At the Tactical Edge

Written by Ross Osborne and Jeff Barrows

COMMUNICATIONS SOLUTIONS MUST BE DEVELOPED
IN CLOSE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE MILITARY
AND INDUSTRY TO ENSURE THAT THEY SUPPORT
THE MISSION EFFECTIVELY AT THE TACTICAL EDGE.

The environment, in today’s operational theaters, could be a fixed facility improved by successive units over seven years of persistent conflict or the program manager-provided tentage with power and air conditioning. The personnel component is met through military personnel trained at the Army Signal Center, direct support contractor personnel, and in some cases government civilians.

Bandwidth, spectrum and systems are prioritized at these echelons, so the commander can be reasonably assured that he or she will have resources needed to support their operations. Direct connectivity to the services and applications providing electronic mail, situational awareness, knowledge and information management, and force protection updates has significantly improved the ability of commanders at these echelons to make decisions within the enemy’s decision cycle.

At the brigade level, the tactical edge is defined as the company TOC or platoon-level patrol base. These echelons normally operate in a fluid environment specifically tailored to the tactical necessity of the current fight. The commander/platoon leader is normally two satellite hops from the source of services needed for battle command and sustainment services. This separation leads to slow authentication, slow loading, and therefore frustration on the part of the users. Additionally, the facilities in which these operation centers are established can be hostile. For example, use of a former hospital in the middle of an ongoing fight does not allow much improvement in the immediate environment. The building might be dust-filled, the power may be unreliable and tainted, and the air conditioning non-existent.

At these locations, and these echelons, providing the “tactical edge” connection to the LandWarNet provides the greatest challenges to our soldiers and civilians.

This article highlights a few of the key communications challenges present at the tactical edge.

ENVIRONMENT

In many tactical edge facilities throughout Afghanistan, Iraq and Djibouti today, our soldiers have re-purposed buildings to house operations centers, deployed communications infrastructure within them, and begun trenching to lay new copper and fiber infrastructure. These facilities are in various and sundry states of operation, with infrastructure rapidly installed in support of the mission. In Afghanistan, it can take months to dig and place just a few feet of infrastructure on a base. CAT5 can be used more easily, but it presents a challenge when placing the end points due to distance limitations for Ethernet. Space, power and cooling are constant challenges that must be addressed. The environment is extremely harsh on routers, switches, servers and other equipment, and sand or dust is almost always present.

INFRASTRUCTURE

As the number of servicemembers deployed to Afghanistan continues to grow, the communications, networking, and IT challenges associated with supporting the mission continue to grow as well. In a country with little to no pre-existing or reliable telecommunications infrastructure, our military communicators and IT professionals continue to develop and deploy one of the most capable networks in the world. They have overcome significant challenges to deliver the capabilities and services that are needed to support the U.S. mission.

This work is not without risk, and working in a hostile environment while addressing infrastructure requirements at even the largest bases in Afghanistan and Iraq presents unique challenges. With users requiring communications and services at every corner of the larger bases, across the airfield at FOB Speicher, across the runways at Bagram, and into the many small buildings and CHUs on FOB Warrior, the challenges associated with extending robust, reliable infrastructure continue to tax our soldiers and civilian providers.

These communications professionals are routinely operating in hostile locations while installing or supporting the infrastructure. Building out these remote FOBs can be even more challenging because of their remoteness, and the short supply of heavy equipment to speed the process only contributes to the challenge. Secondarily, equipment is often moved between sites or re-deployed, and parts can be damaged or lost. There isn’t an electronics shop around the corner if something is broken, missing or delayed in transport, so these experts must be prepared and equipped to address just about anything that can happen in the field. Thankfully, the regional service centers established in Iraq and Kuwait by PEO C3T and other CECOM-chartered organizations ease the complications and reduce the downtime our commanders must endure.

BANDWIDTH

During Operation Iraqi Freedom 1 in 2003, the average Army division had a total satellite bandwidth allocation of 2 MB with AN/TSC-93 SHF satellite terminals at the division main and tac. Brigade headquarters had an AN/TTC-48 small extension node providing mobile subscriber equipment secure telephones and limited SIPRNet e-mail connectivity.

In 2005, the WIN-T Inc 1-outfitted 101st Airborne Division (air assault) installed the first completely satellite-reliant network in Iraq with a total satellite bandwidth allocation approaching 250 MB. This growth in information exchange capability allowed the push of secure voice and data to lower levels than ever before.

This network pushed SIPRNet voice and data to the platoon level, providing tactical leaders the ability to use applications like Twisted Pair’s Wide Area Voice Environment (WAVE) to provide a Land-Mobile Radio over IP capability. WAVE provided a quick, simple and cost-effective solution bonding traditional single channel voice communications with VoIP and data networks. It provided commanders greatly improved situational awareness across all levels of command.

WAVE continues to bring the traffic from the edge of the battlefield to the commander’s laptop today. Following Hurricane Katrina, WAVE was also implemented at Camp Shelby and various other locations in Louisiana and Mississippi in support of PEO-C3T and the SPO-NRRC in order to facilitate interoperable communications.

The shortage of bandwidth is one of the greatest challenges in Afghanistan today. Along with the growth in communications requirements, advances in collaboration, information sharing, and peer-to-peer style communications and the use of routed networks are also changing the way traffic flows at the tactical edge.

Traffic will not always follow hierarchical paths, so the model of having the pipes get smaller as you get closer to the distant end-point nodes isn’t always compatible. Two smaller FOBs may have a requirement for significant bandwidth between themselves to exchange locally relevant content directly. The flow of traffic across the network is less predictable than it used to be, and bandwidth needs to be placed where it is required.

The architecture in Afghanistan largely comprises satellite links and a few relatively high-bandwidth microwave line-of-sight (LOS) links. Unlike the desert in Iraq, the mountainous terrain in Afghanistan makes it challenging for LOS communications in places other than RC-South. Satellite and beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) bandwidth is in high demand, but there is only a limited amount of bandwidth available to support traffic that is growing substantially.

The increasing use of streaming video, large FTP transfers, database backups, VTC and other conferencing traffic has resulted in the need for a significant increase in commercial satellite bandwidth throughout the tactical edge. Users sometimes expect or require services available at major FOBs that are often not available at more remote locations because of the lack of infrastructure and bandwidth. These users continue to drive the demand for more innovative COTS solutions that are increasingly lightweight, transportable and capable of addressing the need for more bandwidth and mobility. One promising new example of this is the L3 GCS Panther VSAT, which is about the size of a manpack radio and can deliver T-1 rates.

Along that same line, the ability and agility to execute battle command functions while on the move continues to be a critical requirement cited by numerous divisional and brigade commanders in Iraq and other deployed locations. Communications on the move (COTM) is a basic requirement in WIN-T Increment 2 and intended to be a key component of WIN-T Increment 3, but our soldiers and civilians know the commanders cannot wait for objective-state developmental solutions.

So, under the watchful eye of Lieutenant Colonel Greg Jaksec, industrious non-commissioned officers in Iraq conducted a test to find a suitable interim solution to execute battle command on the move. After conducting internal testing, Jaksec’s soldiers settled on the Raysat Stealthray as the antenna of choice, and in concert with PM, WIN-T built two prototypes for use in mine-resistant armored personnel (MRAP) carriers. “With its low profile and survivability, the Stealthray is the only feasible tactical solution on the market today that supports satellite COTM,” said Jaksec.

Just as it was with mine-rollers on tanks in World War II, the ingenuity of our soldiers and civilians continues to ensure that our commanders are able to achieve and maintain decision superiority over our enemy.

NETWORK

Managing a network that supports thousands of users can be complex enough. Managing a tactical edge network that supports tens of thousands of users is much more challenging. The infrastructure must change rapidly to support a surging number of users, locations, applications, and associated systems and services.

There is a constant requirement to manage the existing infrastructure while deploying additional FOBs, nodes, servers, links and systems to support additional growth and expansion. Perturbing connectivity for users or services is critical, and usually not an option, so any network change, expansion, or routine maintenance must be well planned and executed during an authorized service interruption window.

The network infrastructure in Afghanistan consists of multiple network types, including FDMA, TDMA and wireless services from regionally based commercial carriers. Link sizes and characteristics vary widely, and IP traffic can be negatively impacted by the underlying topology.

Further complexity arises from the required use of multiple routed domains (BGP ASes), multicast, and hundreds of VPNs to support various missions and capabilities. The network needs to support the delivery of high-availability services to the largest and the smallest FOBs, including services such as Active Directory, Exchange, streaming video feeds, VTC and telephony. Significant planning and thought is necessary to determine where and how to host these services to support all of the FOBs and users.

Mobility of large units is another aspect that makes planning a challenge. The tactical units moving around on the battlefield will often take their IP addresses and services with them as they move. This creates volatility and rapidly shifting traffic patterns that can affect quality of service for that unit as well as others. A constant effort is required to monitor traffic across the network, adjusting routing metrics as required to engineer the traffic.

As the Army, and the Department of Defense as a whole, continue to move to a “flatter” enterprise architecture, the vision of a division commander picking up his one-cell secure cellular phone and one secure laptop, deploying to the theater of operations, and starting operations with immediate access to that single phone number and all of his critical battle command information is still years down the road.

Our deployed forces must overcome not only physical challenges associated with satellite communications and operating on a single Active Directory forest, but also the technical challenges of provisioning that forest and moving data to prevent the challenges introduced by latency. We must provide the commanders the expectation that they will receive the same level of support in any situation as their mission moves them around the theater of operations, and then we must actually provide that support.

Most importantly, we must provide some assurance that the commander at every echelon will have access to all battle command tools needed as they travel from the garrison to the deployed/tactical environment. This requirement is not limited to division and brigade commanders, but includes the company commanders and platoon leaders who operate at the tactical edge, manning that austere, geographically isolated outpost in the most remote areas of Afghanistan or wherever the next battle takes place. Until we can do that, we cannot truly talk of a seamless enterprise construct in support of the warfighter.

PEOPLE

Just as challenging is the personnel component. At smaller bases, there may be only one or two support specialists, with responsibility for all components of the site, including radios, computers, and in many cases anything else that may plug into the wall. Force structure shortages of some key communications personnel lead to a reliance on expert contractor support to meet the tactical requirements for many of these austere outposts.

Through contractor staff augmentation, the military has also seen significant additional advantages related to continuity throughout RIP/TOA events. The Army and other services continue to stress the desire to balance the force, but this takes time and resources. Until the time and resources are in synch, reliance on contractor support will remain a key component of meeting information technology challenges in combat.

Trace Systems has been supporting the mission in Afghanistan since 2004, providing personnel to design, engineer, install, operate and maintain IT and communications systems for CJTF-101, including 10,000 AD accounts, more than 35,000 IP devices, VTC equipment, telephony (secure and unsecure), and infrastructure (fiber, copper, coax) throughout Afghanistan. Employees are moved around the operational theater as directed by battlefield commanders, supporting different system requirements, specifications and configurations at each location.

These contractor resources continually train and augment the military in Afghanistan on topics such as switching, routing, helpdesk functions, cable and wire installation and maintenance, VTC installation, operations and maintenance. This type of contractor support also helps address continuity issues for incoming units during each RIP/ TOA. Many of these contract employees are former military personnel that have previously supported these requirements in Afghanistan.

As Trace Systems’ Jacob Johnson, formerly of the 82nd Airborne, stated, “My previous military experience definitely gave me an edge. When I arrived with Trace I already had in-depth knowledge of the network, the locations, and most importantly, the history. I was able to come back and explain previous projects and designs, what worked and what didn’t, and ultimately where improvements should be made.”

“With teamwork between the military and contractors we can accomplish our mission, and our mission is getting all communications to the highest and lowest levels, to the soldiers that are engaged in the daily fight, whatever it takes—it’s an absolute requirement for contractors here to support the mission around the clock,” said Bobbie Robinson, Trace Systems’ lead engineer in Afghanistan. “This isn’t a place for people that aren’t 110 percent committed to the mission at all times, and the job has to be done right the first time. Competence is critical.”

While DoD moves toward a flattened architecture, there will be an increasing reliance on contractor support to assist with the installation, operation and maintenance of Defense Enterprise Communications Centers (DECC) and Army Network Service Centers/Area Processing Centers (NSC/APC). This reliance is not due to lack of technical expertise on the part of our signal soldiers; rather, it is because of the ongoing personnel shortfalls and the necessity to get the green-suiter into the deploying of tactical and non-deploying strategic units.

There will be a mixture of contractor capabilities required from the operation and maintenance of satellite systems in the teleport side of these facilities to the O&M of the application servers moving data and battle command capabilities seamlessly from garrison to deployed theater in support of the deployed commander. Providers like ITT Systems and Trace Systems must be prepared to rapidly insert the right contractor support person into the job to assure 100 percent operational readiness, and top-quality support to the tactical commander.

These are just a few of the multifaceted issues that our military communicators routinely face and overcome in the tactical edge. As industry continues to develop and provide new technologies and resources to support the mission, we must remember that there are significant environmental, logistical, technical and resource limitations that are not typical of fixed infrastructures or enterprises. Solutions must be developed in close collaboration between our military and industry to ensure that they support the mission effectively at the tactical edge. ♦
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Recently retired after 20 years of service in the Army, culminating as the G6, 101st Airborne Division (air assault), Ross Osborne is currently manager, business development for ITT C4 Systems, Integrated Solutions. ITT Corp. has been supporting the global war on terror since October 2001, and continues to be a leader in C2 products and services. It is the primary provider of services to the Total Army Communications, Southwest Asia Central Asia Africa mission throughout the U.S. Central Command area of operations. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Formerly Army Signal, Jeff Barrows is vice president of programs at Trace Systems, a comprehensive communications systems and services company based in McLean, Va. The company has been supporting the CJTF CJ6 in Afghanistan since 2004, and currently has a large team of engineers and technicians deployed to Bagram and multiple FOBs in Afghanistan. Effectively augmenting the military staff, Trace Systems provides expert communications, networking and IT support to the mission. Trace Systems also supports customers such as PEO-C3T, WIN-T, DISA and DHS.

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