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The Network is critical to empowering leaders and soldiers with the right information at the right time to make the decisions essential to mission success.
Through a process known as Capability Set Management, the Army has adopted acquisition practices and is aligning programs so that operational units receive better capabilities more quickly through integrated and sustainable network capability sets. The capability sets are made up of equipment that is scalable and tailorable to provide connectivity and situational awareness for any mission in any region.
The capability sets enhance vertical and horizontal connectivity and provide an integrated network baseline from the fixed tactical operations center (TOC) to the commander on-the-move to the dismounted soldier. Fielding the Network as an integrated capability set throughout a brigade, rather than fielding individual pieces of equipment, provides soldiers with the best capability gap solutions and dramatically reduces or eliminates the integration burden on deployed troops.
The first capability set, Capability Set 13 (CS 13), is now fielding to select brigade combat teams preparing for deployment. CS 13 is a direct response to operational needs statements submitted by commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last decade and reflects soldier feedback from the ongoing Network Integration Evaluations (NIE) at Fort Bliss, Texas, and White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
CS 13 is arriving in Operation Enduring Freedom at a critical time. As U.S. forces continue to retrograde, they are turning over many of their forward operating bases and other infrastructure to local forces, gradually losing fixed network locations. CS 13 systems allow commanders and soldiers to take the network with them in vehicles and while dismounted as they conduct security assistance and other missions. For the first time, the troops closest to the action will have real-time voice and data communications. Those reach-back capabilities will be essential for U.S. forces as they work closely with and support the Afghan national security forces, often in mobile operations distributed over great distances and terrain obstructions.
The centerpiece of CS 13 is Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 2, a major upgrade to the Army's tactical communications backbone that introduces Mission-Command-on-the-move and extends satellite communications to the company level. CS 13 also delivers unprecedented connectivity to the dismounted soldier through the Rifleman Radio, which is carried...