Washington D.C. – 13 Army programs temporarily invaded the foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building, May 15, with demonstrations and briefings for approximately 300 attendees during the Empowering Soldiers through High Technology showcase.
Two of the highlighted programs chosen to take part in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisitions, Logistics and Technology) congressional event, were the Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors’ (PEO IEW&S) Distributed Common Ground Station-Army (DCGS-A), and the Base Expeditionary Targeting and Surveillance Systems-Combined.
House members, staffers, media and curious passer-bys were given an opportunity to touch and feel some of America’s high technology Army capabilities. The showcase marks the first time the Army has presented its full range of weapons systems to constituencies on Capital Hill. Briefers for DCGS-A and BETSS-C shared a combination of technological expertise and real-world experience during the event.
Amongst the most popular showcase stops, the PEO IEW&S section briefed numerous senior staff members including: George Pappas, House Permanent Select Committee for Intelligence professional staff member; Mark Young, Majority Military Intelligence Program Budget Monitor for the HPSCI; Paul Terry, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense PSM and Timothy McClees, House Armed Services Committee PSM.
BETSS-C briefer Maj. Dave Buffaloe, lead coordinator for Improvised Explosive Device defeat division and Sgt. First Class Nicholas Psaki, Training and Doctrine Command capability manager – sensor processing non-commissioned officer in charge, explained the interoperability capabilities of their respective systems and demonstrated through first hand knowledge the value each system offers Soldiers. One notable difference in presentations stemmed from the fact that BETSS-C will not be fully integrated into the field until 2009. The DCGS-A system is already in the field and working on improvements for its version 4.
According to Buffaloe, the acronym BETSS-C didn’t even exist until last fall and many people don’t know what it is including some Soldiers that stopped by the display. Given the system’s potential impact on the Global War on Terror and its need in theater, sharing insights into the system with members of the House staff is a top priority. As proof of the need for BETSS-C Buffaloe stated that, it is labeled as Central Command’s number two priority after Mine Resistant Ambushed Protected (MRAP) vehicles.
A point of emphasis during Buffaloe’s briefings was that although many people know of the uses of systems like Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment and other sensors that have been use in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; however, “there had never been a complete strategy on how to fight using multi-sensing fusion in theater.” He explained to staff members how BETSS-C meets that strategy and described how its ability to interact with various other platforms including DCGS-A makes it a force multiplier.
When complete BETSS-C will provide day and night sensor coverage and an ability to use these sensors collaboratively and cooperatively in support of both defensive and offensive operations. Forensics analysis coupled with intelligence data will allow pre-emptive operations against the enemy.
With many questions focused on timelines for BETSS-C deployment, Buffaloe explained that Phase 1 of BETSS-C is focused on ensuring both theaters have all the sensors they need on the ground followed by Phase 2 which will integrate them all together and network them.
At the other end of the IEW&S section, Psaki’s message to those he briefed focused on what the accomplishments DCGS-A allowed his team to achieve while deployed and its needed upgrades.
Psaki’s goals for his appearance in the Capital were simple. “I wanted them to understand that this is a system that is in use in the field and producing spectacular results, right now,” he said. “But without there support, we are not going to be able to integrate the rest of the capabilities that we need into DCGS-A.”
DCGS-A is the Army’s ground portion of the Joint Intelligence Enterprise unifying the collection, processing, analysis extraction, query and visualization capabilities for tactical environments. This unification is accomplished by fusing the technology of nine existing intelligence systems into one, net-centric, enterprise capability.
Psaki a recently returned analyst from Iraq, who was in charge of an element of seven analysts in Baghdad, gave an account of DCGS-A wartime contributions. He stated three of his analysts had limited training experience with DCGS-A when they arrived in theater; however, they were able to operate at a more productive rate then larger, higher echelon units that did not have DCGS-A available to them. “DCGS-A allowed seven people to operate like 30,” said Psaki. “DCGS gave us a unified coherent view of what is happening on the battlefield.”
Buaffole and Psaki were charged with providing influencers with an understanding of the capabilities and advantages of BETSS-C and DCGS-A.
“As a professional staff member on the committee, our jurisdiction is very broad and wide, so what I get out of these events are some of the finer details of the technologies and operational use that is a result of the enabling technology that we support through my committee jurisdictionally,” said McClees.
He added, “I look to see, what are some of the technology challenges that they (Soldiers) have and how can we make these systems better. I really like it when you hear about the integration of activities between the services and how the technologies can support multiple missions.”