DTIC ADA531119: PEO EIS Delivers Information Dominance to Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan

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by  Defense Technical Information Center

ARMY AL&T
PEO EIS Delivers Information Dominance
to Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan
Jill Finnie
I
n the business world, it is common knowledge that superior information technology (IT)
can lead to competitive advantage and successful return-on-investment. The Army’s business
is conducted on the battlefield and IT systems are key to ensuring that Soldiers, our greatest
investment, stay safe and succeed in their missions. Several hundred Program Executive Office
Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS) staff work side-by-side with Soldiers in Iraq and
Afghanistan on a wide range of IT projects that deliver important capabilities. They are
not alone: project and product offices in the U.S. partner with the defense industry to develop
and deploy systems that deliver identity intelligence, electronic medical information, network
connectivity, and computer-based business and logistics tools to ensure troops stay ahead of the
technology curve and out of harm’s way.
Acting ASAALT Dean G. Popps met with MAJ Robert Ciccolella of
PM J-AIT during a visit to Afghanistan in early 2009. (U.S. Army
photo by COL Jonathan Maddux.)
18 JULY–SEPTEMBER 2009
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1. REPORT DATE 3. DATES COVERED
SEP 2009 2. REPORT TYPE 00-00-2009 to 00-00-2009
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER
PEO EIS Delivers Information Dominance to Soldiers in Iraq and
5b. GRANT NUMBER
Afghanistan
5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER
6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER
5e. TASK NUMBER
5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER
7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION
Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems (PEO REPORT NUMBER
EIS),Fort Belvoir,VA,22060
9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S)
11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT
NUMBER(S)
12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Approved for public release; distribution unlimited
13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
14. ABSTRACT

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16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF 18. NUMBER 19a. NAME OF
ABSTRACT OF PAGES RESPONSIBLE PERSON
a. REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE Same as 4
unclassified unclassified unclassified Report (SAR)
Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98)
Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18
ARMY AL&T
Biometric Data Aids
Communications for Combat Casualty Product Director for Defense Comm-
Identity Intelligence
Care (MC4) helps this complicated unications Systems-Southwest Asia
U.S. and coalition forces guarding process along. MC4 integrates, fi elds, (DCS-SWA), an organization that is
security checkpoints at airports, bases, and supports thousands of medical part of the PEO EIS Network Service
ports, and mobile locations need to information management systems in Center Project Management Offi ce,
know quickly if a person requesting hundreds of medical treatment facilities works to ensure that Soldiers have the
access is friend or foe. For a rapid throughout Afghanistan and 13 other bandwidth they need to stay connected
identity check at the scene, and to countries. To date, military medical and access mission-critical tools. In
gather crucial intelligence for future personnel have captured more than 10 2008, DCS-SWA implemented more
use, troops rely on systems developed million electronic patient encounters than 90 separate projects to improve
by Project Manager Department of using MC4. IT services in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
Defense (PM DOD) Biometrics. Kuwait. The team’s successful efforts
Hand-held scanners capture facial “Complete implementation of MC4 provided as many as 60,000 Soldiers
features, fi ngerprints, palm prints, and and the consistent use of the systems through three troop rotations with
retina scans and check them against a in theater are critical to the presidential increased combat capability at a time
central repository. The Offi ce of the goals concerning the electronic medi- when they needed it most—the surge.
Assistant Secretary of the Army for cal record [EMR], the The team traveled
Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology capture of appropri- extensively through
(OASAALT) calls these biometric ate health data, and These improvements high-risk areas to
capabilities a “game changer” in the quality of health upgrade communica-
enhance the survivability
identifying and capturing known or care delivered to tions capabilities and
suspected terrorists. service members,” of deployed forces connect joint forces
said LTC Thomas C. and enable them at multiple locations,
PM DOD Biometrics recently Burzynski, Former supporting every
to apprehend more
upgraded its database to signifi cantly Medical Command major command in
improve matching capabilities and cut and Control Offi cer, perpetrators who might theater. Signifi cant
down on the time it takes to return Combined Joint projects modernized
otherwise have concealed
match results to the warfi ghter. The Task Force-101, network infrastruc-
their true identity and
new repository manages more than Afghanistan. ture at command
3 million biometric records, provid- avoided detection. and operation
ing fi eld commanders with responses MC4 mobile training centers, bringing
up to 28 times faster than the previ- and support teams superior communi-
ous system. “These improvements provide 24-7 assistance to commanders, cations capabilities to locations where
enhance the survivability of deployed systems administrators, medical logisti- little or none previously existed.
forces and enable them to apprehend cians, and health care professionals who
more perpetrators who might otherwise manage critical medical information on With everything else deployed Soldiers
have concealed their true identity and the battlefi eld. As a result of the close need to think about day-to-day, fi g-
avoided detection,” according to PM coordination between MC4 and medi- uring out how to share a PowerPoint
COL Theodore J. Jennings. cal forces in Afghanistan, system users presentation with a colleague a conti-
are making the most of the system by nent away or securely chat with family
Electronic Medical
making best business practices the stan- back home should be the least of their
Information Coordinates
dard, resulting in improved continuity worries. For secure electronic com-
and Enhances Patient Care
of care and decision making. munications, they log on to Army
Continuity of patient care is diffi cult Knowledge Online (AKO), the Army’s
Systems Enable Connectivity
enough to achieve in the United States. enterprise Web portal. AKO serves
and Productivity
When Soldiers are wounded on the more than 2.1 million personnel in the
battlefi eld, the complexity increases Soldiers in the war zone have a lot on Army community and provides secure
signifi cantly—along with the sense of their minds. There are supplies, weap- knowledge management, communica-
urgency to ensure that patients receive ons, and equipment to be ordered, tions, and collaboration tools anytime,
the best medical treatment available— moved, and tracked. There is infrastruc- anywhere in the world. Warfi ghters
whether they are in theater, a fi eld hos- ture to be set up and maintained. There can, for example, set up an AKO group
pital, or for follow-up care at an Army are facilities to be managed. And above to communicate with all the mem-
medical facility at home. PM Medical all is the mission. bers of their unit prior to deployment,
JULY –SEPTEMBER 2009 19
ARMY AL&T
store and access critical forms and geographic locations to collaborate, send, Securing the Safety of Defense
documents, share with other troops and receive instant messages and main- Supplies and Equipment
and units in the AKO forums, and tain presence awareness. “I depend on GEN Dwight D. Eisenhower once said,
e-mail anyone on the GFT because of the “You will not fi nd it diffi cult to prove
Internet with AKO reliable connection,” that battles, campaigns, and even wars
mail. Warfi ghters Complete implementa- commented MAJ have been won or lost primarily because
can also create their Robert Ciccolella, of logistics.” The Army has come a long
tion of MC4 and the
own Web page, start who works in Arifjan, way technologically since World War II,
a blog to let the folks consistent use of the Kuwait, for one of but it will always need supplies, equip-
back home know systems in theater are the PEO EIS prod- ment, and vehicles. To track whether
how things are going, uct offi ces. “I use it items traveling through the war zone
critical to the presiden-
or use AKO instant to bounce ideas, trou- are secure, DOD turns to another
messaging to chat tial goals concerning bleshoot servers, and PEO EIS offi ce, PM Joint-Automated
with loved ones send screenshots to IT (J-AIT).
the EMR, the capture
and colleagues. my guys in Kuwait,”
of appropriate health
said Chad Cobb, In early 2009, the Army issued guid-
An important new data, and the quality of who works with ance to equip all containers transiting
electronic tool being the Expeditionary between Afghanistan and Pakistan with
health care delivered to
fi elded to the Army Contracting Com- a Container Intrusion Detection Device
acquisition community service members. mand. GFT operates (CIDD), to enhance force protection
worldwide is Green in low bandwidth and to deter theft and pilferage. With
Force Tracker (GFT) environments and many containers destined to travel
with IBM Sametime Technology. provides reachback to the U.S. It is back to the United States, the use of
Developed by PM Acquisition Business, mission critical as phone and e-mail the CIDD also works toward enhanc-
the tool allows Soldiers in different may not always be available. ing homeland security. The CIDD is a
CIDDs in theater enhance force protection by detecting any intrusion into containers, such as those shown here. (U.S. Army photo by MAJ Robert Ciccolella.)
20 JULY –SEPTEMBER 2009
ARMY AL&T
the number of MTS systems needed
to potentially support the theater in
the future.
PM Transportation Information
Systems (TIS) operates an enterprise
architecture supporting Soldiers
worldwide to move personnel and
cargo in deployments, redeployments,
and sustainment. In fi rst quarter 2009,
PM TIS established a regional offi ce
in Kuwait and completed fi elding its
theater operations (TOPS) product
to Afghanistan. In addition to its
existing fi eld service engineers in Iraq
and Afghanistan, PM TIS is adding a
much-needed server infrastructure to
support locations throughout SWA.
A Soldier from Supply and Transportation Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, initializes her MTS
Once installed, the architecture will
and confi rms availability of satellite communications prior to deploying from her unit motor pool at the
National Training Center, Fort Irwin, CA. (U.S. Army photo by Jim Carver, PM MTS.) provide improved connectivity and
performance for the Transportation
Coordinators’-Automated Information
recent capability added to the suite of also provides CIDD training and over- for Movements System II (TC-AIMS
Radio Frequency In-Transit Visibility sees the acquisition of the CIDD as II) users.
(RF-ITV) technologies that is capable well as other automatic identifi cation
of providing environmental condition technology products. PM TIS recently opened a new training
and security monitoring. facility in Kuwait and also plans to open
The Movement Tracking System one in Balad, Iraq, offering unit move
The current CIDD has sensors that (MTS) tracks vehicle locations and and TOPS training for TC-AIMS II
can monitor conditions inside the gives commanders visibility of in-transit users. At the request of the 101st Airborne
container. Once programmed and set, assets. It links ground-level operators Division (Air Assault) and working with
the CIDD will detect with commanders the Rapid Equipping Force, PM TIS is
any unauthorized and staff planners, also developing a new capability needed
In addition to its existing
intrusion into the providing the ability to track air movements.
container and provide fi eld service engineers to control transpor-
a breach alert at the tation movements As Army requirements evolve and tech-
in Iraq and Afghanistan,
next RF identifi cation and mobile logistics nology advances, PEO EIS programs
interrogator that PM TIS is adding elements from any- will continue to adapt to Soldiers’ needs
reads the tag. That a much-needed server where in the world. with projects and products that help
information is then To date, PM MTS them achieve their missions, whatever
infrastructure to
sent to the RF-ITV teams have installed and wherever they are in the world.
system, which will support locations more than 7,700
automatically send an systems in 7 forward
throughout SWA.
e-mail notifi cation of operating bases in JILL FINNIE works in the PEO EIS
the breach to selected Iraq. MTS currently Public Affairs Offi ce and has more than
personnel so that appropriate action has 24 personnel deployed in Kuwait 20 years’ experience in strategic comm-
can be initiated. and Iraq who provide technical assis- unications working with government,
tance and post installation support. business, and media organizations.
PM J-AIT manages the RF-ITV Additionally, PM MTS is coordinating She holds a B.S. from James Madison
system and worldwide infrastructure to provide satellite coverage for opera- University in communications and
that monitors and reports progress tions in Afghanistan and is working English and is pursuing a master’s
of these shipments and provides the with the U.S. Army Central Command degree in humanities from American
breach alert notifi cations. PM J-AIT to establish the way ahead and identify Military University.
JULY –SEPTEMBER 2009 21