Muscle Shoals, Ala. -- To increase the depth and breadth of communications across the battlefield, an Alabama National Guard signal battalion will deploy equipped with Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) - the backbone of the Army’s communications network.
“The whole job of the signal piece is to lift what we call ‘the fog of war,’ meaning that if you can get communications from point A to point B more quickly, you have a better chance of completing your mission,” said Cpt. Hampton McNeil, the Army National Guard’s assistant product manager for WIN-T Increment 1. “Fielding WIN-T means that we are just that much faster, just that much in front of our enemy. It saves lives.”
In preparation for deployment, the Alabama National Guard’s 115th Expeditionary Signal Battalion (ESB) trained on its WIN-T equipment at the North Alabama Fairgrounds in Muscle Shoals, Ala. from April 9-15. While the unit previously trained on the new equipment at the platoon and company level, this was the first time since its fielding of WIN-T that the entire battalion was able to train together in one place.
Similar to a home Internet connection, WIN-T Increment 1 establishes a network backbone that provides the full range of data, voice and video communications at battalion level and above. It uses satellite communications nodes that can be coupled with High-Capacity Line-Of-Sight (HCLOS) radio communications to successfully meet the requirements needed in theater. To communicate, Soldiers simply pull over on the side of the road without wasting valuable time setting up complicated infrastructure. WIN-T Increment 1 is currently fielded to 80 percent of the total force.
“WIN-T is reliable and we are able to provide Commanders a greater confidence in our ability to support their communication needs to fight battles,” said Lt. Col. Todd Grigsby, 115th ESB commander. “Having that confidence is one less thing that they have to worry about.”
As the backbone of the Army’s communications network, WIN-T links tactical ground units with Commanders and the Global Information Grid. The network provides a clear operational picture for theater combatant Commanders by using satellite, robust network management and high-bandwidth radio systems to keep mobile forces connected, communicating and synchronized.
Last summer the 115th ESB underwent a transformation from an Inter-Theater Signal Battalion (ITSB) to an ESB. While the ITSB is able to support 15 Command Posts (CP), the ESB can support up to 30. The 115th received the WIN-T Increment 1a equipment as part of this transformation.
“Our numbers are smaller, but our capabilities are larger,” Grigsby said. “What we bring to the fight is very much improved. It’s no longer last century’s technology, but this century’s.”
WIN-T Increment 1 leverages commercial satellite technology to provide beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) capabilities and commercial Internet networking technology to increase functionality and efficiency while reducing size, weight and power. WIN-T Increment 1 components reside at battalion levels and above, and they also provide interfaces to lower level systems including on-the-move and Soldier platforms. Increment 1a provides extended networking at-the-halt with Ka/Ku military satellite communications capability.
“We were a signal battalion prior to our transformation to an ESB, but the big difference now is in our ability to give the customer more of what he wants,” Grigsby said. “And that is an increased ability to provide the battle command systems they need on the battlefield down to the company level.”
The National Guard has a dual mission: to provide trained and equipped units in order to protect life and property both domestically and across the globe.
“WIN-T is helping the National Guard on two fronts,” McNeil said. “First, when the National Guard is called up for a DSCA (Defense Security Cooperation Agency) event (humanitarian and disaster relief), WIN-T is critical to communications during that event. And from a big Army standpoint, fighting a war in a non-peacetime definition, WIN-T brings together all of the communications into one place where it can be distributed throughout the Army.”
In response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Guard deployed more than 50,000 troops in support of the Gulf States "the largest and quickest response to a domestic disaster in history. Over the years the mission of the National Guard has evolved, and it is being called more frequently to respond to crises such those in Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo.
Currently the 115th ESB also serves as an element of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High Yield Explosive (CBRNE) Consequence Management Response Force (CCMRF). The battalion provides command and control as a joint network control cell for other states’ communication assets, Grigsby said.
CCMRF is a Joint Force that operates under the authority of Title 10 (active and reserve components). It is designed to respond to the full spectrum of domestic CBRNE incidents.
Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, more than 50,000 National Guard troops were called up to provide security at home and to combat terrorism abroad. Currently, tens of thousands are serving in Operation New Dawn in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
“The National Guard is no longer a back-up force or a contingency force, we are an operational force,” McNeil said. “Going forward it is expected that the National Guard will play a prime role in battlefield operations.”
The mission of the 115th ESB will be to install, operate, maintain and defend signal sites and equipment, supporting up to 30 CPs. They are also expected to support missions as a command and control element for other signal units, such as network support companies, which are the brigade’s signal component, Grigsby said.
WIN-T Increment 1, formerly known as “Joint Network Node,” was developed as an immediate response to the need identified in 2001’s OEF and 2003’s Operation Iraqi Freedom for BLOS communications. Before the widespread availability of satellite communications technology, battlefield communications required the installation and maintenance of relay towers and cables, limiting range and flexibility of missions. The now outdated Mobile Subscriber Equipment (MSE) could not keep up with the pace of battle, McNeil said.
“WIN-T increases combat effectiveness with mobility,” said Maj. James Brannan, executive officer to the 115th ESB. “We used to have to go in, set up, and stay there. It would take us hours to move. Now we can move in less than an hour.”
“WIN-T gives us a better ability to go where our customers are--to the brigade combat teams and the battalion command posts,” Grigsby said. “We can more easily blend in with our supported customers and become a part of their TOC (Tactical Operations Center).”
Early LOS radio systems, as deployed in the antiquated MSE, were slow to move and often located on top of hills, creating prime, high-value targets and putting Soldiers in harm’s way. WIN-T’s satellite-based connectivity gives Brigade Combat Teams the opportunity to change locations without being limited to high ground where there can be a target for the enemy, Grigsby said.
“From a National Guard standpoint, for our Soldiers to be receiving this state-of-the-art equipment, the exact same equipment that the active duty Soldiers are receiving at the exact same time, does a lot for their morale,” McNeil said. “We are moving forward as part of the force, and they can definitely be proud of that.”
Amy Walker is a staff writer for Symbolic Systems, Inc. supporting the Army’s Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T).
Related Links:
Project Manager Warfighter Information Network-Tactical website
Social Sharing