By Glenn E. Gutting/Center for Army Lessons Learned Joint Experimentation Analyst, MPRI Contractor
FORT MONROE, VA (TRADOC News Service, October 25, 2006)
In the sprawling metropolis the battle begins – challenging operations in a complex urban environment. The US Joint Task Force (JTF) is fully engaged against multi-layered, multi-faceted adversaries in full spectrum operations which includes all elements of modern warfare: 1) combat operations 2) stability operations 3) humanitarian assistance and 4) protection.
US- led coalition forces no longer have the option of avoiding combat in cities. The continued growth of the world’s major cities and changes in enemy tactics makes urban warfare more complex, difficult, important and unavoidable. Adversaries armed with modern, cheap and deadly weapons are observant of our tactics, techniques, procedures and technologies. They are able to see, comprehend and, in some cases, counter US shaping operations. Adversaries also know that many of our military systems do not work as well in cities as in rolling hills and open terrain. Adversaries will try to level the playing field by retreating into cities and using the population as their body armor.
Urban Resolve 2015 and Omni Fusion 2006 are Joint Forces Command (JFCOM)- led, Army- partnered, multi-year, multi-spiraled or phased experiments, focusing on examining potential solutions to unique joint urban operations capability gaps or shortfalls. It provides an environment to look at common problems between a joint force headquarters and the armed services while simultaneously allowing the armed services to focus on tactical problems. Urban Resolve 2015 consists of three spirals.
Spiral I, completed in 2004, involved a US- led coalition that confronted and overcame a skilled adversary who used modern capabilities in an urban environment. It focused on fusing human intelligence with advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) technologies to gain comprehensive situational awareness and understanding in an urban terrain. It provided insights into the operational value of advanced ISR sensors and platforms in development for the next decade.
Spiral II currently focuses on leveraging what was previously learned to isolate and control a multi-layered, multi-faceted adversary in an joint urban environment culminating in a series of three Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) experiments from August to October 2006. The three HITL experiments will provide specific recommendations or solutions on doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership development, personnel and facilities that will measurably improve a joint forces ability to isolate and control an adversary in an urban environment of 2015.
Spiral II examines seven solutions in four functional areas:
1. Battle Space Awareness:
- Joint Intelligence Operations
- Tagging of Forces (both friendly and enemy, both vehicles and dismounts)
- Predictive Analysis
- Urban Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
2. Command and Control: Joint Command Post of the Future
3. Force Application: Communications Strategy Board
4. Force Protection: Integrated chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense
Spiral III, Urban Resolve Future, is being developed and will continue to advance what is being learned. It is scheduled for execution in FY07/08 with the main event occurring in 2nd Quarter FY08.
In a recent two-week joint, interagency and multi-national experiment at Suffolk, Va., JFCOM took the first step in the series of three joint urban operations HITL distributed simulation experiments.
What is a HITL distributed simulation experiment? A program known as Joint Semi-Automated Forces (JSAF) is a realistic, synthetic or artificial environment for training and mission rehearsals. Within the synthetic battlespace, combat actions are resolved by simulated forces modeled after real forces. The battlespace represents real world terrain, cities, oceans, space and environmental effects which interact and affect the behaviors of the simulated forces. Humans may interface with the synthetic battlespace as required. This interface is called Human-In-The-Loop or HITL. Certain Soldiers are designated as commanders; others as staff. They conduct staff coordination, make decisions and issue orders to their simulated forces just as they would in the real world.
The Distributed Continuous Experimentation Environment (DCEE) is an experimentation intranet that establishes a permanent laboratory that is capable of continuously conducting various events, either locally at JFCOM or globally, as required by its users. The DCEE connects a federation of computer simulations from various combatant commanders, service headquarters, colleges, interagency and multinational partners.
Why conduct a HITL distributed simulation experiment? The operational rhythm of developing new joint warfighting concepts must now be faster and more responsive than ever before. Combatant commanders help identify current and future issues needing examination and innovative solutions. Other advantages of conducting an experiment of this type are: parameters and variables can be quickly entered into an experiment and outcomes then can be analyzed and discussed, it is more cost effective than massing troops and equipment and conducting a field exercise over several weeks, a simulation eliminates the wear and tear on troops and equipment, saves time as an experiment can be compressed if needed, realism and the ability to experiment with technology that does not exist or is immature. Finally, all parties in an experiment tied into the DCEE network need not leave their workspace to participate in an experiment.
What is Omni Fusion 2006? Omni Fusion is a multi-year Army experiment conducted to discover, refine and/or validate organizational relationships between Corps/Division headquarters and the different Maneuver Brigade Combat Teams (MBCT), Future Brigade Combat Team (FBCT) and Support Brigades in a future joint operational environment. Additionally, specific capabilities of the Future Combat System (FCS) are always examined within the context of an Omni Fusion experiment to determine their impact on the force. One could say Omni Fusion 2006 is ‘an experiment within an experiment.’
What are the objectives of Omni Fusion 2006? Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, Commander, Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, KS, and his team, leads an Army team from across Training and Doctrine Command in providing answers for the four objectives of Omni Fusion 2006:
1. Determine the Joint Force Land Component Commander's (JFLCC) ability to identify and isolate the adversary and control the urban battlespace of 2015 given improved shared situational awareness.
2. Determine how a Heavy Brigade Combat Team (HBCT) is measurably improved by selected capabilities.
3. Determine how the Future Brigade Combat Team (FBCT) measurably improves the JFLCC ability to identify and isolate the adversary and control the urban battlespace.
4. Determine which capabilities measurably effect the Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) and dismounted Soldiers’ ability to identify, isolate and control the urban battlespace.
What is the Army’s participation with JFCOM? “The partnership of the Army in a JFCOM led event like Urban Resolve is huge. We are supporting JFCOM but addressing Army concerns within this joint environment under Omni Fusion 2006. The joint nature of future operations demands that any experiential or development effort be conducted within a joint context. The Army is committed to resolving our issues within the joint interdependencies. Network Enabled Command and Control is paramount among them. This highly detailed environment supports our learning from the Soldier to the joint commander. Without a joint headquarters replicating a JTF and the services actively playing their roles you can’t accurately capture their concerns,” said COL Arnold Bray, Chief of the Army’s Experimentation Office.
Bray also stated, “There has never been a joint experiment, that I know of, where we are attempting to merge the details of squads entering and clearing a room with the same level of concern as the JTF commander attempting to determine the populations’ support of ongoing operations at the component level with analysts supporting each level.”
Who are the other joint and interagency participants? They are: US JFCOM, US Special Operations Command, US Strategic Command, US Army Training and Doctrine Command, US Army Special Operations Command, Chief of Naval Operations (N7), US Navy 2nd Fleet, US Naval War College, US Air Force Command and Control, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center, US Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, Department of Defense Threat Reduction Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Who are the multi-national partners? The 12 nations represented within the experiment’s coalition center are: Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Their mission is to provide feedback to plans and operations and to develop alternate plans from their unique perspectives.
Why did JFCOM lead this experiment? JFCOM is the Department of Defense’s executive agent for joint urban operations. Urban Resolve 2015 is JFCOM’s priority experiment. JFCOM has also invested heavily in simulations that can support high density/ high fidelity models that supports the broad concerns of the services. This capability provides an opportunity for JFCOM Experimentation Office to transition from a ‘discovery’ experiment to a ‘future solutions based’ experiment.
This experiment also provides the US service components with a venue for further concept refinement with a primary focus on solutions to their specific warfighting capabilities gaps or shortfalls. Through modeling and simulation and a distributed network at 19 different sites in the United States, Urban Resolve and Omni Fusion provides a cost effective environment for US service components to experiment with current and future tactical and technological solutions in urban operations.
JFCOM and the Army plan to conduct future spirals of Urban Resolve and Omni Fusion to advance what has been learned and introduce new thoughts. These future events will undoubtedly have more robust participation and continue to help develop an understanding of the joint urban environment in broader context. The results of all Urban Resolve and Omni Fusion experiments will be used to inform and further develop joint urban operations; stability, security, transition and reconstruction operations and major combat operations concepts and make recommendations to senior leaders to better address the challenges of current and future joint operations.