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

NSCs enable
Expeditionary information
“In modern conflict,
information has become as
important as lethal action
in determining the outcome
of operations.”
FM 3-0, Operations, Feb 2008
By Geoffrey Wells
It’s all about information
The newly published FM 3-
0, Operations, describes combat
power as “…the total means
of destructive, constructive,
and information
capabilities that a
military unit/formation
can apply at a given
time.” The manual
notes that the
warfighting functions
comprising combat
power—movement and
maneuver, intelligence,
fires, sustainment, command
and control, and protection—are
“multiplied by leadership
and complemented by information.”
The graphic in the manual,
shown below, reinforces the fact that
information is essential to the
successful execution of all
warfighting functions, giving
commanders the ability to understand,
visualize, describe, and direct
warfighting activities, and make
informed decisions that effectively
apply combat power.
To generate combat power,
commanders of expeditionary Army
units must have access to global
information resources and the ability
to quickly and securely exchange
large amounts of information with
modular forces located around the
world. This capability must be
available through all phases of an
operation to enable planning and
coordination with assigned forces
that may be widely dispersed, to
facilitate distributed training and
rehearsal, and to enhance common
operational awareness. The capability
must extend across the full
expanse of the enterprise, from the
deployed force to the generating
force, so commanders have access to
information resources beyond the
limits of their immediate area of
operation. Properly configured,
Figure 1
such a capability can give expeditionary
forces the ability to deploy
rapidly, immediately enter the fight,
dynamically change task organization,
and maintain command and
control as forces maneuver and
command posts relocate. Creating
that capability—making information
“expeditionary”—is the challenge
addressed in the Signal Center’s
Network Service Center concept.
What a Network Service Center
is… and isn’t
Although it sounds like a place,
a Network Service Center is really a
combination of capabilities that
connect warfighters to an array of
network services. The basic capabilities—transport,
information services,
and network operations—can be
found at almost every echelon of the
Army and in many forms; however,
the Network Service Center concept
focuses on capabilities that connect
warfighters to global network
services at the regional level.
Regional NSCs merge the
capabilities of regional hub nodes,
area processing centers, and theater
network operations and security
centers to integrate and precondition
theater network
services. RHNs are satellite
earth terminals that have
the capacity of three
tactical hub nodes.
RHNs collocate with
Defense Information
Systems Network gateway
sites to provide the
expeditionary force
points of entry into the
global network. APCs,
commonly located with
Defense Enterprise Computing
Centers, provide information
services and can host battle command
and other applications to
support the deployed force.
TNOSCs serve as the NSCs’ management
component, coordinating and
synchronizing the provisioning of
network resources, protecting the
network, and staging information to
meet the needs of the operational
commander.
Strategically positioned around
the world, regional NSC’s will
establish an “always on” backbone
network that will allow expeditionary
warfighters to quickly transition
from garrison to combat operations.
See Figure 2.
Connecting the deployed force
In operation, NSCs will enable
units to deploy rapidly without
having to pre-position an organic
hub node. Network services will be
available as soon as units establish a
Army Communicator 63