Lt. Col. Joel Babbitt (second left), outgoing product manager for Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 1, passes the program's charter to the incoming product manager, Lt. Col. Mark Henderson (right), during an official change of...
Col. Ed Swanson (left), project manager for Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T), salutes Lt. Col. Joel Babbitt (right), outgoing product manager for WIN-T Increment 1, during an official change of charter ceremony at the Myer Auditorium, ...
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (July 17, 2015) -- While handling all the rigorous demands of the traditional Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 1 program, Lt. Col. Joel Babbitt, the program's outgoing product manager, simultaneously brought several of today's advanced commercial technologies, such as secure in-flight internet and Command Post Wireless capabilities, to the battlefield.
These new capabilities greatly increase throughput to bandwidth-hungry forces; help extend network communications to forward operating bases and small teams; and reduce size, weight and power (SWaP) to increase the agility, versatility and expeditionary nature of a new and evolving Army.
"In my three years in charge of WIN-T Increment 1, we've gone from finishing out the fielding of this network to evolving the network and making it a platform for innovation," Babbitt said. "It's been an incredible experience, and I am proud to have had the opportunity to help provide these critical technologies to our forces."
Babbitt passed the WIN-T Increment 1 program charter to the incoming product manager, Lt. Col. Mark Henderson, during an official change of charter ceremony on July 17 at the Myer Auditorium, Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Md. PM WIN-T is assigned to the Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T). In his next assignment, Babbitt will serve as Product Manager for Wideband Enterprise Satellite Systems (WESS), assigned to Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS), based in Fort Belvoir, VA.
"Joel is an innovative leader who has earned the trust of the Army's senior leadership because of his ability to deliver critical mission command capabilities on time," said Col. Ed Swanson, outgoing project manager for WIN-T, who hosted the change of charter ceremony. Swanson will also be leaving the WIN-T program in July, taking on a new assignment as Chief of Staff at Program Executive Office Intelligence Electronics Warfare and Sensors (PEO IEW&S).
Supporting forces domestically and worldwide, WIN-T Increment 1, the Army's at-the-halt expeditionary network, provides a full range of data, voice and video communications to units at the battalion level and above. WIN-T is the backbone of the Army's tactical communications network. Babbitt's extensive acquisition expertise was instrumental in enabling WIN-T Increment 1 to receive a Full Materiel Release in December 2013.
To support changing mission requirements and network modernization efforts, his team successfully executed the extensive WIN-T Increment 1b upgrade, which is nearly complete through the current force, to improve the security and efficiency of the network, and enhance interoperability with the mobile WIN-T Increment 2 network. The team extended the WIN-T Increment 1b upgrades to the five strategically located worldwide WIN-T Regional Hub Nodes, which are also being equipped with new commercial internet capabilities to improve civil support communications for natural disasters and other incidents. He also led the implementation of the massive end-of-life upgrade and technical refresh efforts across all Increment 1 hardware spirals and lot procurements.
"Our office has gone through a time of huge change, as much of the logistics support function has transitioned to the Army's sustainment commands," Babbitt said. "Through it all, the people of WIN-T Increment 1 have never wavered, providing unparalleled support to the Warfighter and the nation. They are true patriots who show their devotion through their actions every day."
As WIN-T Increment 2 continues to be fielded over the next several years, the Army will repurpose some of the WIN-T Increment 1 assets to provide the National Guard with a new Disaster Incident Response Emergency Communications Terminal (DIRECT) package. When the National Guard rolls in with its new system, they can immediately provide 4G/Wi-Fi, commercial phone and internet access, and the ability to connect all the disparate radios that various responders bring to the incident site.
Just like most American homes are shedding cables in favor of wireless technologies, Babbitt and his team also introduced Wi-Fi and 4G LTE to command posts to improve the agility of Army forces. Additionally, Babbitt spearheaded a new in-flight internet and mission command capability installed on C-17 aircraft, essentially a flying command post, that enables commanders and Soldiers of rapidly deployable Global Response Force units to receive real-time situational awareness and plan missions "on the fly."
As the Army continues to evolve the network to support an expeditionary, ready and resilient Army, so too will the WIN-T Increment 1 portfolio continue to evolve. The program's new man-at-the-helm said that he is looking forward to building onto the many great contributions made by the Increment 1 team. Previously, Henderson served in Plans, Programs and Resources for the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology [ASA(ALT)] as well as a number of other jobs in the Pentagon.
"The WIN-T Increment 1 team has a long standing history for innovation and delivering important capabilities to the Warfighter ," Henderson said. "I am honored to have joined the WIN-T family and look forward to my part in taking things to the next level."
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