FORT IRWIN, CALIF. (March 30, 2015) -- When the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division (2/1 ID) rolled across the 1,200 square miles of the Mojave Desert to begin their 14-day National Training Center rotation, they were equipped with a new tool for troubleshooting communications systems - themselves.
The unit is the first to employ a new Army field support model that empowers Soldiers as the first line of defense.
The change coincides with a shift in Army training focus from counterinsurgency, or COIN, to decisive action. With a new emphasis on expeditionary forces operating in austere conditions and facing a hybrid threat that includes guerrilla, insurgent, criminal and near peer forces, Army units will rely more heavily on networked mission command capabilities, but may not be able to fall back on forward operating bases for sustainment, maintenance and logistics support.
"Soldiers need to own their systems," said Maj. Patrick Sullivan, the S6 or communications officer with the 2/1 ID. "When we go into combat, we can't take all these contractors with us. If we're force on force, tanks against tanks, driving across terrain, I won't have them and I'll have to rely on my Soldiers. So this training is immensely beneficial for myself and my Soldiers so we understand the systems, can work with the systems and ultimately can fix the systems."
This transfer of knowledge, from specialized Field Support Representatives (FSRs) to Soldiers, is backed by data. After validating more than 10,000 field support trouble tickets from pilot tests and validation exercises, the Army found that 78 percent of those were training-related and could have been resolved at lower echelons had training been performed at home station prior to rotations.
"We knew we were in a fiscally constrained environment, so we looked at how we could best support the Soldier," said Rich Licata, field support manager for the Army's Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications -- Tactical (PEO C3T), which manages the Army's tactical network and mission command portfolio. "What it boiled down to was that the majority of the work shouldn't be done by FSRs. So we wanted the Soldiers to do it and have a multifunctional person there to help."
The new model builds on a Soldier-tested, four-tiered process tailored to smartly do more with less, while ensuring units get the support they need. To prepare, the 2/1 ID trained extensively with the mission command and network equipment leading up to their NTC rotation.
During the initial phase of set up at the NTC, there were 28 Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) FSRs, down from 45 during a typical rotation. Then heading into the force on force exercise, there were 16 field support personnel, down from the usual 35. If the Soldier can't resolve an issue, then multifunctional personnel trained on a cross system of capabilities, is there to support.
"The best part is that the Soldiers want to take this on," Licata said. "The Army needs to be lighter, more agile and able to move into combat without worrying about civilians. We know the technology is more advanced, but so are our Soldiers."
To help with the transition in field support, PEO C3T is providing tools to allow Soldiers to better manage trouble tickets. One of those tools, the Unified Trouble Ticketing System, or UTTS, was piloted by the 2/1 ID during their NTC rotation.
UTTS ensures a trouble ticket is managed at the most effective level of field support and gives leaders real-time situational awareness on every trouble ticket across the brigade. For this exercise, all trouble tickets were managed through the brigade.
"Before, depending on the issue, we went directly to the FSR or LAR (Logistics Assistance Representative) in the field," said 1st Lt. James Dawdy, the S6 for the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment. "It was all based on what we thought the brigade could fix or not. Now all trouble tickets go straight to the brigade, and they make the call (how to resolve it)."
This configuration allows the brigade -- through the use of UTTS -- to have better oversight on any trouble tickets.
"Before, the trouble ticket would bypass me and go right to division," said Pfc. Jodi Kearns, a 2/1 ID Information Technology Specialist and UTTS system operator. "So now I know where the ticket is and if it needs to be closed out. It tracks exactly what is going on with each ticket."
UTTS creates a seamless online reporting form accessed through an Army unit's SharePoint system so it is intuitive and easily accessible for Soldiers. With UTTS, Soldiers can now monitor the history of a trouble ticket, post a diagnosis and record its resolution.
"There have been many times we had repeated issues with certain configuration files and it was the same issue every time," said Pfc. Mason Brown, a help desk Soldier with the 5th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, part of the 2/1 ID. "Before we were fully integrated with UTTS, we had to keep guessing what the problem was. Having that (troubleshooting history) in UTTS would have been great to go to."
UTTS also supports an increased need for automated and simplified Network Operations (NetOps) capabilities that help signal officers manage the "big picture" of network functionality.
"Ultimately it's a great tool because it lets us see ourselves," Sullivan said. "It gives us a clear method to gauge what systems we're having issues with and then figure out if we need to do more training or if it's maintenance issues or something else."
The new field support model is being applied first with the 2/1 ID then by the full 1st Infantry Division. The Army will then continue to implement it across combat training center rotations and home station training exercises during fiscal year 2015. It is projected to reduce field support costs for tactical communications systems by 40 percent annually through at least fiscal year 2019.
Related Links:
Field support training takes system-of-systems approach with Capability Set 13
Army fields 101st Airborne new tactical network with integrated training approach
Army launches new field support reporting system for Soldiers
Army realigns field support, positions Soldiers as first line of defense
Soldiers 'fight on arrival' with new blue force tracking system
Social Sharing