ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Several of the Army’s cross-functional teams provided updates on their modernization efforts during Warriors Corner presentations at the Association of the U.S. Army’s 2021 Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Topics covered Oct. 12 included the critical ties between aviation modernization and the new modular open systems approach; the role of the Unified Network in enabling decision dominance; the  asymmetric advantage provided by synthetic training; and advancements in next-generation combat vehicle development.

The Army must build a unified network capable of supporting troops anywhere around the world as the force prepares for the future battlefield, said the new deputy Army chief of staff, G-6.

“This unified network is going to be operationally imperative to support multidomain operations,” said Lt. Gen. John Morrison. 

The goal is to “make it easy for formations that are in the [continental U.S.] to rapidly deploy to any area of operations and immediately plug in and start conducting operations,” he said. 

The Army is working to streamline the way it manages data to defend its network from relentless cyberattacks and give commanders fast, secure and reliable access to the information they need on the battlefield.

Network systems “were built and evolved under an ad hoc process, versus a very deliberate design process, 20 years ago,” said Lt. Gen. Stephen Fogarty, commander of Army Cyber Command. “Maybe that worked OK, but now we’re part of a Department of Defense network of 7 million end points without sufficient visibility and sufficient command and control of our networks.”

The U.S. Army’s chief information officer said he’s blessed with “tremendously talented people” and cursed by a network infrastructure will take more than a decade to modernize at the current pace of improvement.

“The Army’s enterprise network, at its current level of investment and pace of modernization, cannot meet the immediate and future warfighting requirements to optimize force readiness,” said Lt. Gen. Bruce T. Crawford.

Today’s Warrior Corner featured a panel presentation with representatives from the Army’s Network and Assured Precision Navigation and Timing Cross Functional Teams (CFT). Hosted by the Network CFT, the briefings served to emphasize the cooperation existing within and between the Army’s eight CFTs.

The recent Space and the Network Symposium hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army’s Greater Los Angeles Chapter in Huntington Beach, Calif., provided attendees with an expanded perspective into those increasingly dynamic domains.

Examples of how the Army uses space to expand support to warfighters included two programs underway at U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. 

A one-day forum on Army space, cyber, electronic warfare and network programs will be hosted June 22 in Huntington Beach, Calif., by the Association of the U.S. Army’s Greater Los Angeles Chapter.

To be held at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Hotel, the symposium will feature speakers from the Army, DoD, academia and industry in a discussion focused on one of the priority areas for modernization.

Worldwide networks used by DoD are constantly under attack, and with a level of sophistication that is on the rise, according to retired Army Lt. Gen. Alan R. Lynn, former director of the Defense Information Systems Agency.

Lynn, who relinquished command of DISA on Feb. 2 and retired after 38 years in uniform, issued his warning before an audience of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, where he spoke of the many surprises he encountered as head of the agency he led for more than two years.

The Army is reconsidering its network modernization needs, seeking to immediately change course on some radios, command posts and tactical information networks.

This includes reinvestment of $544.9 million saved from halting procurement on some programs so it can build a different network solution that addresses what officials see as pressing interoperability and security concerns.