 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.
• Listen
to the podcast
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.
|
