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[infowar.de] USA installieren permanente C3I-Infrastrukturen in Kuwait/Irak
Infowar.de, http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~bendrath/liste.html
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... soviel zur Frage des militärischen Abzuges der USA. ;-)
RB
http://www.military-information-technology.com/articles.cfm?DocID=645
Bringing the Grid to the Front
Kuwait Iraq C4 Commercialization project is creating a permanent
communications infrastructure in Southwest Asia.
By Stephen Larsen and Ralph Meacham
Somewhere in Iraq, there?s a commander conducting a classified meeting
via video teleconference, or a soldier in the operation cell confirming
a unit?s supply status, or a soldier awaiting medevac to Germany. These
actions are only possible with the basic tools of battle command?the
capability to send and receive e-mail messages or video images, or to
make phone calls.
Until recently, tactical signal units provided the functionality to
perform these actions. Now, however, a permanent communications
infrastructure is quickly rising in Southwest Asia under the Kuwait Iraq
Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) Commercialization
(KICC) project. It is transitioning from tactical communications
capabilities to more robust and enduring Global Information Grid
(GIG)-compatible commercial communications systems for U.S. and
Coalition forces.
Since being established in June 2003, the Army?s assistant project
manager KICC has rapidly moved to establish a GIG-compatible information
infrastructure and bring commercial C4 systems to support both
expeditionary and enduring presence requirements.
The KICC project is based on the vision of leadership of the 335th
Theater Signal Command, which, said its commander, Major General Lowell
?Rip? Detamore, is leading the communications fight as a deployed C4I
enabler, providing battle command, requirements validation and
engineering support, as well as direct coordination and prioritization
of communications resources for the warfighter.
?Our commercialization efforts provide reliable networks to our Army at
war and represent one of the largest projects ever undertaken by a
Theater Signal Command,? said Detamore, adding that the objective is to
reduce the tactical signal force structure while increasing C4
connectivity, data throughput and global reach. ?Simultaneously, we are
enhancing responsiveness and ?upgunning? our total coalition, joint and
expeditionary comms capability, from echelon-above-corps to the
foxhole,? he said.
The KICC team?s efforts, said Detamore, represent a part of the
command?s goal of a ?single PM? for their enterprise network as the
Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC)/U.S. Army Central
Command (ARCENT) portion of the U.S. Central Command?s (CENTCOM) joint
enterprise of the GIG, supporting U.S. and Coalition land forces ?on the
tip of the spear here in Southwest Asia.?
Driving the KICC project are requirements from CFLCC/ARCENT/Third U.S.
Army (3A)/CENTCOM. The original requirements document called for
commercializing 169 C4 nodes in Kuwait and Iraq, which were needed to
achieve the goal of providing commercial Defense Information System
Network (DISN) services down to brigade/battalion-level operating from
longer-term base camps.
?Our intent was to allow redeployment of selected tactical
communications units and equipment and to provide increased
communications capability in Kuwait and Iraq,? said Colonel Mike Bianchi
of the CFLCC Deputy C-6 (Project Coordination Cell). ?We have made good
progress with allocated funds to directly relieve selected tactical
signal units and have begun to enhance theater network and services at
longer-term bases in Iraq. We?re looking forward to continuing our
efforts as the Department of the Army allocates [additional] funds.?
Towards that end, CFLCC C-6 has instituted a process to better
synchronize its commercialization efforts by organizing into four C4
battle operating systems (BOS): operations, engineering, resources, and
operations and maintenance.
?These four areas are synchronized each week based on the specific sites
of interest,? said Bianchi. ?KICC is represented in the resources BOS,
but is tied into our overall commercialization effort in CFLCC for all
C4 BOS.?
The CFLCC Deputy C-6 (Project Coordination Cell) is leading the
synchronization effort.
Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Schafer, who has been the KICC PM for the
project manager, Defense Communications and Army Transmission Systems
since arriving in Iraq in May 2003, said his team ?hit the ground
running? in Southwest Asia.
?Within 60 days of receiving acquisition approvals, we expedited
delivery of C4 equipment to the theater, which was the first step
towards relieving deployed signal units,? said Schafer. He added that
this expedited communications support is relieving approximately a
brigade?s worth of commercial C4 capabilities for the theater, including
satellite, microwave, telephone switching and multiplexing systems. It
also has helped relieve hundreds of soldiers in tactical signal
brigades?the equivalent of two signal battalions?so they could be
redeployed for other missions.
?These soldiers, who had been serving as the local ?Ma Bell? for U.S.
and coalition forces in Iraq, manning telecommunications equipment, have
unique, highly-specialized capabilities that the Army needs elsewhere,?
said Schafer.
Concurrent with the expedited delivery of equipment, the KICC PM
continued the planning, engineering support for infrastructure
capabilities improvements at major enduring presence locations in both
Kuwait and Iraq. These efforts will put into place in Iraq a 155 megabit
per second terrestrial transmission network and associated terminating
multiplexing systems that will approximately double the existing
intra-theater transmission capacities among major headquarter
locations?at significantly reduced recurring costs compared to the
satellite systems currently supporting these users.
KICC is also managing the implementation of commercially based battle
command-capable telephone systems and associated cable plants, supported
by the project manager, Defense Communications and Army Switched Systems
(PM DCASS), to provide the ?last mile? of connectivity.
?These telephone capabilities will provide an approximately 80 percent
increase in phone capacity within the next 12 months,? said Schafer,
?with potential to triple subscriber service capacities.?
KICC is delivering a network for coalition forces that will meet
requirements of the Transformational Communications Architecture, an
overall joint communications concept that aims to provide data
connectivity to all echelons of the force, in the form of the Coalition
Multinational Division Network (CMN). ?The CMN is another noteworthy
example of leveraging commercial C4 technical solutions to meet
operational user needs,? said Schafer.
The network employs a time division multiple access/demand assigned
multiple access solution that will provide coalition partner units with
a robust voice and data network. Both legacy analog and digital services
will be able to operate seamlessly across the same network and provide
end-to-end interoperability capabilities across the GIG.
?Our employment of bandwidth-on-demand technology and network management
capabilities will significantly reduce recurring costs for both
bandwidth and operation and maintenance services, compared to costs
associated with current hub spoke technical solutions,? he said.
Schafer added that the success of KICC in bringing together industry and
other supporting project managers, such as those for DCASS, Warfighter
Information Network-Tactical and Tactical Radio Communications Systems,
to provide comprehensive commercial C4 services has garnered significant
interest from other users needing similar capabilities. An example is
the Marine Corps, for which KICC is providing multiplexers,
telecommunications switching systems, deployable Ku-band Earth terminals
and technical control facilities at various locations in Iraq.
This is possible, Schafer pointed out, because of KICC?s large
in-theater presence of more than 100 soldiers, civilians and contractors
with expertise in project management, engineering, logistics and
implementation personnel, located at four facilities in Kuwait and Iraq.
Among the critical players are the Army Communications-Electronics
Command; Army Information Systems Engineering Command; Computer Sciences
Corp.; Galaxy Scientific Corp.; Information Systems Support; Signal
Solutions; and Lockheed Martin.
?What we?re bringing to the other PM?s and the users is the ability to
quickly leverage the KICC in-theater presence,? said Schafer. ?Our goal
is to provide the Army, the Coalition and the joint communities with a
stable, cost-efficient, interoperable and sustainable C4 system that
will minimize stovepipe systems in-theater and greatly lower recurring
life cycle costs.?
Stephen Larsen is a public affairs officer for the project manager for
defense communications and Army transmission systems. Ralph Meacham is
an Army Information Systems Engineering Command employee matrixed to APM
KICC as the deputy assistant project manager for advanced planning.
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