AC Summer 08 WIN-T Online - United States Army Signal Center of ...

ment 1 spirals, along with the
required training and release dates
for present and future spirals.
“I looked at this conference to
help project that for me and then to
have a voice for us to present what
happened to us in theater and what
happened with our training, so we
can help improve the systems to
make it better for the fellow Soldiers
who are going to get the upgraded
spirals and for the future WIN-T
program,” he said.
Michael Valdez, the JNN
Fielding Manager who led the efforts
to organize the conference, said that
he has received very positive
feedback on the conference and
requests to be invited next year.
“I have already started initial
planning due to the overwhelming
success of this year’s event,” he said.
Heil said that the digital
systems tied to WIN-T Increment 1
allowed his commander to make
quicker decisions than he had ever
seen on the battlefield.
During the exercises, the
commander of Heil’s unit, used
Army Battle Command Systems 6.4’s
capabilities to follow separate
insurgents as they would pass
mortar shells to and from one
another. The unit would circle
around one of the insurgents with an
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, the
Raven unmanned aerial system or
squad level devices. That information
was fed into ABCS 6.4 capabilities.
“We would take those tracks
and he would follow him in,” Heil
said. “We’d send in teams, cordon
off the area or we would bomb that
area at that point.”
During training Heil, who
served as the Brigade Automations
Non-Commissioned Officer-in-
Charge, used a full range of digital
systems including the Common
Ground Station, All Source Analysis
System, Digital Topographic Support
System, the Advanced Field
Artillery Tactical Data System and
Maneuver Control Systems-Light.
MCS digitally distributes
tactical information on the battlefield,
allowing a commander to
readily access and display current
Though it was
originally expected to
be fielded in 2013 or
2014, training for the
first WIN-T unit is
expected to take place
by 2009.
situation reports, intelligence and
contact reports that assess enemy
strength and movement, as well as
the status of friendly forces.
ASAS automates the processing
and analysis of intelligence data
from all sources. A commander uses
AFATDS to plan and execute fires
during each phase of action including
deliberate attacks or defensive
operations.
CGS is a tactical data processing
and evaluation center that links
multiple air and ground sensors.
DTSS provides digital maps and
updates to commanders and weapons
platforms in support of mission
planning and execution.
During the unit’s Joint National
Training Center rotation, ABCS 6.4
allowed it to obtain live UAV feeds
that were fed from the common
ground station into AFATDS, Heil
said. This allowed for directional
fire support precisely on the target,
Heil said.
Soldiers from the 1st Brigade
Combat Team/Fourth Infantry
Division preparing for their deployment
to Iraq at the National Training
Center, Fort Irwin, Calif., spoke
highly of WIN-T Increment 1.
The system allows battalions to
communicate and their commanders
to connect to the systems that allow
them to digitally plan the battle
using topographical maps, said SPC
Richard Campbell, a JNN-Network
operator.
It allows units to deploy to and
communicate with any location in
the world, he said.
SSG Michael Irizarry, the unit’s
Ku-trailer operator, said the system
was very reliable during the training
process.
“To operate the system is fairly
easy,” he said. “There are basic
steps to follow. Anyone can really
be trained to operate it within a few
weeks.”
The KU system, he said, can be
set up in about 30 minutes.
“The KU system, with its
capabilities, has given a lot broader
range of communications than the
other systems have before,” he said.
“So, it has helped quickly establish
communications within the training
environment.”
Technologically, the Army’s
satellite based networks, such as
WIN-T Increment 1, has moved the
Army to an even playing field with
industry, said 1LT Brian Wilkins, a
Systems Engineer with Florida’s
146th Expeditionary Signal Battalion.
“As a whole, industry is using
the same exact stuff,” he said. “It’s
just, we put it into a box and we
send it to the field.”
Internet-based communications
technology also allows for more
modular equipment, where components
can be removed and replaced
with other peripheral pieces, Wilkins
said.
Issues with newer systems can
be resolved with a simple phone call.
When a problem arises with older
systems, Soldiers might need to sift
through old documentation before
taking steps to resolve it. Locating
documentation for systems made in
the 1970s is not an easy task, Wilkins
said.
The transition to WIN-T has
generated excitement in the Army
community, he said.
“We can get away from this
antiquated stuff,” Wilkins said.
“People feel relevant in the world,
when they don’t feel like they are
using stuff that they are never going
to deploy with.”
WIN-T Increment 1 was a first
place winner of an Institute for
Defense and Government Advancement
2006 Network Centric Warfare
Award under the category of Best
Contributions to the Development of
NCW Theory. Additionally, it was
recognized as one of the Top Tech-
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