Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) defense capabilities are developed to enable our warfighters to fight and win in CBRN-contested environments. They enhance survivability, maintain operational effectiveness, and ensure mission success. Some capabilities even extend beyond the battlefield and are employed in support of civilian authorities during domestic operations. Such is the case with the National Guard Bureau’s (NGB) Mobile Field Kit (MFK), which was developed to deploy in support of a wide range of Homeland Defense CBRN missions, keeping both the warfighter and the American public safe from CBRN threats.
The MFK is a suite of secure and interoperable software applications, platforms, and architecture operationally deployed in support of National Guard Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) / CBRN prevention and response missions. It connects to a diverse range of sensors that collect real-time information about the environment and presents the collected information in a common operating picture (a real-time visualization and mapping of CBRN threats and other sensor data) to enhance decision-makers’ situational awareness and understanding of the threat environment. It is interoperable with other government organizations such as the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, state, local and tribal first responders and more; and securely transforms raw data into actionable information.
The Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense’s (JPEO-CBRND) Joint Project Lead (JPL) for CBRN Integration joined the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to develop the MFK. Together, they worked to deliver a set of well-designed and intuitive tools that provide operators with the information they need to execute their mission seamlessly. As part of the larger CBRN defense mission, they will soon take the MFK’s functions and features and transition them into JPL CBRN Integration’s CBRN Support to Command and Control (CSC2) program. CSC2 integrates both CBRN and non-CBRN defense enabling data, providing commanders the ability to include CBRN expertise and knowledge at all echelons allowing them to make informed decisions, regardless of whether there’s a CBRN subject matter expert within their ranks. The transition to CSC2 will ensure that the MFK’s functions and features serve as part of the collective solution across the Joint Force and not solely as an NGB capability.
MFK end users are an integral partner in the development of the MFK. For Rick Besore, MFK program officer for JPL CBRN Integration, the user is at the center of every decision when developing the MFK capability. Besore states, “My team engages with the user every two weeks to a month to make sure that what they want is what we’re developing; and that the users, developers, and program office are all on the same page.”
Together, JPEO-CBRND, DTRA, and NGB have come up with a metric to determine usability, or the degree to which the MFK provides value to the user and overall mission during CBRN contested operations. They have broken usability down into four pillars: data management, intuitiveness, integration and interoperability with mission partners, and improved communications. As the development team moves through the agile construct of software development, these four pillars guide the process. “If what we’re doing points back to those four essential things that make the MFK more useful to the user, we know we’re doing the best job we can for the warfighter,” says Besore.
Frequent user engagements such as in-person pilot events or virtual touchpoints are paramount to gaining continuous user feedback on the MFK’s usability for multiple users in multiple roles. The development team then uses that feedback to remediate any issues before going out to the field. This allows for continuous performance monitoring to be used less on rudimentary matters and more on understanding how the MFK fits into the overarching mission space.
In addition, using the MFK to support the Homeland Defense Mission serves as valuable user engagement. This year, the MFK was utilized at national events, including Mardi Gras and the Boston Marathon, giving the development team an opportunity to receive user feedback and observe the MFK in action during CBRN defense mission planning and execution.
Currently, the development team is at the tipping point of transitioning the MFK’s functions and features to CSC2. They’ve thoroughly assessed the capability, broken it down from a technical perspective, tied its elements to operations, and identified what components should transition. The next step is essentially execution—preserving the operational CBRN integrated early warning capability for the NGB while transitioning MFK functions and features to CSC2, and then assessing the success of the transition. For Besore, the development team has succeeded if the user doesn’t even realize there’s been a transition. “One of our goals as we’re moving the MFK’s functions and features to CSC2 is for the user to not to know we’ve done anything except enhance the capability and their user experience.”
The Mobile Field Kit is already an effective system designed to protect warfighters from CBRN threats. Its seamless transition to CSC2 will only enhance its interoperability by placing it within the larger Joint Force and Homeland Defense mission, expanding its ability to keep warfighters and the Nation safe.
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