Military Review English Edition July-August 2016 | Page 96

map out exactly who is networking with whom, when,
with what radio, and on which net. We should start at
platoon level (not just one representative platoon) and
work back to brigade.

Conclusion
Communication networking can be realized for our
forces, but we need to be honest with ourselves concerning what is possible. Consider a scenario where company commanders arriving at the battalion TOC for an
orders brief find their tablet already updated with the
order and graphics via the battalion TOC Wi-Fi signal
by the time they grab their cup of coffee and sit down.
Likewise, the common operational picture display inside
the TOC is now more current, having downloaded
the information from the company commanders. The
supporting Apache aircraft can upload the unit’s position location information and know exactly where the
friendly forces are. This does not change the company
commander’s responsibility to inform the flight lead; it

just makes their job that much quicker and easier. UAS
flights can come and go on data-push missions between
command posts, including adjacent units. Auto affiliation can make task orga nization changes and integration
of enablers seamless. The “take” from the robotic sensors
will be a topic for discussion among the squad leaders as
they conduct priorities of work.
Ultimately, the networking efforts will likely include
a mix of cellular, Wi-Fi, SRW, and now airborne and
wideband networking waveforms, along with a longrange waveform to maintain at least voice connectivity.
To get there, we have to understand that lots of
information only travels a short way, and a little information can go a long way. We have to optimize our
radios for performance, not compatibility and security.
We have to integrate into our communications systems
the means to support changes to task organizations and
the movement of enablers across nets. Finally, we have
to work in the realms of possible, and follow the physics
to workable solutions.

Biography
Lt. Col. John B. (J.B.) Shattuck, U.S. Army, retired, is the program manager of the Squad Foundation of the Decisive
Force, Focused Assessment Exercise, at Fort Benning, Georgia. He holds a BS from the United States Military Academy and an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University. During his military career, he deployed to Iraq twice, and to
Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia.

Notes
1. A small amount of data over a single-channel ground and
airborne radio system (SINCGARS) network is possible and
currently done, just not on the scale of a data-networking radio.
I use SINCGARS as an example of a longer-range waveform due
to its familiarity.
2. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Concept for Command and Control
of the Joint Aerial Layer Network (Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office, 20 March 2015), 9.
3. Maj. Gen. H.R. McMaster, quoted in Defense Industry Daily staff, “Soldier Battle JTRS: The HMS Radio Set +
SANR,” Defense Industry Daily website, 18 June 2015, accessed 3 March 2016, http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/
soldier-battle-jtrs-the-hms-radio-set-07536/.
4. Defense Industry Daily staff, “Soldier Battle JTRS: The HMS
Radio Set + SANR.”
5. J. Michael Gilmore, quoted in Ellen Mitchell, “Manpack,
Rifleman Radios Have Heat, Reliability Problems,” Inside Defense
website, 19 January 2015, http://insidedefense.com/node/166763
[login required].
94

6. Mitchell, “Manpack, Rifleman Radios.”
7. Paul Mehney, quoted in Mitchell, “Manpack, Rifleman Radios.”
8. Ellen Mitchell, “Army Pondering Two Versions of Manpack
in Radio Acquisition,” The Insider (newsletter), Inside Defense
website, 9 March 2015, http://insidedefense.com/node/167925
[login required].
9. Ibid.
10. Defense Industry Daily Staff, “Soldier Battle JTRS.”
11. U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Capability
Manager, Brigade Combat Team - Mission Command (TCM BCT/
MC) website, 30 December 2014, accessed 29 March 2016, http://
www.benning.army.mil/mcoe/CDID/tcm-bct-mc/index.html.
12. Auto affiliation is what we do each time we go to our
local coffee shop, turn on our tablet, phone, or laptop, scan the
available networks, and then connect to the network. We do not
need to be concerned that units will not be able to communicate
after a task organization change, or that the Apaches vectored to
the company in contact will not be able to communicate with the
company commander.
July-August 2016  MILITARY REVIEW