Simplify, Simplify


Future network must make it easier for Soldiers to train, plan, operate from garrison to foxhole


by BG Daniel P. Hughes and Ms. Jennifer Zbozny W 52


hen you think “modernization,” the next word that comes to mind probably isn’t “simplify.”


Progress often implies more systems, with


greater complexity—saturating Soldiers with technology and then surging the underlying infrastructure necessary to support everything from power to training. But does it have to?


As we plan the Army’s future tactical communications net- work—a top modernization priority as the Army transitions to a smaller but still highly capable force—we have a different vision. Picture a landscape in which Soldiers can start up a wireless command post at the push of a button, a quick voice command can summon and interpret a wealth of operational data, and a digital map looks the same from smartphone to tablet to vehicle-mounted touch screen.


In this vision, capabilities for maneuver, fires, logistics and other functions will be delivered and accessed not on separate computer terminals, but through a common, cyberhardened framework. Powering communication systems will require less fuel and fewer batteries. Soldiers will have the same information at their fin- gertips from garrison to foxhole, with network-enabled training


providing continuity from schoolhouses to combat training cen- ters. Holistically, the modernized tactical network will mimic the simplicity and capacity of commercial networks, while enabling the Army to securely dominate the battlefield across the full spectrum of military operations. Above all, capabilities will be intuitive for Soldiers to operate with minimal training and field support, so that they can focus on the mission, not the network.


To achieve this vision of simplicity, the Army has begun to imple- ment the network modernization road map, which synchronizes operational priorities for versatility, mobility and security with technology imperatives and program-of-record objectives. Te road map unfolds in three interconnected phases: Network 2.0 (in FY14-15), Simplified Tactical Army Reliable Network (STARNet, FY16-20) and the Network After Next (NaN, 2020 and beyond). (See Figure 1 on Page 57.) Led by the Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications – Tactical (PEO C3T) and aligned with Armywide efforts such as the Network Integration Evaluation (NIE), Network Capabil- ity Review (NCR) and Common Operating Environment, the road map also serves as a guide for industry to focus develop- ment efforts and to bring forward innovations quickly to fill capability gaps.


Army AL&T Magazine


April–June 2014


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