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A marked exception are the US Special
Forces , which are already outpacing the Army by moving a new family
of tactical radios. Their AN/PRC-117 is a multiprocessor-based, fully
digital software-controlled, voice and data transceiver. Manpack or
vehicular, the radio operates in multi-band, multi-mode tri-Service
environment.
Whether this equipment was already available on that fateful incident
last April could not be established by the author, but it goes to show
that 'where there is will there is solution'!
In general, during Operation Iraqi
Freedom, there were 'pockets of net-centric operations, but it was not
a fully operational paradigm', according to US defense officials.
Indeed, not everyone in the armed forces is convinced yet. Retired
Marine Corps general Paul Van Riper was so blunt that he and many of
his colleagues in DOD "still have no clue what (NCW) is",
adding " There's a significant communications problem at the tactical
units were out of contact in parts of Iraq, except for satellites,
because there is not enough bandwidth to carry traffic on other
systems".
Tactical OIF commanders have also reported serious deficiencies in
bandwidth problems, during critical operations. Significant time was
devoted developing contingency plans for frequently encountered
communications breaks. These were due mostly to overloads and lack of
bandwidth. In the words of a Marine commander "We had minimal
bandwidth and everybody wanted it at the same time" adding "I
had one channel available to me, but if someone else was using it, I
had to wait until they were finished". That was certainly not the
idea of the NCW concept!
Indeed, many of the frontline commanders
in their after action reports claim, that there is not enough
technology available for those warfighters, who need it desperately in
high-risk combat environment. Although network-centric principles have
been integrated into operations, the most essential command level, the
joint task force commander and actual warfighter, the company and
troop commanders, are yet to come into the game. But it is those
combat levels, that need it most, as more and more fighting is in
urban environment, where junior commanders have to take instant
decisions, which can frequently impact on the entire warfighting
scenario. Thus the next step would have to be "network-centric warfare
for the warfighter".
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