News From USJFCOM: Command conducts experiment with Army’s TRADOC

Command conducts experiment with Army’s TRADOC

With a focus toward getting joint warfighters the most efficient and effective assistance they need, U.S. Joint Forces Command conducted the Extended Awareness 06-1 limited objective experiment with the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command to explore near-term solutions relating to convoy force protection.
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By MCC(SW/AW) Chris Hoffpauir
USJFCOM Public Affairs

(NORFOLK, Va. – Aug. 4, 2006) –- U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) recently assisted in an effort to develop new capabilities designed to protect troops traveling in convoys and increase their ability to communicate with other forces.

Working with the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), USJFCOM conducted the Extended Awareness 06-1 (EA06-1) limited objective experiment earlier this summer, designed to enhance the effectiveness of quick reaction forces supporting convoys under attack.

Ted Ferrazano, operations and technology director in USJFCOM’s Joint Intelligence Directorate's Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Innovation Branch (J28) said J28 offered TRADOC assistance in demonstrating low-cost, near-term solutions for capability gaps related to convoy force protection.

TRADOC and USJFCOM funded a capability demonstration in June at Fort A.P. Hill, Va., during a training event called Manassas Run. The Army Transportation School at Fort Eustis, Va., provided vehicles and combat-experienced personnel for the experiment, while USJFCOM provided ISR subject matter experts.

USJFCOM used the opportunity to conduct EA06-1 as a limited objective experiment inside Manassas Run, testing the use of acoustic sensors in locating attackers more quickly and inform quick reaction forces than is currently possible.

"Our hypothesis was, if we can get more accurate information back to the first responders, the quick reaction forces – the policemen if you will – faster than is currently possible, they can get out to the scene of the action quicker and with a more scaled response because they have a better idea of the tactical situation," Ferrazano said.

The solution USJFCOM’s team worked on included using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to collect imagery and enabling convoy commanders to pass information by using standard Army preformatted messages on computers linked by radio, cutting down on the time it takes to request emergency support. Responding forces then have better information about the area and can be better prepared for whatever situation they find.

"What we did was we put them in a format on the computer so the target location, i.e., the shooter’s position, was auto-filled, their present position was auto-filled and the current time was auto-filled," said Ferrazano.

Ferrazano explained that participants transmitted both voice communications and preformatted data on a single frequency, freeing up more of the radio spectrum for other purposes.

He said the system allowed convoy commander to focus on the firefight and not keystrokes while requesting immediate assistance.

Ferrazano said, in his opinion, Army units could use the technology in the near future. Soldiers working convoys could possibly see the technology in as soon as six months.

"They’re serious about getting a near-term solution to the warfighter, and we’re serious about doing that too," Ferrazano said. "We see this as showing great potential and we believe that it’s worthy of further evaluation."

He said the evaluation for the technology will come during Extended Awareness 06-2, another limited experiment conducted during the Empire Challenge experiment sponsored by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency in September.