BAMBERG, Germany - Though the information that Soldiers get is ever changing, programs like the Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance TOPOFF team from the intelligence office of the Training and Doctrine Command provide subject matter experts to units that have requested their services and brief them on the most up-to-date information.
One such team recently visited the 16th Sustainment Brigade for a three-day course intended to update the leaders of the brigade.
From Feb. 23- 25, members of the ISR TOPOFF team briefed leaders on the situational concerns of the European, African and Central Command theaters of operation, specifically Operation New Dawn.
"The briefing broke down ISR capabilities in the three theaters that we may potentially support," said Maj. Robert Ozanich, the intelligence officer in charge for the 16th Sust. Bde. "It also showed us places where this information is stored and how to access it for our planning purposes so we will have a better ability to go get this information and use it for our operations."
"This training is completely customer driven," said Charlie Fallang, the team leader for this ISR TOPOFF training event. "Brigades come to us and ask us to give them the information. It provides everyone the intelligence information needed to effectively use ISR assets."
Not every unit needs the same information, and because this training is customer driven it takes a lot of planning and know how to make sure all the appropriate information that is needed gets provided.
"Capt. Steven Equils (an assistant intelligence officer for the 16th Sust. Bde.) has really taken this in hand," said Fallang. "We have been working with him since about Christmas time to make sure this training happened. He spent the entire day prior to the training with us making sure we had all the relevant and right sort of information so we don't make this too eye-glazing, and we make it relevant to the brigade's mission."
"Not every unit has a dedicated intelligence officer, said Fallang. "For these units we can show them how to get the information or the products that they need as well. We can show them what is out there, what it does, where it does it, and where they can find the information that their unit needs to accomplish its mission wherever they are."
This is especially important if you are not in a combat arms brigade and you have to go to other people to get products and information.
Some of the different topics discussed were the capabilities that are out there and some of the different types of products like multispectral imagery, electro optical imagery and websites where some of this information is stored and how to get to it.
"In day-to-day operations, back here in the home station, it gives us access to more information to prepare and better execute our missions," said Ozanich. "It also, in preparation for deployments, tells us what resources are out there so that when we are in a new environment we can always have the most reliable intelligence available. Basically, it lets us know where to look for some of the best information that's out there, then use it in our planning and preparation."
"We are privileged and honored to be here, and we will take every opportunity to provide the best information, and tactics, techniques and procedures to enable success to the brigade wherever it deploys," said Fallang.
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