Wednesday report on WEST 2006:
Special operations, technology challenges and personnel issues dominated the second day of West 2006, the annual conference and exposition sponsored by AFCEA International and the U.S. Naval Institute. The busiest day of the three-day program, titled “Services Roles and Structures: What’s Right for the Way Ahead,” featured two top-level speakers and three panel discussions. Two of the panel sessions were pegged to the speakers.
The day began with a strong emphasis on special operations, as the breakfast address was given by Vice Adm. Eric T. Olson, USN, deputy commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Adm. Olson, who did not allow photographs of his address, both gave a history of U.S. special operations and described how two recent wars have given it a key role in defense posture.
The global war on terror and the regime-changing operations in Afghanistan accelerated the evolution of special operations. Adm. Olson relates that interoperability with conventional forces originally was adequate, but it improved with the addition of capabilities such as precision support from B-52 bombers.
The Iraq War brought increased deployment and effectiveness as special operations forces engaged in myriad dangerous operations before and during the onset of hostilities. These included minisubmarine missions in the northern part of the Persian Gulf.
The command has been speeding new technologies to its warfighters, but it still has several urgent needs. Efforts have lightened the radio and battery load that every person carries, but more remains to be done in that area. The command is deploying new network media that permit streaming video, and it continues to strive for new ways to exploit satellite communications. Adm. Olson cited the concept of MWR technologies—miniaturized, waterproof and ruggedized—for special operations.
Despite the important role that technology plays in special operations, Adm. Olson maintained that its personnel are the command’s greatest asset. Currently, 7,000 SOCOM people are operating away from home. And, Adm. Olson related, in some cases they are where no other military forces have been.
“We must make sure we as a nation are developing an irregular war capability for the long haul,” the admiral declared. “Our weapon system is the human.”
Ironically, the U.S. Marine Corps were the last service to establish a special operations command, and it did so following a directive issued this past October. Adm. Olson stated that the Marine Corps will bring much-needed capabilities to SOCOM.
The commander of Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC), Brig. Gen. Dennis J. Hejlik, USMC, was one of the panelists in a session that followed Adm. Olson’s address. Gen. Hejlik cut to the chase of the AFCEA audience by describing the technologies that will be crucial to special operations forces.
Communications ranked high on his list as, like computers, their technology advances rapidly. Biometrics are a key technology for special operations forces that must keep track of foreign citizens to identify terrorists in their midst. Reconnaissance technologies to help find high-value targets, along with tools to aid the collaborative planning process, also are on the special operations force wish list.
An interesting reflection was offered by the panel’s moderator, Capt. Roger Crossland, USNR, a Navy SEAL. Noting that special operations forces teamed with Afghanistan’s Northern Alliance to drive the Taliban out of power in 2002, the captain offered that if the United States had sent in greater numbers of military personnel, the Northern Alliance might have viewed them as a threat on a par with the Soviets and instead teamed with the Taliban to defeat the U.S. military presence. Instead, the small number of special forces brought about the desired goal.
Capt. Sean A. Pybus, USN, commander, Naval Special Warfare Group One, warned that the increased reliance on special operations is straining Navy SEALs capabilities. The Navy does not have enough SEALs, he stated, as the service is barely staying even with mission demands. Nor can the Navy tap a wellspring to add more of these special forces. The Navy must field SEALs who are culturally attuned and linguistically capable in theater, the captain declared.
The panel’s final speaker literally offered his views as he was heading out the door. Col. Edward Reeder, USA, commander, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), was heading off to Afghanistan after West 2006. He called for special operations forces to develop indigenous capabilities against terrorists wherever they operate. The colonel echoed Gen. Hejlik’s call for biometric technologies to track people “no matter where they go.”
The topic of discussion swung more into the technical arena with the luncheon speaker, Dr. Linton Wells II, deputy assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration. Wells gave the luncheon audience a preview of the upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review with his focus on information technology and systems.
The upcoming review is “extraordinarily supportive” of network centricity, Wells told the audience. Network-centricity is not just for operations, but also for business and intelligence in the defense arena. Operationally, the network must be extended to the tactical edge to create a robustly networked force that can share information for better situational awareness. The Global Information Grid (GIG) is a network as well as people and processes, he continued. It is a concept that is helping bring network-centricity together.
After describing the status of several major information system programs, Wells listed several challenge areas. One of these is mission assurance on the network. Wells stated that Defense Department information assurance must be better than the best commercial practices, and the Quadrennial Defense Review adds hundreds of millions of dollars to information assurance.
Other challenges include managing the GIG in wartime; spectrum management; and managing the development of risks in certain programs. He told industry, “We’re in this together,” and the Defense Department must leverage what is taking place in industry to advance defense information technology.
As Wells stepped off of the stage, he was replaced by a panel that focused on his major topics of discussion. Moderated by AFCEA International President and Chief Executive Officer Vice Adm. Herb Browne, USN (Ret.), this luncheon panel explored how to get the right information technology to the warfighter.
“It is a Web services world,” stated David Wennergren, Navy chief information officer. He warned that legacy applications and networks are the most porous security threats in the system. Security may be the biggest reason to get rid of legacy systems, he suggested.
Wennergren also said that, “the world of wireless is here,” and the military should not be afraid of it. He also called for performance-based contracting and strong adoption of standards. Military, academia and the commercial world must come together to exploit commercial solutions and best practices.
“Driving out complexity is the best thing we can do for the warfighter,” declared Col. Robert Baker, USMC, technical director, Navy/Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI). The colonel listed several new thrusts for that giant project, including development of a wireless pilot with layer II encryption; an embedded cellular card that allows laptops to access the commercial 2-megabit-per-second network for a fixed monthly rate; and a broadband unclassified remote access service.
The problem with the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) is that it has evolved from a legacy radio replacement program to a mobile ad-hoc networking capability, according to Dennis Bauman, program executive officer, C4I and Space, SPAWAR. The requirements scope is so large that it extends beyond the national budget, he stated.
Rear Adm. William D. Rodriguez, USN, acting commander, SPAWAR SYSCOM, explained how last year’s Trident Warrior exercise demonstrated coalition tools and networking along with human systems integration and information management. “It’s about the knowledge and it’s about the whole spectrum of solutions,” he said.
—Scheduled for Thursday at West 2006: Speeches by the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Michael G. Mullen, USN, and Adm. William J. Fallon, USN, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command; along with a panel discussion on the commanders’ perspective of the way ahead.
nilremerlin
