Tactical communications Special Projects Office closes doors, leaves lasting impact

By Nancy Jones-Bonbrest, PEO C3TOctober 5, 2012

Tactical communications Special Projects Office closes doors, leaves lasting impact
The Global Rapid Response Information Package (GRRIP), deployed to
Afghanistan, enables the Soldier or first responder to communicate anywhere in the world by using Non-Secure Internet Protocol Router (NIPR)/ Secure Internet Protocol Router (SIPR) vo... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)
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ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD. (October 5, 2012) -- In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, much of the Gulf Coast remained without power, clean water and transportation.

When emergency services and first responders began to arrive, they found no way to communicate. The underground commercial cellular network, like many homes, businesses and lives, had been destroyed.

The U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) Special Projects Office (SPO) stepped in and quickly established a backup communications system, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other relief workers to communicate so the flow of support and aid could now reach stricken areas such as New Orleans.

"The local police couldn't talk to the National Guard, the National Guard couldn't talk to the Army, and the Army couldn't talk to the Coast Guard," said Joseph Kobsar, who served as deputy director for the SPO from 2003-2006. "We helped provide a solution set. In essence, the emergency relief services all had individual communication networks and we put a network in place that allowed everyone to communicate together."

Solving communications interoperability issues among military and civilian organizations is why the SPO was first established.

At the request of the Pentagon, the Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) created the SPO in 2000 as a means of quickly providing an integrated command and control capability for Soldiers.

Now, after more than a decade of war and a U.S. focus on drawing down troops from Afghanistan, the organization is dissolving. Yet the work that came out of the SPO -- both on the battlefield and on the home front -- will continue to make an impact on Soldiers for many years to come.

For example, the SPO led the effort of upgrading and integrating 12 PEO C3T systems that allowed U.S. and coalition forces to communicate digitally during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"When I look back at it, within the first 18 months we were fielding integrated C4ISR capabilities to Soldiers," said John Sklinar, director of SPO from 2000-2010. "It was a get-it-done culture, and as a result there were a lot of new technologies and Programs of Record (PORs) established based on solutions designed, developed and integrated by the SPO staff."

Through initial capabilities fielded by the SPO, the Army began to move towards beyond-line-of-sight communications. Lessons learned during this time led to the development of the Joint Network Node-Network (JNN), created to replace the outdated Mobile Subscriber Equipment communications system. JNN became Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 1, the Army's tactical communications network. Today WIN-T Increment 1 provides Soldiers with high-speed, high-capacity voice, data and video communications down to battalion level at-the-quick-halt. WIN-T Increment 2 supports operations while on-the-move, introduces networking radios, enhances Network Operations (NetOps) for network planning and monitoring and pushes capability to the company level. WIN-T Increment 2 begins fielding this fall as part of Capability Set 13.

The capabilities of Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2) were also greatly advanced under the SPO. The FBCB2/Blue Force Tracking (BFT) system -- and its current two-phased upgrade of Joint Capabilities Release (JCR) and Joint Battle Command-Platform (JBC-P) -- is the U.S. Army's friendly force tracking system. Soldiers use FBCB2 for situational awareness to locate their buddies and alert each other to enemies and hazards, as well as a navigation tool and satellite communications lifeline.

As capabilities became PORs, the focus of the SPO turned to supporting communications in the face of natural disasters and terrorist threats.

A defining event for the SPO came in response to relief efforts during Hurricane Katrina, when emergency workers quickly realized there were serious information gaps between various government and civilian responders. The SPO helped develop high-tech capabilities that enabled rapid, inter-agency communications during the emergency.

The SPO deployed to the Gulf Coast in the days following Hurricane Katrina with 10 Small Tactical Terminals (STTs) and five Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs), to establish a backup communications link via satellite to a remote station that allowed parishes to maintain communications that were lost during Katrina. The initial capability provided Internet access and feeds for 20 Voice-Over Internet-Protocol telephones. Within one week the STT system was expanded, increasing capacity to handle approximately 100 telephones and added interoperability with all state and local first responders.

The SPO used portable cellular networks or Cellular systems On Wheels (COWS) and hooked them to their Ku-Band satellite communication. This way, a responder could call one of the COWs on his cell phone, the satellite transferred them to the Northeast Regional Response Center (NRRC) and from there they could talk to anyone in the world. It has become a standard system for first responders.

The SPO also developed the Global Rapid Response Information Package (GRRIP), a kit weighing less than 30 pounds that enables the Soldier or first responder to communicate anywhere in the world. It provides a Non-Secure Internet Protocol Router (NIPR)/ Secure Internet Protocol Router (SIPR) voice and data capability without electricity or an existing infrastructure and can be set up in 10 minutes.

In 2006 the Product Director NRRC became part of the SPO in an effort to provide further support to Soldiers and disaster relief responders who required satellite communications from remote or austere locations to parent organizations. Two organizations that were supported by the NRRC were U.S. Army North (ARNORTH) and the 20th Support Command (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives or CBRNE).

"Our legacy at the SPO/NRRC is that we were able to respond in rapid fashion to real operational needs and we were able to do so in an efficient manner," said John Talamo, director of NRRC. "After Hurricane Katrina, our role began to focus on fielding of capabilities to Department of Defense first repsonders so they could be trained and have the equipment on hand and respond organically."

The SPO/NRRC and the National Guard Bureau J-6 helped develop the Joint Incident Site Communications Capability (JISCC), used to help combat wildfires in California, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and other disasters. The JISCC provides the National Guard with a quick response Mobile Tactical Operations Center with communications and support equipment, all transported in an 18-foot trailer that could be set up and operational in less than an hour at an incident site. The SPO supported the delivery of JISCC systems to all 54 U.S. states and territories supported by the National Guard Bureau. JISCCs are identical and interoperable so states can rush to one another's aid.

The legacy of the SPO to quickly field capability in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as homeland security and rescue missions will remain even as the organization closed its doors on Sept. 30.

"It was motivating but was also challenging," said Sklinar, of his work at the SPO.

Kobsar agrees.

"It was exciting and I couldn't wait to go to work every day," he said. "With many jobs you work hard and you might never see the fruit of your labor. With the SPO, you actually saw an end product and you saw a direct impact that benefited the Soldier. That was important to me."

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