Digital Engineers Aid Deployment
Written by Josh Davidson
Before they deploy to Iraq, many soldiers from the Army’s 4th Infantry Division will spend much of their time becoming familiar with the systems they operate and the digital systems engineers (DSEs) who will deploy with and support them.
Those soldiers, DSEs and systems were recently preparing to deploy to Iraq at the National Training Center (NTC), Fort Irwin, Calif.
There, Staff Sergeant Michael Irizarry, of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4ID is preparing to deploy for the first time as a Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment One KU trailer operator. WIN-T Increment One, which was formerly known as the Joint Network Node-Network (JNN-Network), provides battalion- level warfighters with the ability to connect to the Army’s digitized systems, voice, data and video via satellite Internet connection.
“[The DSEs] get fairly close, they’re very helpful and they help you get a better understanding of the system, once you’ve worked with them,” said Irizarry, whose unit is headquartered at Fort Hood, Texas.
The 4ID is supported by two DSEs during the exercise, but only one will deploy with it to Iraq. “[The NTC] is a real good example of how things work when you actually go to theater,” said Rickey Moore, the 4ID’s lead DSE. “When we come here, we try to simulate as close as possible to what soldiers are going to have when they go to Iraq or Afghanistan.”
During training, the DSEs help resolve issues and set priorities, repair boxes, provide some over-the-shoulder training and explain systems, Moore said. When equipment issues arise at the NTC, the brigade DSEs contact the staff at an operations center at the NTC, who create trouble tickets and dispatch the proper field service representative (FSR) support.
“If we can’t resolve the issues from here, then we have the FSRs go out there,” Moore said. “So, it really simulates what they have” in theater. Each brigade includes an embedded DSE in theater. Any issues that the brigade-level DSE can not resolve are given to the division-level DSE, which is Moore’s role. If Moore still can not resolve the issue, he either works the issue over the phone with an FSR or requests that the FSR is sent to the brigade DSE’s location to help repair product.
In theater, FSRs are assigned to the division level. There, if an issue is reported with a certain system that he can’t resolve, Moore will enlist the help of an FSR. If the FSR can not resolve the issue by phone, they will head to the location of the system. During NTC training, the FSR will travel to “the box” or main training area to provide system support.
CIVILIAN SUPPORT
Irizarry was impressed with the civilian support he received recently. “They came out here and showed me what to do,” he said. “We fixed the problem in a manner of 10 to 15 minutes, so it was really good.”
The majority of the units that train at the NTC begin at the same pace, Moore said. Initially, most units feel as if they are not doing as well as they prefer, he said.
“As the weeks go by, the unit starts getting in the swing of things, the momentum goes up and they do way better,” Moore said. “This unit’s advanced at an extreme rate from where it started out at, so they’re doing really well now.”
The NTC’s environment is very close to that of Iraq, Moore said. Though the weather is hotter in Iraq, the dryness, dust and sand are similar at both locations, he said. Overheating issues arise in Iraq, for systems located in tents and not in buildings, he said. “We have extreme temperature issues here, and we have air conditioning issues here, so it’s the same. This is very close to what is in Iraq.”
The NTC’s Forward Operating Bases closely mirror Iraq’s cities, he said. “For training purposes, this is excellent. It looks just like what you are going to see when you get to Iraq.” The NTC has grown from a force-on-force training installation used mostly by commanders to one that places emphasis on soldiers, Moore said. NTC soldiers learn to react to what they will see in Iraq.
“It’s a good thing for them, because they don’t get to Iraq and get blindsided by anything,” Moore said. “They understand about patrols and convoys. Being honest, what makes a soldier successful when they go to Iraq is having repetition. That way, when something happens they don’t think about it. Soldiers shouldn’t be thinking about what’s going to happen. It should be instinct for him to react, and that’s what saves lives.”
The DSEs and FSRs support the Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications Tactical (PEO C3T), whose digital systems provide ways for commander to plan and warfighter to coordinate logistics, track friendly forces’ movements through GPS and plan fires. It also has provided support during domestic natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. WIN-T Increment One is assigned to the PEO C3T. ♦
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Josh Davidson of Symbolic Systems supports the PEO C3T Chief Knowledge Office at Fort Monmouth, N.J.
