Thursday, August 2, 2018 • APG News B5

of awide variety of tents, each ofwhichmustbe individually assembled by Soldiers. Thosecommandposts alsomayconsist of anumberof vehicles that contain command postfunctions. All must be cobbled together tomeet the needs of the commander. In somecases it may take days for such a commandpost tobecompletely assembled.Often, thesetypes of command posts prove too cumber-someandchallengingforlightforcestosetup.

Part of CERDEC’s effort to improvecommand post infrastructure and capabilityinvolvessupportvehiclesdesignedtosupporta distributed and reduced command postfootprint, all while increasing agility andmaneuverability.

Two vehicle platforms, the Light-MobileCommand Post, or L-MCP, and the Com-mandPostPlatform-Improved,orCPP(I),arepart of that effort.

The L-MCP provides a self-contained,rapidly mobile command post node that canbeusedasasmallandhighly-capablemissioncommand vehicle to support light Infantry,Airmobile, and Air Assault forces, said BradMcNeilly-Anta, a command post consultantwithEMCSTO.

The L-MCP is integrated onto a Humveeplatform and can achieve voice communica-tion and position location tracking in just 15minutes.Thesetupcanachieve full operatingcapabilitywithin30minutes.

“We took [theL-MCP]out to theNetworkIntegration Evaluation back in 2015 as abattalion tactical action center,” McNeilly-Anta said. “When they needed to push theTAC forward ... this vehicle moved with anetwork vehicle, so when it stopped, [Sol-diers] would run a network cable ... and havereach-backconnectivity.”

The L-MCP also includes a retractabletable, and a complementary soft-walledshelter can be set up to cover the back end ofthe vehicle. Once set up, the L-MCP canprovide a workspace for a battle staff of six.Moreover, the vehicle can be configured tomeet a unit’s needs and features a built-inpower distribution system to power allcommandpost resources.

The CCP(I) is a prototype single-vehiclesolution that was built within aHumvee anddesigned to supportmission command func-tionality and command post support at thebrigadeandcorps level,McNeilly-Anta said.

Current command post vehicles are lim-ited, as they can’t mount, power, and cool allthe technology required to support a de-ployedunit, officials said.

The CPP(I) consolidates all essentialmission command infrastructure to operatein a single vehicle. When compared to thecurrent technology, the CPP(I) has lessheight,andprovidesmorecapabilitythantwoof the Army’s current command post plat-forms,McNeilly-Anta said.

Depending on the operation, the CCP(I)takes about15minutes to set upor teardown.Servers assigned to the vehicle can beoperated in either mounted or dismountedmodes and can transition between modes inless than20minutes.

The CPP(I) also incorporates an onboardvehicle power system that provides amplesupport to the command information andequipmentcooling infrastructurewithout theneed for anexternalpower source.

“Everything in the vehicle can be poweredand operated for an extended period by justrunning theengine,”McNeilly-Anta said.

MissionCommandPlatforms

CERDEC also focused on mission com-mand platforms, to support initial entryoperations and provide mobile and tactical

commandpost capabilities.Included in that effort are the Expedi-

tionaryJointBattleCommand-Platform,orXJBC-P; theUltra-LightCommandPostNode;the MRZR Command Post Node; and theCombatActionBrigadeTACCommandPost.

The X JBC-P provides beyond-line-of-sight, secure, two-way transmission capa-bilities, said Jim Bell, an operations expertwithin EMC STO. This capability is vital tolight and airborne Army forces that typicallydon’t have access to a portable missioncommand solutions during initial entry oper-ations.

The X JBC-P Kit, Bell said, can be carriedby a single Soldier and consists of a ruggedtablet, a power source, and transceiver. Theunit canmaintain power for up to four hourswith just two batteries, or up to 24 hourswhen connected to a portable fuel cellgenerator.

The X JBC-P program has transitioned toPEO Command, Control, Communications-Tactical, or PEOC3T, to help cultivate futuredismounted situational awareness solutions.

Similar to the X JBC-P is the Ultra-LightCommand Post Node, or UL CPN. The ULCPN is a vehicle designed to supportAirborne and Air Assault forces, said Mc-Neilly-Anta.

“We’re looking at initial entry operations ...placesandmissionswhereunitsarenotgoingto bring in their large network vehicles andcommandposts right away,”he said.

The idea is that Soldiers will jump incarrying their sensitive items, radios, andcomputers, while other mission essentialitems are bundled into thebackof aULCPN,McNeilly-Anta said.

TheULCPN is designed so that if needed,it can be reconfigured without the need foradditional tools.

Overall, the UL CPN enables units toestablish a tailored mission command capa-bility rapidly. The vehicle can be droppedfrom a C-130 or C-17 aircraft, or sling loadedusing a UH-60 or CH-47 helicopter. Further,the UL CPN can have an initial operatingcapability in 15 minutes, followed by fulloperating capacity in 30 minutes, officialssaid.

Similar to the UL CPN, the MRZR

Command Post Node is a smaller commandpost node meant to be forward deployed toenable assault forcesduring initial entry.

This mobile mission-command enableddevice is currently in the first stages of initialearlyoperations,McNeilly-Anta said.

Lastly, the Combat Action Brigade TACCommandPost isamobilemissioncommandnode that can be used as amobileTACwhenthe central command post is displaced orunreachable.

Currently, the program is utilizing anM1068 Standard Integrated Command PostVehicle as a surrogate for the ArmoredMulti-Purpose Vehicle, or AMPV, McNeilly-Anta said. This program is currently indevelopment.

EquipmentpackagesEquipment packages have also been a

focus for CERDEC as a way to improvecommand post setup and teardown times,and to simplify commandpost infrastructure.

Thisareaof improvement incorporates theExpeditionary Command Post, or ExCP, theDisplay Action Viewer, the Command PostDisplay System, and the Unified VoiceManagementSystem.

The ExCP is a 20-foot expandable rigidshelter command post node, Bell said.Whencompared to a tent-based commandpost, theExCP can be fully operational within 30minutes of emplacement or can be packedandmoved in the sameamountof time.

The ExCP features fully integrated videodistribution, electrical, and network wiring,rapid erect tables with built-in power andnetwork connection boxes, and ceiling-mounted projectors. The ExCP also hasbuilt-in air conditioning and lighting, wallscoated for use with dry erase markers, andshelves and hooks to place maps or othermissioncommandrelatedmaterials.

The U.S. Army Forces Command plans tofield the ExCP at division or core levelechelons, Bell said. Additionally, multipleExCP units can be combined to build largercommandpost.

Several units in the Army are slated toreceive the third generation of theExCP, Bellsaid.

“Theunitswill be taking these shelters outthrough next summer, work with them, andthen provide feedback to FORCCOM forfurther product improvements and futureiterations [of theExCP.]”

Directly supporting the ExCP and othercommand post setups is the Digital ViewerApplication, or DVA. The DVA provides theArmywith a software-based video switchingsolutionandallowscommandpostpersonnelto connect to the local area network to shareall or part of their display with otherindividuals or on the larger command postdisplay system.

Currently, the Army employs an outdatedvideo switching device that requires a largetransit case and has a limited number ofinputs and outputs. Additionally, the currentsystemcanexceed100poundsintotalweight,Bell said.

The newDVA resolves information assur-ance problems by eliminating an existingvideo switch that runs an unsupportedoperating system, Bell said. Further, theapplication supports the ability to sharemultiple screens in a grid format on a singleviewerdisplay.

For systems that can’t support the DVAsoftware -- like an unmanned aerial vehiclevideo feed, for example -- a separate broad-cast appliance can be plugged into the localnetwork, and can share the feed through theDVAsoftware,Bell said.

TheDVAprogramhastransitionedtoPEOC3T, where it is being incorporated into theCommand Post Integrated Infrastructure,officials said.

Inadditiontotheviewerapplication,EMCSTO identified a need for a portable, large-screendisplay.TheArmy’scurrentcommandpost display technology is obsolete, bulky,cumbersome, andexpensive,Bell said.

“[CERDEC] startedanexperiment about ayear ago to take a look at available commer-cial-off-the-shelf technology that would beinexpensive, and durable enough for use bySoldiers in the field,” Bell said. “We puttogether a kit of three different screens andthree different projectors, and we partneredwith the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment atFort Irwin,California.”

MISSIONCOMMANDFrom page B1

The Single Multimodal Android Service for Human Computer Interaction tool incorporates automatic speech recognition software that

interacts with the Tactical Computing Environment. HCI SMASH allows Soldiers to navigate or input information into the system using

only their voice.

U.S. ARMY PHOTO

The Expeditionary Command Post is a 20-foot expandable rigid shelter command post node. When compared to a tent-based command post, the ExCP can be fully operational within

30 minutes of emplacement or can be packed and moved in the same amount of time.

U.S. ARMY PHOTO

See COMPUTING, page B7