Staff Sergeant Bobby Jones of the Iowa Army National Guard got the call to produce a comprehensive and challenging timeline across 54″ x 54′ of wall space at Fort Jackson, S.C.

The military timeline spans the American Revolution to the current War on Terror and is designed to give recruits attending Basic Combat Training a big picture view of the National Guard’s place, and their place, in history.

“The idea for the project originally started as a concept that showed a timeline with silhouettes on an American flag background. The jpeg that was sent to us from Fort Jackson was about 31k and was clearly not useable for the project. With the help of Specialist Brandynn Boren, we set out to design an image that would keep the integrity of the concept, but provide some more detail,” says Jones.

Jones adds that the final design is similar to the artwork found at the armory he works out of on Camp Dodge, Johnston, Iowa, which illustrates the history of America’s wars, the pivotal battles and the Iowans who fought and died in those wars.

“We also incorporated the use of the streamers of each conflict. The streamer is attached to the Army flag and represents the Army’s involvement in that particular war. When soldiers are deployed they receive a medal their involvement in the campaign, and the ribbon is made of the same pattern and colors as that war’s streamer,” explains Jones.  “So we used some of the same concepts used in our own armory and added a few personal touches like the use of some of the symbols of our great nation: the Liberty Bell, the 13-star flag, the 50-star flag, and the bald eagle. We also made sure to include the seven Army Values:  Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.”

The next step was to find the right inkjet media for the project that would work well, both on the application to the painted brick surface and with the Iowa Army National Guard’s HP Designjet L25500 Latex Printer.

Jones turned to LexJet government specialist Vincent Bejar for advice. Bejar recommended LexJet Simple MTS Adhesive Vinyl for the project. The design printed without a hitch and was installed in about six hours with a ladder, a propane torch and a couple of Roller Pro Vinyl Application Rollers.

“We found that the measurements provided were guesstimations, so we had to make a few adjustments on-site.  We have never done anything of this size or on brick. I am very happy with the results and ease of use of this product, and look forward to using it again in the near future,” says Jones.