only by NZ Navy frigate and Zodiac, to the streets of Baghdad under armed escort, to 248 CTBTO monitoring stations across 100 countries — IPXCOM's history is a record of showing up where the mission is hardest.