Web-based databases support counterinsurgency missions
BY CAPT. KYLE TEAMEY
To maintain an information edge, the U.S. military must be able to keep pace with much smaller, nimbler organizations. Lessons taken from experience developing TIGR, FusionNet, CIDNE and MarineLink indicate we can do much better in this. The U.S. military has its own advantages that can be exploited: a tremendous research and development budget and direct access to developers. Americans invented much of the IT powering the world today, and the U.S. is home to thousands of brilliant men and women creating newer and better hardware and software every day. During wartime, the military can harness these assets by bringing the scientists to the troops. This is precisely what happened with all of the software explored in this article: Troops in the field identified a way to operate more effectively and worked directly with software engineers to rapidly develop the means.
BEATING BOTTLENECKS
Getting scientists and troops together is not enough, however. Other steps are necessary to get software fielded in a timely fashion. The examples in this article demonstrate that the military can develop software relatively rapidly and inexpensively. Bottlenecks in the acquisition system may unnecessarily slow development and fielding, however. For instance, the Army gives no special priority for the certification of networked hardware or software specifically designed for troops in combat. It can take months or years of testing and evaluation to officially clear systems for the field. In contrast, the Marines and Special Forces have created fast-track certification for wartime IT.
Another lesson learned is to maintain teams dedicated to rapidly upgrading software. TIGR, FusionNet and MarineLink all met this challenge by having a small team of programmers and support personnel dedicated to continuously upgrading the software based on input from troops. These personnel were split into two groups. The first group forward deployed to provide direct support to troops and collect feedback. The second group provided updates and patches to the software from the U.S. as it was needed.
The software explored in this article also demonstrates the value of Web-based databases for counterinsurgency. Various developers independently arrived at Web-based solutions because of their flexibility, ease of upgrade, relatively low bandwidth requirements, protection of data on physically secure servers and ease of distribution. An added bonus is that units can monitor events in theater from their home station while preparing for deployment.
No comments:
Post a Comment