ANOTHER WAY WE WILL CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE OUR NETWORK CAPABILITIES—AND MAKE THEM MORE SUSTAINABLE
AND USER-FRIENDLY FOR THE SOLDIER—IS THROUGH THE ARMY’S COMMON OPERATING ENVIRONMENT.
Before they are selected to be part of a Capability Set (CS), network systems are developmentally tested and tech- nically integrated using robust Army laboratories, and undergo operational evaluations with a full brigade combat team (BCT) at the Network Integration Evaluations (NIEs). Held twice a year to keep pace with technological change, the NIEs bring Soldiers, materiel develop- ers, and engineers together in a realistic operational environment. (See related article, Page 28.)
We are using these NIEs to gain Soldier feedback that can inform the Army on what systems should be procured, as well as to ensure that the systems work together as an integrated communications pack- age for the BCT. Just as important, NIEs have helped the Army develop Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) for how Soldiers and acquisition managers should field, train, sustain, and maintain network capabilities. NIEs study every- thing from how network systems are installed onto a vehicle, to what training approach is most effective, to the role and management of field service representa- tives who support the systems.
Lessons learned from the NIEs have been applied to the process of producing, fielding, and training CS 13, the first inte- grated package to emerge from the NIE process, and to the alignment of several key Army network Programs of Record. Te same engineers and technicians who were on the ground at the NIEs are now
applying their knowledge to the produc- tion of CS 13 as they work to integrate complex communication systems onto the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles that will go to theater.
Engineering and production teams from various program offices have part- nered with engineers from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic who worked on NIE vehicle integration, in order to directly apply NIE lessons learned to integration and design for the MRAP All-Terrain Vehicles and MRAPs that are being integrated to support CS fielding. Additionally, lessons learned while integrating network systems onto 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division (2/1 AD) vehicles in the NIE integration motor pool will be applied as the Army integrates CS 13 systems into theater-provided platforms in Afghani- stan, starting in 2013.
Te two brigades of the 10th Mountain Division that have received CS 13 are also tapping into the expertise of the 2/1 AD, the unit that conducts the NIEs, to gain insights on how to operate the network and how it will benefit their specific missions.
For example, the NIEs have demonstrated the network’s ability to support operations in austere environments such as Afghanistan. As U.S. forces continue to draw down, they will turn over many of their forward operating bases and other infrastructure to the local forces,
thus gradually losing fixed network
infrastructure locations. CS 13 systems provide mobile satellite and robust radio capability, allowing commanders and Soldiers to take the network with them in vehicles and while dismounted, as they conduct combat and security assistance missions.
Te mission scenarios developed for the NIEs have required 2/1 AD to perform these tasks with the support of the network. As
the exercises unfold,
the unit develops and documents the TTPs for each system and for the CS as a whole. Soldiers recognize that their input is directly influencing how their counterparts will use the network while deployed.
Te integration, training, TTPs, and sus- tainment practices vetted through realistic missions at the NIEs give 10th Mountain Division Soldiers a head start on how best to leverage the new technologies they are taking to the battlefield. Furthermore, the Army will continuously incorporate lessons learned from the experience of the 10th Mountain’s BCTs and other CS 13 receiving units into its network doctrine and future capability sets.
WORKING WITH INDUSTRY Even as this capability set goes to the field, the Army is continuing to enhance the network through a continuous cycle of test and evaluation. Te NIE itself is one phase of this process, which also includes laboratory assessments and risk
ASC.ARMY.MIL 19
ACQUISITION
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