JUICE allows JNN-N staff to solve interoperability issues of future

Army Communicator, Fall, 2006 by Josh Davidson

The implementation of a system that is not backwards compatible might prevent it from interoperating with other systems on the network. Lack of backwards compatibility will prevent Warfighters from communicating with each other and connecting to the digital systems that let them map their course, know the locations of their buddies, plan fires, stay aware of conditions on the battlefield and more. When communications are lost among Soldiers and their commanders, disastrous consequences might occur. Constantly monitoring systems to ensure interoperability is a monumental effort.

That is why Ekta Parikh, Software Support Lead for Product Manager Joint Network Node and the Software Engineering Center, welcomed the chance to test the interoperability of systems on the JNN-N during the Joint Users Interoperability Communications Exercise 2006. JNN-N is the communications backbone for the Army forces, which tested their systems during the exercise held July 20 to Aug. 11 at the Communications-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command Software Engineering Center of Fort Monmouth, N.J.

The exercise enabled testing of systems to validate that they were backwards compatible on the JNN-N. It let technicians identify interoperability issues before they arise in the field, Parikh said. If an issue occurs where a device goes end-of-life, updates must be performed, so that each system can communicate with one another, she said.

"JUICE will prevent those problems, because if we know a new system or product is being developed for future fieldings, this gives us the opportunity to test it and get one step ahead of the problem," Parikh said.

JUICE is an annual joint coalition and interagency networked communications exercise performed in support of Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications Tactical. MG Michael Mazzucchi, Program Executive Officer Command, Control, Communications Tactical and commanding general of Fort Monmouth also serves as the Executive Agent for Theater Joint Tactical Networks. The exercise's assessments/objectives are planned, coordinated, engineered and managed by the SEC. The EA-TJTN Action Office collates all test information into JUICE reports for distribution to the community.

The test's final days included visits by GEN Benjamin S. Griffin, commanding general, U.S. Army Materiel Command; MG Dennis C. Moran, vice director for Command, Control, Communications, and Computer Systems (J6); along with many senior leaders from other services and the Communications-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command.

"Nothing is more critical in my mind than the interoperability between all of the services," Griffin said. "This exercise, JUICE here at Fort Monmouth, gives us an opportunity on an annual basis, but really more frequently on almost a day-to-day basis to work those technical challenges, if you will, between the services. (It gives us an opportunity) to share good ideas, so that from a joint perspective, interoperabilites increase and really Warfighting capabilities increase." Griffin said that he had the chance to tour the exercise, talk to those who took part and hear their ideas on "where we are today and really where we are going in the future."

"Exercises like this allow us to improve our capability and really take lessons learned from Iraq and Afghanistan and other places around the world where U.S. forces are deployed and bring those back in; and then work on those things that we need to improve our interoperability and our capability for the future," Griffin said. "It's an invaluable opportunity here to bring the technical expertise and the field expertise to share together in this kind of setting."

Mazzucchi and the C-E LCMC team went "all out" to gather representatives from the Joint community including the Army and the other services to provide demonstrations and share ideas, Griffin said.

"It's one thing to have a slide briefing and talk about what you can do," Griffin said. "It's another thing to bring it up here and really put it into operation and demonstrate it firsthand; and then to allow the folks like me and others from all the services to come in and see firsthand exactly what we've got here, where we're headed, where the challenges are, because that's always key."

The exercise allowed for the identification of solutions to problem areas. It allowed for the finding of areas where the military needs to continue to focus and improve upon, Griffin said.

"But if we're going to achieve what we're after from a joint perspective, then there are exercises like this that we must continue to do, and I applaud MG Mazzucchi and the whole team up here from (C-E LCMC), both from Research and Development Command, to the PEO and PM Community, from the logistics and maintenance side and all the services reps that I saw here as well as the civilian workers (and) contractor community, because they're all well represented here."

LTC Rodney Mentzer, JNN-N's Product Manager, said that the JNN-N is a joint program in that it works hand-in-hand with the Marine Corps, the U.S. Office of Homeland Security, and all other entities that tie into the tactical Internet in an Internet Protocol-based network.