HONEST BROKER
it demands we go faster. As a small office, we can do risk reduction for the PORs through prototyping and experimenta- tion to see what is possible, while also fielding 80 percent solutions in limited amounts to get real capabilities into the hands of the Soldiers today.
What is the ETO doing to help find electronic warfare, AI and PNT capabilities?
DELIVERING ADVANCED CAPABILITIES A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from the 214th General Support Aviation Battalion, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, supports Soldiers assigned to 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment (2CR) during an air assault in support of a counter-reconnaissance training exercise in the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany. The Army RCO used prototyping to deliver advanced electronic detection, support and attack capability to the 2CR. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jennifer Bunn, 2CR)
We are moving forward this year with a series of “burn-off” events and challenges that really target this next step in the dis- covery and prototype process. Industry, academia and the S&T [science and tech- nology] community deliver white papers to us on promising technology. Tey have great ideas. Te next step is finding out if [an idea] is really tangible. If so, then we want to try and demonstrate it and see how well it works. Tat’s where the ombudsman comes in: We create a very low barrier to entry.
solutions and to filter them down realisti- cally to address specific operational needs.
Implementing this vision is Rob Monto, director of the ETO. He brings an engi- neering background, friendly demeanor and deep knowledge of the tech sector to his role as an honest broker of technolo- gies. In a discussion on Jan. 8, Monto provided his perspective on what lies ahead for the office and the RCO as they continue to evolve.
Would you explain the thinking
behind the ETO and how it fits into the RCO?
Te RCO charter specifically calls for the ETO to be an ombudsman: to fairly and honestly assess what different types of technologies could help provide over- match or disruptive capabilities for the
34 Army AL&T Magazine April-June 2018
Army. Te Army wanted to have a dedi- cated cell to constantly interact, put the problems on the table and be honest with everyone in determining if an emerg- ing technology fits the immediate need. We are focused on placing small bets in a bunch of different areas. And that’s exactly what we are doing right now with electronic warfare, artificial intelligence [AI] and alternative position, navigation and timing [PNT].
Of course, this is just a start. Programs of record [PORs] are going down their path on what they need to do to support their requirements for fielding the entire Army with approved capabilities. At the same time, we are accelerating prototypes that help inform these PORs and will be in the hands of units overseas in Europe, and eventually Korea, much faster. We realize the speed of technology and that
With burn-offs, we’re not doing formal
“tests” of anything, but we do want to provide the participants with feedback, because that’s a business decision for them to invest their time and resources. We want to provide them something tangible, so even if their solution doesn’t fit our needs, they can walk away saying that the Army RCO was interested in this capability and they got this assess- ment out of it. While it may not support a specific requirement today, maybe they could go for internal research and development dollars to enhance it. Or go to a science and technology organi- zation and say they demonstrated it in this environment, it performed this and the Army RCO—or even Soldiers using the technology—gave this feedback. It’s that going back and forth to really hit at technology acceleration that the Army is looking for. [Interested in what a burn-off
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