Tactical Communications--A Precious Resource

Line of sight, movement, and capacity are three key limitations of our tactical communications which inhibit the effectiveness of our combat forces today. The thrust of this paper is to examine the limitations of division-level communications and seek insight into possible solutions. The FM radio ne...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hammett,Jack C , Jr
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEMS
COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
COMMUNICATIONS TRAFFIC
DIVISION LEVEL ORGANIZATIONS
EFFICIENCY
LIMITATIONS
LINE OF SIGHT
MESSAGE PROCESSING
Military Operations, Strategy and Tactics
MOBILITY
Radio Communications
TACTICAL COMMUNICATIONS
TACTICAL DATA SYSTEMS
Online Access:Request full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Line of sight, movement, and capacity are three key limitations of our tactical communications which inhibit the effectiveness of our combat forces today. The thrust of this paper is to examine the limitations of division-level communications and seek insight into possible solutions. The FM radio nets are efficient and responsive for broadcast traffic, but slow and inefficient for upward-flowing messages; a brigade commander may only gain access to the division command net about 4% of the time. The multichannel system is inhibited by complexity. An example illustrates that the availability of a typical telephone circuit may be less than 50% during periods of normal maneuver of command posts. The mutlichannel system is disrupted by movement; the system works during periods of stability, when we need it least, and fails during movement, when we need it most. To succeed with the existing system, we must gain an improved understanding of the limitations, and act to minimize the impact of those limitations. The suggested actions include clarifying the responsibility for communications, intensifying training, increasing discipline, simplifying the structure of command and control communications, simplifying the reporting and operational procedures, and modifying tactics to match what is possible. (Author)