GRAFENWOEHR, Germany (Dec. 17, 2014) -- A small working group of NATO Service members and civilians assembled at the Joint Multinational Training Command Headquarters here, Nov. 25, to discuss possible solutions to some of the communication challenges, which affect our NATO and multinational partners, during joint training exercises.
"In this working group we really want to identify the technical issues we need to solve with regards to interoperability in communications between our NATO and multinational partners," said Mr. Stacy L. Ware, assistant chief of staff, Joint Multinational Training Center.
The working group also observed a brief demonstration of a newly acquired device, which could possibly provide the foundation for improved communications for all future joint multinational training exercises.
Lt. Col. Lisa D. Whittaker, operations, plans and exercises division chief, U.S. Army Europe, G6; and Maj. David Rodriguez, chief information officer, Joint Multinational Readiness Center, J6, performed a small demonstration for the working group to highlight some of the device's capabilities.
Radios set on different frequencies were connected to the device. The device was able to retransmit the signal to allow clear communication between the two radios.
"This is an essential training tool, equipped with technology that can help bridge the gap between the different communication platforms and communication security protocols used by our NATO and multinational partners," Whitaker explained.
According to Whittaker, the device has some expanded capabilities, but for now, this working group was simply focused on providing basic radio communications.
Several of these devices were given to the Joint Multinational Training Command and the Joint Multinational Training Command, to use during future joint training exercises.
"We plan to use these devices during our next joint training exercise, Allied Spirit, which is scheduled to be held in January 2015," Rodriguez said. "This is just the first step toward improving communications for our NATO and multinational partners."
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