 Joint
Systems Integration Command Rolls Out New Mobile Command
and Control Operational Prototype
Joint
Systems Integration Command's new C2 on the Move operational
prototype gives joint task force commanders
mobility without losing connectivity, allowing them to
stay connected as they move around the battlefield.
By JO1(SW/AW) Chris Hoffpauir
USJFCOM Public Affairs
(SUFFOLK,
Va. - May 18, 2005) -- Joint
Systems Integration Command's
(JSIC) C2 on the Move (C2OTM) project recently
rolled out its operational prototype, mounted in a HMMWV,
giving joint task force (JTF) commanders the ability to
stay connected as they move around the battlefield.
C2OTM is one of several programs under development at
JSIC which address different aspects of battle management
command and control. JSIC, a U. S. Joint Forces Command
(USJFCOM) subordinate command, focuses on near-term transformation
of joint force command, control, communications, computers,
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR)
capabilities through assessing new technology.
The
JSIC then provides objective recommendations for rapid
insertion
of solutions to support identified combatant commands'
needs for a joint task force (JTF).
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Fahey, JSIC's C2OTM project leader,
says the command developed the rapid prototype in a matter
of months.
"We first built the conceptual prototype in August
last year and tested it through November," Fahey said. "We
took the lessons we learned from that and started work
on the operational prototype in January. A whole lot has
been done in a very short period of time.
"We're
trying to fill that hole between what the warfighter's
needs are today and what the programs of record
might be able to deliver a year or two down the road. We've
created a step that others can build on. It's a solution
that meets today's requirements for command and control
and serves as a reference point for other programs out
there. They might learn something from us that may help
them with their efforts as well."
C2OTM addresses how to give task force commanders the
ability to move around the battlefield while maintaining
situational awareness.
"We've built a system where the commander doesn't
have to trade capability for mobility," Fahey said. "With
C2OTM, he takes that capability with him, whether he's
in or out of the vehicle, he always has a capability with
him that links him back to his headquarters. From a functional
perspective, it's as if he never left his desk.
"All
the information that's available to him in the headquarters
is available to him while he's on the move.
It's a significant improvement over traditional methods."
C2OTM uses a dynamic satellite dish and spread spectrum
technology to provide access to an array of communication
tools. Secure telephone, two-way video teleconferencing,
the Global Command and Control System (GCCS) and three
different internet protocols at broadband data rates are
among tools at the user's disposal, simultaneously and
on the move at speeds of up to 50 mph.
The
system uses National Security Agency-approved encryption
and the latest generation of compression intelligent caching
to provide security and take advantage of available bandwidth.
C2OTM users can even dismount the vehicle and remain connected
using a secure wireless system with a range of up to a
quarter mile.
JSIC built the C2OTM prototype specifically to meet operational
requirements identified by the U.S. Army V Corps, based
in Heidelberg, Germany. V Corps came to USJFCOM with an
operational requirement identical to the C2OTM concept
JSIC was working on.
V Corps' knowledge management chief, Army Lt. Col. Tony
Krogh, said his command realized the need for C2OTM on
the road to Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
"This is from V Corps experience," Krogh said. "We
fought the battle all the way from Kuwait, all the way
through Iraq and into Baghdad.
"We took some of the shortcomings that we saw in
the ability to keep our commander informed during times
of movement, and brought that requirement here to JSIC," he
said. "They have a system that we think is going to
fit our operational requirement.
"We
see C2OTM as a primary platform for our commander that
gives him the ability to maneuver around the battlefield
and maintain situational awareness without being tethered
to the standard command post or having to stop and erect
some type of a satellite dish. He can arrive on scene with
full situational awareness."
Again, the need for rapid prototyping was a factor.
"The deadline for the prototype is the mission rehearsal
exercise in July," Krogh said. "Our commander
said that if it's not ready for the mission rehearsal,
we're not taking it. If you can't train on it, you don't
want to take it. You don't use it for the first time in
the field."
The C2OTM team met that deadline with time to spare.
"We're providing them with two mobile terminals and
hub architecture," Fahey said. "We're providing
training and developing a spares plan to make it a turnkey
solution for them. They'll operationally assess during
their mission rehearsal in July. We'll use that assessment
to refine the technology so they can integrate it into
their infrastructure and go forward with it when they deploy.
"This
is not a sideshow or an experiment. C2OTM will provide
the primary means of communications for the JTF
commander."
"The project went from idea to operational prototype
and delivery to our customer in about 14 months," said
Army Lt. Col. Charles Davis of JSIC's program development
team. He sees the C2OTM program as not only filling V Corps'
immediate requirements, but also as a catalyst for other
programs working on similar solutions to the problem.
"An
outcome of our efforts here with V Corps is to transition
what we've learned to the acquisition agencies
that are charged with similar programs of record, so that
they can use what we've learned for their own programs.
That's really the end product of our effort here.
"We're going to give them valuable information," Davis
added. "They're going to see someone who's actually
put a system out in the field and with the feedback from
the warfighters in an operational environment, they're
going to be able to make some better informed decisions
about the direction their own programs need to go.
"In
the next few months, I think that we're going to see
a range of options being presented to the warfighters
for on the move command and control capabilities."
Fahey agreed.
"We're the first ones in the Department of Defense
to build a practical broadband command and control on the
move system that's suitable for immediate ground operations," Fahey
said.
"We
have a customer who's ready to use it in a real environment
in the very near term. Those two things combined
form a perfect opportunity for everybody to benefit. Not
only how to do the technology better, but to determine
what the warfighter really wants. Until you put something
in front of the warfighter that he can really use, you
can't really get to that point.
"If
we've done our job correctly, we will have provided V
Corps a capability that met their requirements, in time
for them to deploy with it. We'll also have provided valuable
technical and operational lessons to all those programs
to perhaps make better acquisition decisions and meet the
long-term needs of the services."
|
