Mapping the Human Terrain

8/7/2019 Mapping the Human Terrain

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Mapping the Human Terrain

Written by Erin Flynn Jay

GEOSPATIAL AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES HELP THE MILITARY BETTER UNDERSTAND THE

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS OF THE ENVIRONMENTS IN WHICH IT OPERATES.

Geospatial and related intelligence technologies are playing a vital role in efforts by the U.S. military

to better understand and integrate social, cultural and other factors in planning and operations.

Among the best known of these are human terrain team (HTT) deployments, which satisfy a

CENTCOM need for an increased cultural awareness capability to help understand the dynamics of

local populations. Embedded human terrain system (HTS) teams provide tactical units a geospatial

understanding of the local population and culture. The teams, which consist of soldiers, socialscientists with advanced academic training and regional experts, are supported by a round-the-

clock Reachback Research Center performing in a tactical-overwatch capacity.

The Army’s highly acclaimed HTS is a new proof -of-concept program—spearheaded by Training

and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)—that serves the joint expeditionary community. According to

published Army strategy, the near-term focus of the HTS program is to improve the military’s

ability to understand the highly complex local sociocultural environment in the areas where they

are deployed. In the long-term, HTS is aimed at helping the military and other agencies gain a better

understanding of foreign countries and regions prior to an engagement within that region.

HTS was developed in response to identified gaps in commanders’ and staffs’ understanding of the

local population and culture, and its impact on operational decisions, as well as poor transfer of

specific socio-cultural knowledge to follow-on units. The HTS approach is to place the expertise and

experience of social scientists and regional experts, coupled with reach-back, open-source research,

directly in support of deployed units engaging in full-spectrum operations.



HTS informs decision-making at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. The HTS program is

the first time that social science research and advising has been done systematically, on a large

scale, and at the brigade level.

All HTS-related data, such as reports, notes, surveys and briefings, and data collected by HTS

organizations from other sources during the course of their research, is voluminous and held inmultiple repositories across open source, NIPRNet and SIPRNet information security domains, said

Colonel Daniel Wolfe, HTS technology director.

“Geospatial referencing of data has been inconsistent due to the limited capability of the software

tools in use,” said Wolfe. “Subsequently, the HTS PMO has made significant steps to improve the

geospatial and temporal aspects of human terrain data as well as the ease of dissemination to all

stakeholders.”

NEW ANALYTIC TOOL

Today, the majority of HTS-produced data resides in SharePoint sites in the open source, NIPRNet

and SIPRNet domains, Wolfe said. SharePoint sites provide a good interim solution for human

terrain system products, but they are numerous, and many are managed by the supported

operational units at the brigade combat team (BCT), division and corps levels. To complement the

SharePoint repositories, human terrain teams are now using a tool called Tactical Ground

Reporting (TIGR) for collection and will soon have a new analytic tool derived from the Distributed

Common Ground System-Army (DCGS-A) called Mapping the Human Terrain (MAP-HT).

“HTS, through integration with the Joint Training C-IED Operations Center (JTCOIC), is rapidly

moving forward in dramatically improving knowledge management. Improvements include data

collection, defining standard products, improved analytic tools, and establishing a data

management framework with optimized work/data flow for all security domains,” Wolfe said.

“Specifically, DCGS-A Multi-Function WorkStation (MFWS), through the MAP-HT Joint Capability

Technology Demonstration (JCTD) program, is being tailored for HTS analytic use, and the DCGS-A

database is being modified for socialcultural data fields.”

Additionally, the TIGR system has been adopted and modified for data collection and lowest

echelon dissemination of HTS products. A central social-network analysis relational database for

HTS social-cultural data, interoperable with DCGS-A, is also being centrally established at the

JTCOIC Knowledge Center located with TRADOC at the new Oyster Point facility, Newport News, Va.

The JTCOIC Knowledge Center will serve as the focal point for HTS knowledge management,

leveraging the robust operations center as well as co-located information systems such as DCGS-A

and the TIGR Training Network Operations Center. “All SharePoint repositories will collapse on this

site and thus provide consolidated central data management, capability improvements, and system

maintenance. Lastly, the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is leading an SME Network

consortium leveraging several national cultural academic institutions as well as recognized experts



in cultural terrain,” Wolfe said. “GTRI is implementing a new, robust open system Website, in the

dot-edu domain, for this vital program element. This venue is expected to stand up in mid-summer.”

MAP-HT is being enhanced, through spiral development, under the JCTD to provide robust analytic

tools and automated DCGS-A interoperability for HTS and civil affairs teams in the NIPRNet domain.The MAP-HT will be evaluated this summer and then will be provisioned to an HTS team in

Afghanistan for further operational use and assessment. Rapid fielding to all teams will occur in

FY10.

One of MAP-HT’s strongest features, according to Wolfe, is use of the DCGS-A data model known as

TED. This data model is being improved to include civil considerations and social-cultural data

fields using FM-3 Counter-Insurgency Operations doctrine as a guide. DCGS-A implementation is

targeted for version 3.1 to be released in FY09.

TIGR provides HTS a state-of-the-art collection management system for the human terrain teamsthat is currently SIPRNet-based via a distributed, low bandwidth client-server architecture with

disconnected operations capability. A complementary system for the NIPRNet domain is also being

provided. As a collection, field reporting and dissemination system, HTS products are instantly

geospatialand time-referenced as well as shared with the lowest echelon BCT customers down to

the company level.

Mirroring system use with the company intelligence support teams in every maneuver company,

the HTS teams will be able to collaborate with lowest echelon tactical soldiers and thus leverage the

concept of “every soldier a sensor.” Interim interoperability with DCGS-A and Combined

Information Data Network Exchange (CIDNE) to support vertical dissemination is already provided.

A substantial amount of HTS data has been developed, Wolfe said, “including over 590 documents

available on our open source site, over 1,600 documents on our NIPRNet site, and over 6,076

documents on our SIPRNet sites.” Significant improvements for geospatial and temporal

referencing of all data are reaching the field now. State-of-the-art analytic tools with automated

interoperability with other critical information management systems such as DCGS are soon to be

fielded. “HTS PMO is committed to rapidly implementing a centrally managed knowledge

management system across all domains that provides product-driven processes, exponentially

improves product dissemination, and ultimately ‘maps the human terrain,’” Wolfe concluded.

OPERATIONAL DEPLOYMENTS

Overwatch Systems Tactical Operations recently became engaged in the development of essential

software capabilities for HTS.

“Army reports point to the stark realization of asymmetric and fourth-generation warfare dynamics

and complexities as the event that spawned HTS into existence,” said William “Lance” Swift, senior



business development manager, intelligence and information systems. “Counterinsurgency

strategists conceived and developed HTS in response to identified gaps in commanders’ and staffs’

understanding of the local population and culture, and their impact on operational decisions across

the battlespace.”

The first HTT was commissioned and deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom in February 2007.This was followed by HTT deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in August 2007.

According to Army reports, as of January 2009, there are 27 HTS teams deployed with brigade

combat teams, regimental combat teams, divisions and corps maneuver elements. Currently, 21

teams are in Iraq, and six teams in Afghanistan. “These deployments satisfy a CENTCOM joint

urgent operational needs statement for an increased cultural-awareness capability to help

understand the dynamics of local populations,” Swift said. “Published reports speak directly to the

HTS-enabled assessments by commanders and staffs and the positive impact the HTS brings to

their decision-making process.”

Embedded HTS teams provide tactical units a unique geospatial understanding of the localpopulation and culture at the neighborhood and village level.

“Currently, HTTs are working at the BCT level while human terrain analysis teams work at the

division level, and both are routine contributors to the battlefield effects cells,” said Swift. “They

diligently present insightful human terrain observations for analysis and planning considerations.”

Overwatch Systems Tactical Operations was awarded the contract for developing state-of-the-art

software and automation for the purposes of collecting critical socio-cultural data, aggregating that

data, and assisting multifunctional teams in subsequently analyzing the data. The initial capability

will be a MAP-HT toolkit, which is designed to populate and share the human terrain knowledge-

base across the battlespace enterprise. The system will be built in concert with and on the DCGS-A

software baseline.

A combined government team consisting of CENTCOM and the Army Intelligence and Information

Warfare Directorate (I2WD) will provide operational and technical management of the Overwatch

Systems Tactical Operations’ effort. CENTCOM is currently overseeing deployments to both OIF and

OEF.

“Consequently, they are in a unique position to articulate the current operational and technical

requirements for human terrain capabilities. I2WD, on the other hand, is located in New Jersey and

is the home of the project manager for DCGS-A,” Swift said. “This unique blend of technical andoperational management will team with industry to provide a base set of software capabilities to

handle the extremely diverse human terrain environment.”



SOCIO-CULTURAL INFORMATION

Key features of the geospatially focused DCGS-A MAP-HT capability being provided by Overwatch

will include such items as an ESRI-basedw geospatial information system that is standardized

across the Army enterprise. The capability will provide a database augmented with specific

sociocultural objects and an entity extraction capability for tagging narrative and freetext documents for ingestion into the local database.

“Analytic visualization tools such as temporal analysis, pattern analysis, and link analysis tools will

round out the initial and base deliverable. In subsequent deliveries, or spirals, engineers will target

additional tools for inclusion such as social network analysis, statistical analysis, language

translation and video broadcast translation, to name a few,” Swift said.

The first delivery of MAP-HT capabilities to the field are expected this spring. Once delivered,

officials plan to conduct a limited user assessment (LUA) of the provided capability under real-

world, operational conditions. Lessons learned from this LUA will be gathered and fed to industryfor inclusion in future spirals of the MAP-HT effort. Currently, the goal of the MAP-HT effort is to

transition to DCGS-A as a program of record.

The HTS program is controversial in the anthropology field, because some people feel it is bending

academic study to serve the needs of the military. Some anthropology experts have critically

analyzed HTS and discussed political, ethical and military problems with the system.

BAE Systems is the prime contractor supporting HTS under the auspices of TRADOC. BAE Systems

employees and HTS subcontractors provide commanders in the field with relevant sociocultural

understanding to help meet operational requirements.

Employees in Iraq and Afghanistan advise Army units on critical factors such as local political

systems and tribal structures—understandings that can identify potential flashpoints, help to

reduce violence, and promote peaceful economic and social development, said Scott Fazekas,

director of communications at BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services. The program utilizes

experts from the social science disciplines (including anthropology, sociology and political science)

as well as linguistics, language and regional studies.

“BAE Systems routinely works with the customer to update and implement program goals and

objectives,” said Fazekas. “Moving forward, BAE Systems is committed to supporting our customers

wherever they are. If the men and women of the Armed Forces need our support, we will provide it.The final end date for the current HTS contract is 2016.” ♦

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Mapping the Human Terrain