LEARNING ON THE GO
TACTICAL CONNECTION
The PM for Tactical Network provided new equipment training on SCOUT satellite terminals to the 1st SFAB in Afghanistan in September. The SCOUT training showed that the Soldiers’ network experience varied widely, leading to the refinement of training to teach the operators what they need to know based on what equipment they’ll be operating and at what level. (U.S. Army photo)
Capt. Domoniqué Hittner, assistant product manager for Satel- lite Communications assigned to the Project Manager (PM) for Tactical Network, and Capt. Jonathan Dodge, assistant product manager for Helicopter and Multi-Mission Radios assigned to the PM for Tactical Radios (PM TR), were deployed in Afghanistan with their fielding teams in support of these first SFAB fieldings. Both organizations are part of the Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications – Tactical (PEO C3T). Hittner and Dodge worked hand-in-hand with the unit, includ- ing Maj. Anthony Nocchi, communication officer (S-6) for the 1st SFAB. In this Q&A, the three officers provide the insights and lessons they learned on fielding and training forward-deployed units in today’s rapid acquisition environment.
Amy Walker: How do the capabilities you helped field support the SFAB mission?
Hittner: SFABs require expeditionary communications equip- ment so they can rapidly deploy to theater and can be more agile during their mission support, which encompasses a
wide area of operations. As part of the capability set that supports the 1st SFAB’s network, our team validated, fielded and trained the unit on SCOUT ground satellite terminals, which provide satellite capability to enable tactical network connectivity. Fielding these easy-to-use systems gives the SFABs a lightweight, easy-to-transport communications capa- bility, which can be scaled up or down to support small team to large brigade-sized elements.
Dodge: Te tactical radios we fielded in Afghanistan included the Leader Radio and single-channel, data-only radios. Tese radios supported the secure but unclassified (SBU) network that enabled the Soldiers to pass data across the network from their end-user devices. Additionally, during deployment, PM TR installed the mounted configuration of the Leader Radio on the 1st SFAB’s vehicles, which provided connectivity so commanders had better access to situational awareness data. Te vehicle systems we integrated helped to provide SBU network data and voice communications seamlessly between mounted and dismounted elements. Te SBU network enables units to connect into
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Army AL&T Magazine
Spring 2019
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