Triad partners rehearse for fourth Network Integration Evaluation

Col. David Miller, deputy commander, Brigade Modernization Command, addresses Network Integration Triad members attending the Network Integration Evaluation 13.1 Rehearsal of Concept drill conducted at the BMC Mission Command Complex. Photo by Annie Gammell, Brigade Modernization Command Public Affairs.

Annie Gammell,
Brigade Modernization Command Public Affairs:

Network Integration Triad partners recently gathered in the Mission Command Complex to rehearse the tactical operations phase of the upcoming Network Integration Evaluation 13.1. That field phase will commence with the pilot test at Fort Bliss Oct. 22 and continue at various locations at White Sands Missile Range until Nov. 16.

The event, called a Rehearsal of Concept, or ROC, drill, is one of the most important planning events to take place before an NIE. The NIE is a series of semi-annual evaluations designed to integrate and mature the Army’s tactical network. During NIEs, Soldiers test and evaluate network and non-network systems to determine whether they show promise in filling capability gaps that exist in the Army.

Lt. Col. James Charters from the Brigade Modernization Command’s G3 Plans Division introduced the Triad partners in attendance. Representing the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command was Col. Dave Wellons, director of the Integrated Test and Evaluation Directorate, U.S. Army Operational Test Command; representing the System of Sytems Integration Directorate, which is part of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisitions, Logistics and Technology, was Lt. Col. Keith Taylor, product manager for capability package integration; and representing BMC was its commander, Brig. Gen. Randal Dragon. Representing Department of the Army G3/5/7 was Col. Aaron Webster.

The BMC, organized under the Army Capabilities Integration Center, Training and Doctrine Command, hosted the rehearsal and was also represented by its deputy commander, Col. David Miller, and chief of staff Douglas Fletcher as well as division chiefs. Also participating was Col. Thomas Dorame, commander of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, which is attached to BMC to provide the Soldiers who give their feedback on how the systems under evaluation and test perform during the NIE.

The purpose of the ROC drill was to rehearse the NIE scenario in detail, using a scale model of the exercise area that, according to Miller, would produce “a credible evaluation that will result in valuable recommendations to the Army on modernization.”

“The general purpose of being here today is to synchronize and confirm the tactical plan,” he said.

BMC’s BMID will conduct a Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership and Education, Personnel and Facilities review of all the Systems Under Test, or SUT, and Systems Under Evaluation, or SUE, and provide a consolidated report with recommendations to ARCIC following the conclusion of NIE 13.1. For NIE 13.1, there will be four SUTs including the Joint Battle Command Platform, the Nett Warrior, the Spider and the RAM Warn. Currently 22 systems are scheduled to be under evaluation, most of which are Mission-Command-on-the-Move and operational energy systems.

SoSI will again manage system engineers and field service representatives, or FSRs, to establish and maintain network connectivity through the “Trouble Ticket” process that was rehearsed during the ROC drill.

ATEC will manage the data collection process for all SUTs to properly collect and analyze data against specified test requirements through instrumentation and Soldier feedback. The ROC drill validated this data collection process and timelines across the NIE battle space.

By late afternoon, the NIE 13.1 plan had been rehearsed across four mission cycles and through vignettes that addressed medical evacuation, FSR employment and management and missile firing evacuation plans.

In concluding remarks, Miller thanked everyone who participated.

“Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture,” he said, which was “to make things better for our Soldiers.”

Miller also emphasized that safety is the overarching priority with a goal of returning everyone home without incident.