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

support the Intel community
by providing connectivity for tactical
SCIFs. In addition, BCBL(G) is
investigating and assessing pertinent
WIN-T-related technologies including
802.11, 802.16, Combat Net
Radio-over-IP, tactical cellular
networks and Secure Mobile Environment
Portable Electronic Devices.
The BCBL(G) also supports the
Special Operations and Joint communities
in addressing current
capability gaps. In FY07 the BCBL(G)
assessed a U.S. Army, Special
Operations Command iDirect-based
network and optimized the network
performance of their remote Super
High Frequency “fly-away” packages
to meet their command and
control requirements. Early in FY08
the BCBL(G) evaluated a commercially
available ruggedized
deployable cellular communications
system that could operate with
National Security Agency approved
Type 1 secured cellular devices to
meet a current U.S. Marine Corps C2
capability gap in theater.
Mr. White retired from active
duty with more than 21 years of service.
He has been a Department of the Army
civilian at the Fort Gordon Battle Lab
since 1995 and is currently the NSC-T
technical director.
ACRONYM QUICKSCAN
AMEDD – Army Medical Department
AONS – Architecture, Operations,
Networks, and Space
ATM – Asynchronous Transfer
Mode
BCBL(G) – Battle Command Battle
Lab (Gordon)
BSN – Brigade Subscriber Node
CDID – Capability Development
Integration Directorate
CERDEC – CECOM Research
and Development Command
CSH – Combat Support Hospital
CTC – Combat Training Center
DSN – Defense Switched Network
DTP – Detailed Technical Procedure
FCS – Future Combat System
FY – fiscal year
56 Summer 2008
Theater Tactical Sig Bde
concept now a reality
By 2LT Jon Reiss, CPT Joseph
Kachmar, and MAJ Rob Fago
The 11th Theater Tactical
Signal Brigade from Fort Huachuca,
Ariz., deployed in October 2007 as
the first non-organic signal brigade
to support a deployed corps headquarters.
The 11th initially supported
the III Corps from Fort Hood,
Texas, who was executing the
mission of the Multi-National Corps-
Iraq. In February 2008, XVIII
Airborne Corps from Fort Bragg,
N.C., replaced III Corps. Dubbed
“Task Force Thunderbird”, the 11th
Signal Brigade headquarters combined
with the 44th Expeditionary
Signal Battalion from Manheim,
Germany, and the 63rd ESB from
Fort Gordon, Ga., to provide critical
communications support for the
MNC-I commander and corps
operations in Iraq.
The TTSB and its subordinate
ESBs are part of the Army’s transformational
signal support construct to
the warfighters. The TTSB mission is
to provide battle command, funding,
manning, logistics and administrative
support, as well as training and
readiness oversight for the ESBs. The
brigade headquarters also provides
augmentation to the corps G6 for
NetOps and engineering when the
corps is functioning as a Joint Task
Force.
The Corps G6 and the TTSB
commander have different but
complementing missions; both are
important and neither can fail. They
draw from the corps’ mission and
commanders’ intent. “If everyone is
heading in the same direction, it
does not matter who drives the
train” comments COL John
Hildebrand, the TF Thunderbird
commander.
The TTSB commander focuses
on training, personnel, and equipment
readiness of the ESBs’ modular
Joint Network Transport Capability
teams. The TTSB staff is masters of
employing and maneuvering ESBs
across the battle space, but are
primary subject matter experts on
the technical aspects of JNTC and
various other ESB assemblages.
Because the ESBs are fielded with
the same JNTC equipment as the
brigade combat teams, the staff is
often called upon to assist fellow
communicators within the divisional
battle space. The TTSB commander
has a full multi-disciplined staff, so
he is able to conduct mission planning,
synchronize movements of
forces, conduct reliefs in place,
schedule reset of equipment, and
move equipment around the battle
space. Using additional non-JNTC
equipment specifically fielded to the
ESB, like the AN/TSC-156B (Phoenix),
the staff is able to enhance the
services greatly provided to battlefield
commanders and can extend
the network to an increased number
of customers. These are just a few of
the missions that the corps G6 is not
manned or equipped to complete.
CNOSC -- XVIII Airborne Corps G6
and TF Thunderbird S3 Engineering
Section
The corps G6 and his staff’s
primary focus remains on ensuring
the corps commander can communicate
with his staff, division commanders,
and BCT commanders. As
a staff section, they assist in all
aspects of corps and division staff
planning and the orders process
with an emphasis on identifying
emerging communications require