The Army’s new network strategy is bringing to bear lessons learned from past programs in an evolutionary and agile change to network capability for soldiers at all levels.
“The Army has fundamentally changed the way we will deliver the network by developing network capability sets aligned against the Army force generation requirements,” Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli said at a recent roundtable setting out the new strategy. “Capability sets are all the components that will provide a network capability to a formation, from the tactical operations center, or TOC, to the commander on the move to the dismounted soldier.”
The network focus has moved from early network examinations in the 1990s of Force XXI and the digital division to providing network capability to a few formations as did the terminated Future Combat System (FCS) where the network was to be delivered after some years to only a portion of Army forces–15 brigades. The network capability set has now evolved from the FCS spin-out Early Infantry Brigade Combat Team baseline network to the new strategy of providing network capability sets supporting capability packages as needed to forces through the force generation process.
The first network capability set is expected to be fielded in 2013-14, supporting Capability Package 13-14. All the network players responsible for requirement, capability and materiel developments are now expected to be on a synchronized, recurring schedule.
“What we’re now doing is entering an agile acquisition process to allow continuous updating of capability and technologies every couple of years,” said Paul Mehney, director of public communication in the Program Executive Office Integration.
Chiarelli said that a critical component of the new holistic strategy is the establishment of the Center for Network Integration. The new center falls under the purview of Maj. Gen. Keith Walker, who leads the Brigade Modernization Command at Ft. Bliss, Texas.
“We have dedicated an entire brigade combat team to this important event and this important effort; a series of events,” Chiarelli said. “The 2nd brigade combat team, First Armored Division is the network’s primary test unit, with a two-fold intent: To provide an operational venue replicating the down-range network in order to evaluate new technologies and emerging capabilities, and ultimately to remove the integration burden from the operational units. And that’s absolutely critical.”
Right now, any technical integration issue in theater must be fixed in theater, he said. The new integration center will take over that integration burden, not deployed troops, so equipment does what’s expected when it arrives, and soldiers don’t have to integrate it.
At Ft. Bliss, 2/1 AD, is conducting the first of the planned semi-annual Network Integration Evaluations (NIE). Soldiers are evaluating emerging capabilities in an integrated network.
“We know there are some technical limitations to the equipment,” he said. “The reality is these NIEs are as much about learning as they are about testing. After all, the only way to fix problems is to accurately identify them. Likewise, the most effective means for developing new, relevant doctrine and tactics is to conduct integrated network-enabled training exercises.”
A secondary effect of the capability-set approach is that the Army will then buy “what it needs, when it needs it, for those that need it…This allows us to buy less, more often, and incrementally improve network capability over time.”
Better buying power is the bottom line the Defense Secretary and top Pentagon chief acquisition official have been pounding home as defense budgets are experiencing cuts and DoD searches for savings.
Key to it all working effectively is a partnership with industry, to ensure the most current technology is available that ultimately can quickly move into the hands of soldiers, Chiarelli said. “I want to say for the record I am very, very encouraged by our collective efforts.”
The Army expects to learn a lot about the capabilities and limitations of state-of-the-art equipment and network systems from the NIE. Those results “will ultimately better inform our decisions in the days ahead,” Chiarelli said.