FACTOR 13


More than MRAPs had to be set aside from retrograde, however. Several other CS 13 components, including antennas, mounts and AN/PRC-117G network radios and other single-channel and tac- tical satellite legacy radios, were also distributed throughout Afghanistan from previous individual fieldings in support of OEF. When the retrograde mission began to pick up, the CS 13 team worked to track down and redirect these assets to the dedi- cated integration area at Bagram Airfield.


Te process wasn’t always smooth, but it worked. In the case of the AN/PRC- 117G, the Army ultimately fielded approximately 1,700 radios


in support


of CS 13, but had to buy only about 1,140 of them new. Te recovered radios received upgrades with new software to ensure interoperability with the rest of the capability set.


Once at Bagram, the vehicles entered a “racetrack” setup, moving to various stations to be equipped with the lower- tier network components and receive required theater upgrades and mainte- nance. Te process benefited significantly from lessons learned through the semian- nual Network Integration Evaluations (NIEs), the CS 13 Network Verification event and other previous integration and validation efforts in the States, but it was still a challenge to execute on the ground. A limited number of engineers and field support personnel had to try to match designers’ blueprints for each vehicle vari- ant by combining equipment harvested from theater with new CS 13 installation kits shipped from the States.


After some trial and error and much hard work, the configured vehicles went through a validation and checkout to ensure functionality before being shipped to the designated FOBs occupied by 4/10 MTN. Both the key-leader vehicles and


16 Army AL&T Magazine MAINTAINING SA


Nett Warrior, a handheld SA and messaging tool, is a key component of CS 13, which extends the tactical network down to the dismounted Soldier. Here, a Soldier from the 4/10 MTN uses Nett Warrior to communicate with his higher headquarters during a training exercise at Fort Polk in March. (U.S. Army photo by Claire Heininger, PEO C3T)


REALISTIC TRAINING


The Army installed the lower-tier network systems, one of two types of platforms in the CS 13 architecture, on approximately 330 HMMWVs so that units receiving capability sets could conduct individual and collective training in the States on the communication systems they would be using in theater. Here, Soldiers from the 4/10 MTN train at Fort Polk in using a HMMWV integrated with CS 13 components. (U.S. Army photo by SSG Kulani Lakanaria, 4/10th MTN)


October–December 2013


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