As U.S. troops deploy to combat the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa, the Army is laying the groundwork for the communications networks vital to international crisis response on the ground.
Soldiers headed for Liberia, as well as those already in place at the Army’s Landstuhl, Germany, facilities, are deploying the tactical network, satellite coverage and communications capabilities that serve as a foundation for coordinating between the U.S. military and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in West Africa.
“We’re very early in the process of supporting units deploying, but in this case the network is critical to coordinate across Army units and with the NGOs. That’s key as to one of the challenges we’re working to solve – how we begin to bridge the network to those NGOs,” said Paul Mehney, spokesman for the Army’s program executive office for command, control and communications-tactical (C3T). “That way you have an operating picture of who is in your operational space, what their status is and where they are. That’s critically important as you go into a hot zone such as West Africa, so you have the situational awareness and the accountability of personnel, and you can get to them if you need to.”
Collaborating with non-traditional partners, such as international NGOs, requires the right mix of network capabilities that provide that situational awareness and tracking ability. A key piece of that came on Oct. 16 when the Army, in coordination with the Defense Information Systems Agency, turned on Blue Force Tracking (BFT) satellite coverage over the region, enabling satellite communications that allow real-time tracking and messaging.
The use of BFT and satellite communications is crucial in linking operational units and partners spread across a wide swath of Liberia that includes high-density areas like Monrovia as well as rural locations.
The Army also is fielding in Liberia integrated technology packages known as capability sets 13 and 14, essentially network toolkits that include components such as radios, satellite systems, software applications and smart devices. The Army’s Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 2 will serve as the backbone communications infrastructure for the Operation United Assistance task force headquarters, run by the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
Beyond satellite coverage and WIN-T, the Army additionally accelerated the activation of a commercial services hub in Landstuhl and commercial internet enclaves for the 101st and the 50th Expeditionary Signal Battalion. The enclaves will link Army and NGO users alike to the Army’s global information network.
“That’s when we begin to bring NGOs into the network, because now we can branch commercial voice and data networks into the military network,” Mehney said. “The commercial enclave enables the NGOs to buy commercial items like wifi hotspots and plug in and have instant connectivity into the Army backbone, and that allows us to provide assistance and response to the NGOs as we need to.”
Mehney added that while he couldn’t discuss specifics, the Army is working through the relevant network and information security issues to ensure they have the right levels of classification where necessary, as well as defensive and proactive measures to guard against unauthorized network access.
Army officials expect to adapt their response, including what gets fielded, as they assess and respond to needs in the theater.
“This is only the beginning of this mission, and we’re working with the 101st and [U.S. Africa Command] as their needs evolve to make sure that we give them every tool available to support a very integrated mission with NGOs and with the medical community,” said Maj. Gen. Daniel Hughes, program executive officer for C3T, according to an Army release. “The Ebola response shows why our network must be adaptable and responsive to any contingency. We can’t take six months to build up somewhere and then say ‘It’s time to go fight.’”
