Operational Test Command evaluates digital communications
By Kim Olson
May 31, 2006
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, May 31, 2006) – U.S. Army Operational Test Command (USAOTC) is conducting a series of tests and evaluations on digitized, network-based communication systems through June at Fort Hood, Texas, and the National Training Center at Fort Erwin, Calif.
"The realistic, operational environments of the National Training Center and Fort Hood will allow us to determine whether these systems are effective, suitable and survivable in combat," said Brig. Gen. Christopher Tucker, OTC commanding general. "OTC is on track to put the best equipment possible, as quickly as possible, into the hands of our deployed Soldiers."
Initial operational tests are being conducted on the Joint Network Node-Network (JNN) and the Standardized Integrated Command Post System – Command Post Platform (SICPS-CPP). Operational assessments are being conducted on the Army Battle Command Systems (ABCS), Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below Blue Force Tracking (FBCB2/BFT) and Command Post of the Future (CPOF).
"JNN provides the full spectrum of information services to the modern Army in support of the Global War on Terrorism," said Lt. Col. Walt Bruning, OTC test officer. "JNN transports timely, reliable and mobile information that allows Soldiers to control the battlefield tempo."
According to Bruning, JNN will replace the Army's existing tactical communications network, which was not designed to support current and future warfighting needs. Mounted on vehicles equipped with satellite communications, voice-over Internet Protocol and dynamic IP technologies, JNN connects military networks, providing voice, video/multimedia, imagery and graphics data in an overall "Common Operating Picture," Bruning said.
SICPS-CPP is an integral part of the Army's transformation process, Bruning explained. It allows commanders and their staffs to plan, prepare and execute operations digitally through the development and sharing of the Common Operational Picture.
"Today's warfighters need to shift battle focus rapidly, reconfigure and reconstitute forces, and move from one mission to another quickly and efficiently while on the move," Bruning said. "SICPS-CPP provides a significant battlefield advantage by helping forces make and communicate decisions before the enemy can react."
ABCS grew out of a family of existing software and hardware applications, each providing automated support to areas of combat operations (fire support, logistics, intelligence, etc.).
OTC evaluated ABCS "as a system of systems" in 2005 during a 4th Infantry Division exercise. This test will be the second formal evaluation of the inter-relationships of the individual systems and how they support combat operations.
"ABCS provides the mission capability that supports the warfighters' needs," Bruning said. "
CPOF is an executive-level decision support system that provides situational awareness to commanders so they can monitor and influence decision-making processes of subordinate units, according to Bruning. The system combines computer-based battlefield visualization with voice communications and file-sharing.
"Even if units are geographically dispersed," he said, "CPOF allows for collaborative meetings and briefings for commanders and their Soldiers."
FBCB2/BFT is a digital battle command information system that provides commanders, leaders and Soldiers integrated information and situational awareness from the brigade to the soldier level, Bruning said.
"Testing these systems will provide Army leadership the necessary feedback on their performance to help them determine their future," Tucker said. "The war on terrorism is a constantly evolving dynamic; systems and personnel must also evolve."
(Editor's note: Kim Olson works with the Operational Test Command Public Affairs Office.)
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