By Claire Schwerin
U.S. Army
WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. - For the Army, the Network Integration Evaluations are a chance to transform battlefield communications by rapidly testing and delivering advanced network technology.
For Jenine Martinez, they are a chance to step up.
“I keep track of what’s being integrated in each vehicle; I review the network architecture to see any changes; I’m in constant communication with the soldiers themselves,” said Martinez, lead engineer for the NIE Trail Boss team supporting the 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment. “You don’t realize it until later in the process, and then you just take hold of it, like, ‘Yeah, I’m making a difference and getting it done.’”
The 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team soldiers and flashy systems may grab more headlines, but behind the scenes of the upcoming NIE 12.2 are people like Martinez – engineers, planners, operations experts and other staffers of all stripes – who attend to every detail, from bolts on vehicles to furniture in buildings.
And in executing their daily grind, they are influencing the direction of the Army as the NIE transitions from a novel experiment to an established way of doing business.
“We’ve been building this airplane as we’re flying it, and I think we’re starting to get ahead of it now,” said Gary Hall, chief of infrastructure operations for the Army’s System of Systems Integration Directorate, or SoSI, which along with the Brigade Modernization Command and Army Test and Evaluation Command forms the Triad of organizations leading the NIEs. “Things will get even smoother as we get into 13.1, 13.2 and down the road, because then we’ll be done building the airplane and we’ll just have to make tweaks.”
With NIE roles, processes and battle rhythm now better established than during the first two exercises, Hall and other SoSI personnel are setting their sights on the result: the upcoming fielding of Capability Set 13. The integrated package of vehicles, network components, and associated equipment and software will for the first time deliver an integrated voice and data capability throughout the brigade combat team formation down to the tactical edge, even while units are moving across the battlefield.
“When we get the Capability Set 13 baseline out there, I’d almost like to deploy back overseas and into Afghanistan so I can see it in action,” said Doug Pattillo, senior plans officer for SoSI Project Manager Current and a retired master sergeant who specialized in communications.
The connectivity, architecture and components of the capability set will be validated and finalized at the NIE 12.2, which will take place in May at Fort Bliss and White Sands Missile Range, N.M., involving 3,800 Soldiers executing realistic operational scenarios. With integration and installation of network systems on tactical vehicles now complete, NIE 12.2 preparation is continuing with the Garrison Communications Exercise, or COMMEX, and Field COMMEX this month.
Members of the team behind the NIE list several qualities as key to success – people skills, technical savvy, adaptability – but at the top of the list is a willingness to get dirty and learn on the job.
“It’s jumping in the deep end and just swimming for it,” said Nigel Raynor, an electrical engineer on the Trail Boss team supporting 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment. “Everyone’s working really hard and really contributing, so it’s a learning experience, but a good one.”
Seeing that knowledge base grow from one NIE to the next is also a reward for the SoSI military personnel who have helped mentor the civilian integration teams. That is particularly true among the Trail Bosses, a group of Army acquisition officers who coordinate across the Triad and across the full spectrum of functional disciplines supporting the NIEs.
“We’re getting to a point now where we’re starting to develop our talent, develop our engineers and assign them to these roles where they can really be influential,” said Maj. Michael Smiley, one of the Trail Bosses. “Instead of just being people who facilitate a process, they’re actually hands-on in the design, the installation, the troubleshooting, and then also planning and executing a mission in what could be considered some of the tougher terrain out there. They just dove right in and are taking on the responsibility.”
As the Army now prepares to field Capability Set 13 starting in the fall of 2012, SoSI personnel will apply the integration, logistics, maintenance, training and other expertise gained during the NIE to ensure a synchronized fielding process. They will also see the results of their efforts when deployed Soldiers benefit from that integrated network.
“I know a grease pencil and a map on the wall, that’s for sure,” Pattillo said. “So I look at all of this equipment [and] the holistic picture of what we’re bringing to the battlefield, and I don’t think that there’s any other country that can come close.”
| Date Taken: |
05.01.2012 |
| Date Posted: |
05.10.2012 14:31 |
| Story ID: |
88239 |
| Location: |
WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, NEW MEXICO, US |
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