'Big Red One' debuts new communication system

By Spc. Eve Ililau, Task Force Danger Public AffairsSeptember 18, 2010

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1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Gen. Vincent Brooks, commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division and United States Division-South, starts up the Command Post of the Future Battle Command 10 as Lt. Col. Richard Hornstein, left, the product manager for Tactical Battle Comman... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Gen. Vincent Brooks, commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division and United States Division-South, starts up the Command Post of the Future Battle Command 10 at the 1st Inf. Div. headquarters in Basra, Iraq, Sept. 11. The ‘Big Red One’ is th... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

BASRA, Iraq - With the push of a button, the 1st Infantry Division's Operations Center launched the newest version of the Command Post of the Future, called Battle Command 10, or CPOF BC10.

The Big Red One Headquarters, acting as the command and control element for United States Division-South in southern Iraq, is the first unit to deploy the upgraded CPOF in a combat zone. CPOF BC10 is an information tool that improves the division's power to visualize the battle space while collaborating and sharing data with other units in near real-time.

Lt. Col. Richard Hornstein, the project manager for Tactical Battle Command, a suite of products that includes the CPOF BC10, said the improved battlefield awareness and knowledge sharing will enhance leaders' decision making abilities.

"It supports the commander's battle management and information operations by rapidly processing and displaying combat information from other supporting Army Battle Command Systems," he said. "The 1st Infantry Division will be the first operational unit in theater to take this upgrade and to deploy a new capability within that upgrade called Personalized Assistance that Learns."

PAL has several capabilities that provide the CPOF BC10 with an embedded library of products, which is like a digital handbook. Another option is the use of triggers, which lets the operator know when and where an event has occurred. The system's artificial intelligence can learn on its own and adapt to varying situations without the need for constant reprogramming.

"This is a state-of-the-art technology that reduces time on the workload and gives you more time to concentrate on the mission." said Maj. Anthony Whitfield, Program Executive Officer, PM, C3T. "There was a deliberate and concise plan to ensure that there were no obstacles that would prevent us from getting this system up and running."

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