Military Review English Edition July-August 2016 | Page 90

Everything I Never
Wanted to Learn about
the Network and Where
We Might Go from Here
Lt. Col. J.B. Shattuck, U.S. Army, Retired

W

hile establishing a communications
network for an exercise at the Maneuver
Center of Excellence on Fort Benning,
Georgia, I had to roll up my sleeves, bite the bullet, and
learn more than I, or most of my maneuver brethren, would ever care to learn about the current state
of communications. Like many of my colleagues, I
just want communications to work, and I do not (or
did not) care why or how. However, the truth is that,
currently, networks simply do not work (and will not
work) in the way many of us expect. But, once we learn
some simple fundamentals, there is potential to make
networking, the verb, a reality.

The Laws of Physics and the Soldier
Radio Waveform (SRW)
Radios can transmit a lot of information over a short
distance or a little information over a long distance.
Period. This is due to the way a radio wave carries information and propagates. Iterative technology advances
and longer antennas will not change this simple rule. We
can maximize the amount of data and range of a given
waveform for maximum benefit only up to the limit of
that particular waveform. This is important to point out
as it requires a radio optimized for performance to get the
most out of a limited range for a networking waveform.
Networking waveforms carry a lot of information
and are short range due to the physics involved; there
is no overcoming this. On the other hand, long-range
88

waveforms, such as the SINCGARS (single-channel
ground and airborne radio system) waveform we have
been using for years, carry little more than voice and
some very limited data. As a result, it is, technically,
possible to establish local networks around platoons,
possibly around entire companies, and certainly around
company and higher headquarters. However, the range
of these local networks is likely to be measured in
meters, not kilometers. Another type of waveform with
more range is required to bridge the gaps between local
networks using voice, not data, due to the distance the
waveform needs to travel.1 Consequently, the idea that
we can populate a single, Internet-like unifying network
with our data for all to see in real time is unattainable.
A brigade commander will not routinely see the
sensor feeds going to squad leaders, unless there is a
preplanned event and the resources are in place to relay
that signal. The relay resource most often mentioned is
an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which is touted by
many as the answer to the gaps of local networks as part
of the “aerial layer.”2 This may be effective given a pointto-point relay of a signal, but this fills just one gap from
one local network to one other. There are, however, other
significant shortcomings with this aerial layer concept.

The Myth of the Aerial Layer
While it is true that a signal may be relayed from
one point to another over substantial distance using a
UAS, it is not the panacea that some are led to believe.
July-August 2016  MILITARY REVIEW