Update on Joint STARS, JTT, CGS, and the Distributed Common Ground System-Army

Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin, July-Sept, 2002 by Stephen J. Bond

The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) System Manager (TSM) for the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JOINT STARS) and the Program Manager (PM) have been actively involved with the Common Ground Station (CGS) and the Joint Tactical Terminal (JTT) in preparing, deploying, and supporting systems with Army and joint elements participating in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. We have also continued our efforts to meet the demands of Army Transformation. One example of this latter effort, within the next year, will be TSM Joint STARS' formal designation as the TSM for one of Military Intelligence's flagship Objective Force systems, the DISTRIBUTED COMMON GROUND STATION-ARMY (DCGS-A). We will provide more on this future system in the coming months.

Joint STARS Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP)

The Joint STARS MultiService TTP are currently under review by the Air, Land, and Sea Agency (ALSA). This draft ALSA document, dated March 2002, will become Army FM 2-00.1,

Joint STARS: MultiService Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, in the future. It is currently available on the Internet to ".mil" users at http:llwww.dtic.mil/alsa/pubs/JointSTARS2ddraft.pdf. Commanders and staffs at all levels using Joint STARS or CGS will find this document useful. It provides a succinct depiction of Army and Marine operations with CGS and on Joint STARS tasking, missions, and operations.

Joint Tactical Terminal (JTT)

The JTT is a project designed to replace current Commanders Tactical Terminals (CTTs) and other tactical receive equipment. It is the designated receiver for the "Legacy" information broadcasts, including the--

* TRAP (Tactical Related Applications Program) Data Dissemination System (TDDS).

* On-Board Processing/Direct Down-Link (OBP/DDL), formerly called Tactical Data Information Exchange System-B (TADIXSB).

* Tactical Information Broadcast Service (TIBS).

* Near-Real-Time Dissemination (NRTD).

* Tactical Reconnaissance Intelligence Exchange System (TRIXS).

The JTT will also be the receiver and transmitter for an Objective Force, information superiority enabler, the Integrated Broadcast Service (IBS).

As part of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, selected units received, on an "urgent need basis," the briefcase version stand-alone model of the JTT. The Army accelerated this system from limited production quantities and placed it into the hands of users. It is currently and successfully in use by operational elements to provide locational information on threat elements and friendly forces for force protection (FP) purposes.

The JTT terminal will also be a component of Legacy systems such as CGS, All-Source Analysis System (ASAS), Tactical Exploitation System (TES), Guardrail Common Sensor Improved Processing Facility, and future Objective Force systems such as Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) and the Distributed Common Ground System-Army. Air Defense and Aviation systems will also host the JTT, as well as aircraft, ships, and ground stations from other Services and Special Operations Forces. The JTT project will have a scheduled production decision in late 2002. TSM Joint STARS is the designated TSM or user representative for JTT.

CGS Software Upgrade

As part of the Army's Future Digitized Division (FDD) and Army Transformation initiatives, we modified the CGS software to enable any Army Battle Command System (ABCS) or Army Tactical Command and Control System (ATCCS) workstation to display a view from the CGS. The Common Ground Station can also bring in any ABCS or ATCCS screen display. This new software was in CGSs in the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) (the FDD) and in the 3d Brigade, 2d Infantry Division (the IBCT-1). This upgraded CGS software version, Common Software Baseline (CSB), is currently undergoing fielding to other units, beginning in June 2002. This software also facilitates satellite communications (SATCOM) and tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (TUAV) connectivity.

Joint CGS-Joint STARS Training Initiative

In an effort to improve Joint STARS-related training, the PM and the TSM Joint STARS-CGS, in conjunction with the U.S. Air Force, are developing a "Joint Distributive Virtual Combat Range" (JD VCR) concept. JD VCR is a distributive mission training concept that makes use of modeling and simulation; it will provide CGS crews realistic training from their homestations. The JD VCR has three components--the synthetic battlespace "hub," the CGS "outstation," and the network infrastructure that connects the geographically dispersed outstations to the hub. The concept is for CGS crews to connect virtually to a synthetic battlespace that can provide a realistic, tactically relevant scenario for training with Joint STARS crews. The intent is to leverage an existing virtual battlespace built and managed by the Air Force's Theater Air Command and Control Simulation Facility (TACCSF) at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. Designated the joint distributed training hub for the Air Force, this $250 million facility hosts quarterly exercises called "Desert Pivot."