PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – Imagine tracking devices akin to those used by Federal Express and UPS that track wounded military personnel from the front line to the hospital. Picture a radio interface that converts various radio frequencies and phone lines into one secure and reliable link between emergency first responders. Fancy a handheld viewer that enables a Special Forces team to analyze a target area from miles away, using real-time imagery downloaded from a drone plane.
Sound like science fiction? These innovations and other sophisticated technologies were unveiled during the recent Coalition Warrior Interoperability Demonstration (CWID). The demonstration trials are designed to enhance interoperability between the military, federal, state, local and international participants.
For the second year in a row, U.S. Northern Command hosted CWID and focused primarily on “information sharing and establishing trusted information exchange environments amongst all the potential participants in the Home Land Security and Home Land Defense mission area,” said Maj. Gen. Dale Meyerrose, North American Aerospace Defense Command and USNORTHCOM Chief of Architecture and Integration.
“We have opened our aperture of coalition to include inter-agency, state, local and federal elements, so you have a cross-section of the organizations involved in its outcome,” said Meyerrose, who has been involved in the evolution of CWID since the late eighties.
Among CWID’s 26 international participants, Russia and Portugal attended as guest observers of NATO for the first time.
This year’s demonstration included eight mission objectives including mission assurance, situation awareness, and wireless security. While several of the technologies introduced were complex and quite elaborate, several relied on enhancing existing technologies.
Enter the Tactical Medical Coordination System. This innovation uses the same technology Wal-Mart uses to track cereal boxes, said Dr. Diane Williams, principle investigator for the Naval Health Research Center. The system uses wristbands to track casualties and, according to Williams, will provide a near real-time awareness of casualty status and location, providing the Medical Common Operating Picture an in-theater situational awareness and bringing medical care on the front lines to a whole new level.
The wristbands, which will cost about a dollar apiece, and the handheld devices used to read the data are scheduled to arrive in the Iraqi theater in six months, Williams said.
Another technology showcased at CWID was the Mobile Enhanced Situation Awareness system (MESA). MESA, which was developed by Raytheon, provides users with the capability to broadcast data over XM satellite radio, making transmission to highly mobile platforms on air, land or sea virtually seamless. Data transfers can be received by audio devices, laptops, or in vehicles. MESA could function as a global alert and information system that will furnish coalition forces with optimal situation awareness around the globe.
As CWID has evolved in recent years, situational awareness has become a priority not just on the battlefield, but on the home front, as well. Attending this year’s demonstration was Colorado Springs Police Chief Luis Velez, who expressed interest in implementing some of these new technologies to fortify his organization’s relevance in the area of home land defense.
“One of the things that we found out after 9-11 was that with all of the force and the power of the U.S., it’s the firefighters and the police officers that are going to respond first and foremost,” Velez said. “For us to be able to have command and control at those kinds of scenes is just as critical for us as it would be on the battlefield.”
A featured technology that piqued the police chief’s interest was the First Responder Communication and Tracking System, a modular, computer-based system allowing for wireless communication and navigation/position tracking. “Sensor shirts” worn by the first responders would allow the locations of personnel to be monitored by GPS satellites and provide local authorities with a greater situational awareness.
CWID 2006 will be hosted by United States European Command.