SCCC Study Guide

Module B — Signal Operations

13 lessons · 257 key terms. Flashcards and practice questions for this module and every other are on the study pages.

Chapters13 lessons

Introduction to Signal Operations 113-SCCCB01

Learning objective and standard

Learning objectiveIdentify the DOTMLPF factors to Signal Operations and Planning

StandardIdentify the DOTMLPF factors to Signal Operations and Planning by completing the following requirements: define the DOTMLPF factors.

This lesson frames the Signal Corps through DOTMLPF - the eight force-modernization domains the Army uses to decide whether a capability gap is solved by a new manual, a new organization, a new training approach, new equipment, better leaders, more people, or different facilities. It defines the role of Signal forces, walks the Signal Corps core competencies and the essential capability that supports them, and then shows how that translates into real force structure: what a Signal company looks like in an ABCT, IBCT, SBCT, fires brigade and sustainment brigade, and how the transformation-in-contact changes divest what to the division and what stays at brigade. It closes with how Signal units actually build readiness, through home-station training, the gunnery-style training tables, and the combat training centers.

Doctrinal currencySettled: the exam uses the SEVEN competencies this lesson's own slides list. FM 6-02 (2019) lists four and no newer edition exists in the course files, so both lists are kept - but seven is the answer. The lesson plan notes the Signal proponent is overhauling the doctrine, which is why the publication has not caught up.

What this course teaches — answer this on the exam
  • SEVEN core competencies - the answer: network transport; network integration; network security; information delivery; electromagnetic spectrum access; data engineering; software engineering
  • COMSEC is the essential capability, not a competency - both versions agree on this, and it is a frequent test point
What FM 6-02 (13 September 2019) still says - background, not the answer
  • FOUR core competencies: DODIN operations; network transport and information services; spectrum management operations; visual information and combat camera
  • B02 Signal Science states its purpose as defining the 'four core competencies' and its agenda follows the FM 6-02 structure, so a question written from B02 may still expect four

Doctrinal sets to know cold

DOTMLPF
  1. D - Doctrine
  2. O - Organization
  3. T - Training
  4. M - Materiel
  5. L - Leadership and education
  6. P - Personnel
  7. F - Facilities
The seven Signal Corps core competencies - the exam answer
  1. Network transport
  2. Network integration
  3. Network security
  4. Information delivery / information management
  5. Electromagnetic spectrum access
  6. Data engineering
  7. Software engineering
Major network transport capabilities
  1. Satellite communications
  2. Line of sight and troposcatter systems
  3. Tactical radios and radio retransmission
  4. Copper wire and cable
  5. Fiber optics
Tasks of network integration and network security
  1. Cybersecurity
  2. COMSEC
  3. Electromagnetic protection
  4. Emission control
Elements of Army information management
  1. Information services - local applications and services
  2. Enterprise services, including Defense Information Systems Network services
  3. Information dissemination management and content staging
Tasks that enable electromagnetic spectrum access
  1. Spectrum management
  2. Frequency assignment
  3. Frequency deconfliction
  4. Host-nation coordination
  5. Spectrum interference resolution
Elements of software engineering
  1. Design
  2. Planning
  3. Construction and implementation
  4. Analysis
  5. Testing and integration
  6. Maintenance
  7. Program analysis
Lesson references
  1. DA PAM 611-21 (20 DEC 2022) - Military Occupational Classification and Structure
  2. FM 6-02 (13 SEP 2019) - Signal Support to Operations
  3. AR 5-22 (13 JUN 2023) - The Army Force Modernization Proponent System
  4. AR 611-1 (20 DEC 2022) - Military Occupational Classification Structure Development and Implementation
Combat training centers
  1. NTC - National Training Center, brigade combat teams and other units
  2. JRTC - Joint Readiness Training Center, decisive action and mission rehearsal exercises for U.S. and JIIM partners
  3. JMRC - Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Europe-based with worldwide mobile training capability

Key terms

DOTMLPF
Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership and education, Personnel, and Facilities - the domains the Army examines when identifying a capability gap and deciding how to close it. A gap is not automatically a materiel problem; the same shortfall may be solved by rewriting a manual or changing how a unit is organized.
Signal Corps role
Signal forces provide communications services that can quickly transition from fixed garrison infrastructure to deployed tactical systems to support Army commanders and units as they execute their assigned missions, across the conflict continuum (FM 6-02).
DODIN-A
The Army's portion of the Department of Defense Information Network. Signal Soldiers install, operate and secure the DODIN-A in locations where both friendly and enemy cyberspace operations occur.
Network transport
The processes, equipment, and transmission media that provide connectivity and move data between networking devices and facilities. Major capabilities include satellite communications, line-of-sight and troposcatter systems, tactical radios and radio retransmission, copper wire and cable, and fiber optics.
Network integration
Planning, establishing and maintaining local area networks, wide-area networks and tactical radio networks by integrating network transport links with networking capabilities.
Network security
Protecting friendly information by denying an enemy or adversary access to information of value about U.S. operations. Its tasks are cybersecurity, COMSEC, electromagnetic protection, and emission control.
Information management
The science of using procedures and information systems to collect, process, store, display, disseminate and protect data, information and knowledge products (ADP 6-0). It supports, underpins and enables knowledge management.
Electromagnetic spectrum access
Assured access to the electromagnetic spectrum throughout the operational environment, which all joint force operations depend on (JP 6-0). Signal Soldiers enable it through spectrum management operations.
Spectrum management operations (SMO)
The interrelated functions of spectrum management, frequency assignment, host nation coordination, and policy that together enable planning, management and execution of operations within the electromagnetic operational environment during all phases of military operations.
Data engineering
Sourcing, transforming and managing data from various systems to support Army units across the range of military operations, producing descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analysis for decision makers.
Software engineering
The engineering technique applied to software development, used to address larger systems rather than small or single applications, giving a systematic and disciplined approach to a project's scope, requirements and priority of work.
COMSEC as essential capability
COMSEC is not a core competency but is an essential capability of signal support, used to implement trusted systems. Together the core competencies and this essential capability enable the commander's exercise of command and control and the integration of the other warfighting functions (FM 6-02, 1-121).
METL
Mission-essential task list - the basis, with key and supporting collective tasks and individual tasks, on which home-station training is grounded. METL crosswalks and team battle drills are used to maximize home-station training.
Unit SOP
The document that guides the distinct manner of operations in a specific unit for its mission set. Signal SOPs commonly standardize steps and configurations to install, operate and maintain systems, formats for the signal annex, and battle drills.
Training Table I - Individual Training
All individual tasks and requirements to be an effective member of a crew: IA certification, weapons, drivers training, equipment inventory and hand receipt to the lowest level, and trained primary and alternate COMSEC handlers.
Training Table II - Individual Skills Test
Complete the ACFT, qualify on the assigned weapon, certify as applicable for the IA technical level, and be recommended proficient by the crew chief on individual supporting tasks.
Training Table III - Crew Training
The crawl phase of overall section validation, rehearsing and training on battle drills and the individual and collective tasks in the training and evaluation outline.
T2C2
Transportable Tactical Command Communications - a lower-tactical-internet satellite terminal. Under transformation, brigades retain small nodes such as T2C2 while larger upper-TI nodes consolidate at division.
TRILOS
Tri-band line-of-sight radio, the line-of-sight extension system held in quantity by the division signal battalion under the transformed structure.
SMART-T
Secure Mobile Anti-Jam Reliable Tactical Terminal - the beyond-line-of-sight satellite asset found in brigade signal companies and division formations.

Testable points

  • There are SEVEN Signal Corps core competencies. FM 6-02 (2019) lists four, and the course material contradicts itself on this, but seven is the answer.
  • DOTMLPF is the framework for identifying a capability gap and deciding how to close it. The letters are Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership and education, Personnel, and Facilities.
  • A capability gap is not automatically a materiel problem. The same shortfall may be closed by rewriting doctrine, reorganizing a unit, or changing how people are trained.
  • Signal forces provide communications services that transition quickly from fixed garrison infrastructure to deployed tactical systems, across the conflict continuum.
  • Fixed infrastructure on posts, camps and stations; mobile single-channel radio networks; and deployed communications sites combine to give commanders their communications and information technology capabilities.
  • Signal Soldiers install, operate and secure the DODIN-A in locations where both friendly and enemy cyberspace operations occur.
  • COMSEC is not a core competency. It is an essential capability of signal support used to implement trusted systems - a distinction FM 6-02 states explicitly and a common exam trap.
  • The core competencies and the COMSEC essential capability together enable the commander's exercise of command and control and the integration of the other warfighting functions.
  • Network transport's major capabilities are satellite communications, line-of-sight and troposcatter, tactical radios and retransmission, copper wire and cable, and fiber optics.
  • The tasks of network integration and of network security are the same four: cybersecurity, COMSEC, electromagnetic protection, and emission control. Integration builds the network; security denies the enemy information of value about U.S. operations.
  • Information management is defined in ADP 6-0 and supports, underpins and enables knowledge management - it is not a synonym for it.
  • The elements of Army information management are information services, enterprise services, and information dissemination management and content staging.
  • All joint force operations depend on assured electromagnetic spectrum access throughout the operational environment, per JP 6-0.
  • The tasks enabling electromagnetic spectrum access are spectrum management, frequency assignment, frequency deconfliction, host-nation coordination, and spectrum interference resolution.
  • Data engineering capabilities include programming, application programming interfaces, data warehousing, data modeling, cloud computing, data pipelines and extract-transform-load, big data, and data governance.
  • The elements of software engineering are design, planning, construction and implementation, analysis, testing and integration, maintenance, and program analysis.
  • The Signal doctrine a Signal officer is expected to know in depth is FM 6-02, alongside FM 3-0 and FM 6-0.
  • Key joint doctrine for Signal officers is JP 6-0 Joint Communications Systems, JP 3-12 Cyberspace Operations, and JP 3-14 Space Operations.
  • TRADOC and FORSCOM are Army Commands. ARCYBER, USARNORTH, USARSOUTH, USARPAC and USARSOC are Army Service Component Commands.
  • Under transformation, TCN, JNN and CPN are divested, brigades retain lower-TI assets and small nodes such as T2C2, and upper-TI capability consolidates in the division signal battalion.
  • Home-station training is grounded in the METL, key collective tasks, supporting collective tasks and individual tasks, using FM 7-0 as the basis.
  • Examples of home-station training are command post exercises, field training exercises, warfighter exercises, the mission training complex, and the regional signal training site.
  • The combat training centers are NTC, JRTC and JMRC. JMRC is the Europe-based center with a worldwide mobile training capability.
  • Multinational exercises named in this lesson are Ulchi-Freedom Guardian (Korea), Cobra Gold (Thailand), and Defender Europe (USEUCOM-directed, with NATO allies and partners).
  • Training Table I covers individual tasks including IA certification and trained primary and alternate COMSEC handlers; Table II is the individual skills test; Table III is crew training and the crawl phase of section validation.
  • The references for this lesson are DA PAM 611-21, FM 6-02, AR 5-22 (The Army Force Modernization Proponent System), and AR 611-1.

References

FM 6-02ADP 6-0JP 6-0JP 3-12JP 3-14FM 7-0DA PAM 611-21AR 5-22AR 611-1

Signal Science 113-SCCCB02

Learning objective and standard

Learning objectiveDefine the Signal Corps competencies and the science of DODIN operations

StandardDefine the Signal Corps competencies and the science of DODIN operations by completing the following requirements: define the Signal Corps competencies, define the DODIN, and define the DODIN-A, each in a clear and concise manner, without error.

This is the lesson that turns the Signal Corps competencies from a list into a working model. It defines the DODIN and the Army's portion of it, the DODIN-A, then breaks DODIN-A operations into its three essential tasks and shows how each nests inside the corresponding joint task. It covers the organizations that actually run the network - NETCOM, the theater and regional network operations and security centers, the fixed regional hub nodes and the network enterprise centers - and then follows the network out to the tactical edge, where deployed users reach an area processing center and DISN services through the regional hub nodes. The single idea to carry away is that the net effect of integrating the three essential tasks is information advantage: users get timely, protected information that meets their critical information requirements.

Doctrinal currencyThis lesson is built on FM 6-02's four core competencies, which is what its own purpose statement and agenda use. The settled answer for the exam is SEVEN - see Introduction to Signal Operations. Both are here because a question written from this lesson may still expect four.

What this course teaches — answer this on the exam
  • FOUR, per FM 6-02 (2019): DODIN operations; network transport and information services; spectrum management operations; visual information and combat camera
The settled answer
  • SEVEN: network transport; network integration; network security; information delivery; electromagnetic spectrum access; data engineering; software engineering

Doctrinal sets to know cold

The four Signal Corps core competencies (FM 6-02)
  1. DODIN operations
  2. Network transport and information services
  3. Spectrum management operations
  4. Visual information and combat camera
The three DODIN-A essential tasks
  1. Network management and enterprise systems management
  2. Cybersecurity
  3. Information dissemination and content staging
How the Army tasks nest inside the joint tasks
  1. Network management and enterprise systems management -> DODIN enterprise management
  2. Cybersecurity -> Cybersecurity
  3. Information dissemination management and content staging -> DODIN content management
Steps in network management and enterprise systems management
  1. Configure
  2. Allocate
  3. Process
  4. Connect
  5. Route
  6. Flow
  7. Account for
  8. Maintain network capabilities
NETCOM primary functions
  1. Provide DODIN operations oversight
  2. Inter-theater DODIN operations functions
  3. Provide a single, virtual enterprise network
  4. Enforce standards
  5. Configuration management
  6. Manage and service spectrum-related requirements for Army installations
What the DODIN-A supports
  1. Army enterprise services - connecting installation users to an Area Processing Center and DISN services
  2. Network operations and security centers (TNOSC/RNOSC) for strategic networks
  3. Fixed regional hub nodes extending DISN services to deployed forces
  4. Network enterprise centers providing data and voice on post, camp or station
Key elements of the tactical network
  1. Network operations security centers
  2. Network transport
  3. Tactical signal organizations
  4. Theater tactical signal brigades
  5. The G6/S6 community, corps through battalion
Lesson references
  1. FM 6-02 - Signal Support to Operations (SEP19)
  2. JP 6-0 - Joint Communications Systems (OCT19)
  3. ATP 6-02.70 - Techniques for Spectrum Management Operations (OCT19)
  4. ATP 6-02.71 - Techniques for DODIN Operations (APR19)
  5. ATP 6-02.40 - Techniques for Visual Information Operations (JAN19)
  6. TC 6-02.1 - U.S. Army Signal Corps 2019 Training Strategy (JUL19)

Key terms

DODIN
The Department of Defense Information Network - the globally interconnected, end-to-end set of information capabilities and associated processes and personnel that provides warfighters with information superiority. It includes the networks of all branches and is managed by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).
DODIN-A
The Army's portion of the DODIN. It encompasses all Army networks - tactical, enterprise and training - along with the associated hardware, software and personnel, from command posts to forward-deployed users.
DODIN operations
Not an individual or crew task but multifaceted military operations conducted at all echelons. FM 6-02 calls them arguably the most important and most complex operation the Army performs day to day, because the network is the foundation for command and control, joint ISR, precision fires, logistics and telemedicine.
Network management
The provision of networked services with the desired quality and availability.
Enterprise systems management
Day-to-day management of information systems, elements of systems and services, including operating systems, databases and end-user systems.
Cybersecurity (as a DODIN-A essential task)
The means to resist and recognize intrusions and to recover and reconstitute network capabilities. Cybersecurity in the DODIN-A is the same as cybersecurity across the wider DODIN.
Information dissemination management
Ensuring the right information reaches the right users at the right time, in a usable format, so that effective knowledge management is supported.
Content staging
Compiling, cataloging and caching information so that it can be retrieved and distributed to support planning and decision making.
Information advantage
The net effect of integrating the three DODIN-A essential tasks - users get timely, protected information that meets their critical information requirements.
NETCOM
U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command. It provides DODIN operations oversight and inter-theater DODIN operations functions, provides a single virtual enterprise network, enforces standards, performs configuration management, and manages spectrum-related requirements for Army installations.
Area Processing Center (APC)
The facility that installation-based and deployed users connect to for Army enterprise services and DISN services.
TNOSC / RNOSC
Theater and regional network operations and security centers, which conduct network operations for strategic networks.
Fixed Regional Hub Node (FRHN)
The LandWarNet satellite transport component that extends DISN services to Army deployed forces. Tactical networks connect to the DODIN-A and the DODIN through the regional hub nodes.
Network Enterprise Center (NEC)
Provides data and voice networks and is the designated information manager on its post, camp or station.
Tactical network
The network connecting deployed users to an area processing center and other DISN services regardless of location, reaching the DODIN-A and DODIN through the regional hub nodes.
Tactical internet
The capability that enables aggregation of intelligence and information from Soldiers, platforms and command posts.
Network service center (NSC)
A component of the DODIN-A in a cloud computing environment, connected by long-haul network transport.
Zero trust architecture
A security model being implemented across the DODIN-A that verifies every user and device before granting access to resources, rather than trusting anything inside a network perimeter.
Network transport (FM 6-02)
The processes, equipment, and transmission media that provide connectivity and move data between networking devices and facilities. FM 6-02 pairs it with information services, which enable planning, controlling and manipulating information throughout its life cycle.
Visual information and combat camera
One of the four core competencies FM 6-02 lists, covering the acquisition, production and distribution of imagery in support of operations.

Testable points

  • The DODIN is the globally interconnected, end-to-end set of information capabilities, associated processes and personnel that provides warfighters with information superiority.
  • The DODIN is managed by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA); the DODIN-A is the Army's portion of it.
  • The DODIN-A encompasses all Army networks - tactical, enterprise and training - plus the associated hardware, software and personnel.
  • DODIN operations are not an individual or crew task. They are multifaceted military operations conducted at all echelons.
  • FM 6-02 calls DODIN operations arguably the most important and most complex operation the Army performs day to day, because the network underpins command and control, joint ISR, precision fires, logistics and telemedicine.
  • DODIN-A operations consist of exactly three essential tasks: network management and enterprise systems management; cybersecurity; and information dissemination management and content staging.
  • Each Army essential task nests with a joint task: network management and enterprise systems management nests within DODIN enterprise management, and information dissemination management and content staging nests within DODIN content management. Cybersecurity keeps its name in both.
  • Network management and enterprise systems management consist of the steps to configure, allocate, process, connect, route, flow, account for, and maintain network capabilities.
  • Information dissemination management and content staging allow users to retrieve, cache, compile, catalog and distribute information to support planning and decision making.
  • Cybersecurity provides the means to resist and recognize intrusions and to recover and reconstitute network capabilities.
  • The net effect of integrating the three essential tasks is information advantage - timely, protected information that meets users' critical information requirements.
  • NETCOM provides DODIN operations oversight, inter-theater DODIN operations functions, and a single virtual enterprise network.
  • NETCOM also enforces standards, performs configuration management, and manages and services spectrum-related requirements for Army installations.
  • The DODIN-A contains network service centers in a cloud computing environment connected with long-haul network transport.
  • Army enterprise services connect installation-based users to an Area Processing Center and to DISN services.
  • The TNOSC and RNOSC conduct network operations for strategic networks.
  • Fixed regional hub nodes provide the LandWarNet satellite transport component that extends DISN services to deployed Army forces.
  • The Network Enterprise Center provides data and voice networks and is the designated information manager on its post, camp or station.
  • Tactical networks connect to the DODIN-A and the DODIN through the regional hub nodes, regardless of where the deployed user is.
  • The tactical internet enables aggregation of intelligence and information from Soldiers, platforms and command posts.
  • Key elements of the tactical network are the network operations security centers, network transport, tactical signal organizations, theater tactical signal brigades, and the G6/S6 community from corps to battalion.
  • Current DODIN-A modernization efforts are focused on zero trust architecture and migrating applications and data to the cloud.
  • FM 6-02 pairs network transport with information services: transport moves the data, information services enable planning, controlling and manipulating information throughout its life cycle.
  • This lesson's stated purpose is to define the Signal Corps four core competencies and explain how they facilitate network operations to enable multi-domain operations.
  • The lesson references are FM 6-02 (SEP19), JP 6-0 (OCT19), ATP 6-02.70 (OCT19), ATP 6-02.71 (APR19), ATP 6-02.40 (JAN19) and TC 6-02.1 (JUL19).

References

FM 6-02JP 6-0ATP 6-02.70ATP 6-02.71ATP 6-02.40TC 6-02.1

Signal Doctrine 113-SCCCB12

Learning objective and standard

Learning objectiveDescribe the purpose and structure of Army doctrine and the Cyber Center of Excellence doctrine portfolio

StandardIdentify the purpose of doctrine, distinguish doctrine from concepts, policies and standard operating procedures, and describe the doctrine hierarchy and development cycle.

A short lesson with a sharp central distinction. Doctrine is how the Army, as it is currently manned and equipped, can conduct operations today - it is not prescriptive, and it requires judgment in application. Concepts are how the Army expects it might be called on to fight in a future operational environment, using capabilities that may not exist yet. Policies are prescriptive and often carry the weight of law. SOPs are specific to a unit. Getting those four apart is most of the lesson. The rest covers the publication hierarchy - ADPs for fundamental principles, FMs for principles, tactics and procedures, and ATPs for techniques - along with who approves each, and the two branches of the Cyber Center of Excellence doctrine division that keep the portfolio current.

Doctrinal sets to know cold

Doctrine, concepts, policies and SOPs
  1. Doctrine - how the Army can fight today, as manned and equipped; not prescriptive, requires judgment
  2. Concepts - how the Army expects it might fight in future; capabilities may not exist yet
  3. Policies - prescriptive, often carry the weight of law
  4. SOPs - specific to one unit, standardizing common functions and situations
Purpose of doctrine
  1. Provides the fundamental principles guiding action in support of national objectives
  2. Describes how Army forces conduct operations
  3. Establishes a common frame of reference and the tools leaders use to solve military problems
  4. Focused on how to think, not what to think
  5. Enables professionals to communicate using common, understood terminology
The publication hierarchy
  1. ADP - 15 publications, fundamental principles, 100-page main body limit, approved by CAC CG
  2. FM - 62 publications, principles, tactics and procedures, 200-page main body limit, approved by CAC CG
  3. ATP - 275 publications, techniques, no page limit, approved by the proponent
The two branches of the CCOE Doctrine Division
  1. Doctrine Branch - develops and maintains the signal, cyber and EW doctrine portfolio
  2. Lessons Learned Branch - collects and validates observations from deployments and CTC rotations
Doctrine development cycle
  1. Assessment
  2. Planning
  3. Development
  4. Publishing and implementation
What the Lessons Learned Branch produces
  1. Lessons learned - so leaders and units avoid repeating past mistakes
  2. Best practices - the current approaches most likely to lead to mission success
  3. Graphic training aids - pocket-sized quick references
What a signal SOP may contain
  1. Standardized steps and configurations to install, operate and maintain communications systems
  2. Standardized formats for the signal annex of an operation order
  3. Battle drills - conditioned responses to specific enemy actions

Key terms

Doctrine
How the Army, as it is currently manned and equipped, can conduct large-scale combat operations today. Doctrine is not prescriptive; it provides a validated approach to solving military problems but requires judgment in application based on the situation in the area of operations.
Concepts
How the Army expects it might be called on to fight in a future operational environment. Not all capabilities and formations necessary to operate according to a concept may exist in today's force; the acquisition and force design communities use concepts to plan the future force.
Policies
Prescriptive documents that often carry the weight of law. Many exist to ensure compliance with applicable portions of the United States Code and international law.
Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
Documents specific to a particular unit that simplify planning and operations by standardizing commonly performed functions and commonly faced situations.
Purpose of doctrine
It provides the fundamental principles by which military forces guide their actions in support of national objectives, describes how Army forces conduct operations, establishes a common frame of reference, and is focused on how to think rather than what to think.
ADP
Army Doctrine Publication - outlines fundamental principles, carries a 100-page restriction on the main body, and is approved by the Combined Arms Center commanding general. There are 15.
FM
Army Field Manual - contains principles, tactics and procedures, carries a 200-page restriction on the main body, and is approved for publication by the CAC commanding general. There are 62.
ATP
Army Techniques Publication - contains techniques, has no page count restriction, and is approved by the proponent, which for signal is the Cyber Center of Excellence commanding general. There are 275.
Capstone doctrine
ADP 1 (The Army) and ADP 3-0, which are approved by the Chief of Staff of the Army rather than by the CAC commanding general.
ADP 1-01
The publication every leader should read to establish the foundation for understanding doctrine. It is concise and describes what doctrine is and is not, and lays out the differences between doctrine, concepts, policies and SOPs.
Doctrine Branch
One of the two branches of the Cyber Center of Excellence Doctrine Division. It develops and maintains the signal, cyber and electromagnetic warfare doctrine portfolio through a cycle of assessment, planning, development, and publishing and implementation.
Lessons Learned Branch
The other branch of the Doctrine Division. It collects observations, insights and lessons from the operational force during real-world deployments and combat training center rotations, then validates them into lessons learned, best practices and graphic training aids.
Graphic training aid (GTA)
A pocket-sized quick reference for an important function - examples given are the current cyber and electromagnetic warfare threat card and the retransmission team checklist.
Doctrine reassessment cycle
A doctrine manual normally re-enters the assessment phase approximately 18 months after publication.
Doctrine development cycle
Assessment, planning, development, and publishing and implementation - with doctrine writers collaborating with lessons learned analysts to keep revised doctrine current and relevant.
Battle drills
Conditioned responses to specific enemy actions, standardized in unit SOPs.
CCOE doctrine portfolio
Two FMs and ten ATPs, with six new publications forthcoming at the time of the lesson.
FM 6-02
Signal Support to Operations - one of the two Cyber Center of Excellence field manuals and the one a Signal officer is expected to know in depth.
FM 3-12
Army Cyberspace Operations and Electromagnetic Warfare - the second Cyber Center of Excellence field manual.
Focus of doctrine
How to think, not what to think. Doctrine enables professionals to communicate effectively using common and understood terminology.

Testable points

  • Doctrine is how the Army, as it is currently manned and equipped, can conduct large-scale combat operations today.
  • Doctrine is not prescriptive - it provides a validated approach but requires judgment in application based on the situation in the area of operations.
  • Doctrine is focused on how to think, not what to think.
  • Concepts describe how the Army expects it might be called on to fight in a future operational environment; the capabilities needed may not exist in today's force.
  • The acquisition and force design communities use concepts to plan the future force.
  • Policies are prescriptive and often carry the weight of law, many existing to ensure compliance with the United States Code and international law.
  • SOPs are specific to a particular unit and standardize commonly performed functions and commonly faced situations.
  • Signal SOPs may contain standardized steps and configurations to install, operate and maintain systems, standardized formats for the signal annex, and battle drills.
  • Battle drills are conditioned responses to specific enemy actions.
  • ADP 1-01 is the publication every leader should read to establish the foundation for understanding doctrine.
  • There are 15 Army Doctrine Publications, which outline fundamental principles and carry a 100-page restriction on the main body.
  • There are 62 Army Field Manuals, which contain principles, tactics and procedures and carry a 200-page restriction on the main body.
  • There are 275 Army Techniques Publications, which contain techniques and have no page count restriction.
  • ADPs and FMs are approved by the Combined Arms Center commanding general; ATPs are approved by the proponent, which for signal is the Cyber Center of Excellence commanding general.
  • Capstone doctrine - ADP 1 and ADP 3-0 - is approved by the Chief of Staff of the Army.
  • The Cyber Center of Excellence Doctrine Division has two branches: the Doctrine Branch and the Lessons Learned Branch.
  • The Lessons Learned Branch collects observations, insights and lessons from real-world deployments and combat training center rotations, then validates them.
  • Validated observations become lessons learned, best practices and graphic training aids for dissemination to the force.
  • Graphic training aids are pocket-sized quick references; examples are the cyber and electromagnetic warfare threat card and the retransmission team checklist.
  • The doctrine development cycle is assessment, planning, development, and publishing and implementation.
  • Doctrine writers collaborate extensively with lessons learned analysts to keep revised doctrine current and relevant.
  • A doctrine manual normally re-enters the assessment phase approximately 18 months after publication.
  • The Cyber Center of Excellence doctrine portfolio consists of two FMs and ten ATPs, with six new publications forthcoming.
  • The two Cyber Center of Excellence field manuals are FM 6-02, Signal Support to Operations, and FM 3-12, Army Cyberspace Operations and Electromagnetic Warfare.
  • Doctrine is described as the Army's expert body of knowledge and the language of the Army professional - dynamic and changing with lessons learned, adaptive enemies, and shifts in force structure, technology and social values.

References

ADP 1-01FM 6-02FM 3-12ADP 1ADP 6-0ATP 6-02.71

MDMP as a Signal Officer 113-SCCCB04

Learning objective and standard

Learning objectiveIntegrate Signal Support for an operation into the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP)

StandardIntegrate Signal Support for an operation into MDMP in a clear and concise manner: define the seven steps of MDMP with fewer than two errors; develop a Signal running estimate, an Annex H with appropriate appendices, a PACE plan, a mission analysis brief, and a COA decision brief - each within the allotted time and with fewer than two errors.

The premise of this lesson is blunt: S6s often find themselves outside their unit's MDMP, either because they are overwhelmed or because they are treated as an outsider to the combat arms environment, and a plan built without them fails in ways nobody notices until execution. It walks all seven MDMP steps from the S6 seat - who to alert, which tools to gather, what the running estimate has to carry, what the S6 owes at mission analysis and COA development, and what comes out the other end. The deliverables are concrete and examinable: a running estimate, Annex H with its appendices, a PACE plan for each phase, a mission analysis brief, and a COA decision brief whose courses of action must be feasible, acceptable, suitable, distinguishable and complete. It closes with rehearsals and the COMMEX, which is where a signal plan is actually proven.

Doctrinal sets to know cold

The seven steps of MDMP
  1. Receipt of mission
  2. Mission analysis
  3. Course of action development
  4. Course of action analysis (wargaming)
  5. Course of action comparison
  6. Course of action approval
  7. Orders production
Receipt of mission - the six actions
  1. Alert the staff and other key participants
  2. Gather the tools
  3. Update running estimates
  4. Conduct initial assessment
  5. Issue the commander's initial guidance
  6. Issue the initial warning order
FASDC - COA screening criteria
  1. Feasible
  2. Acceptable
  3. Suitable
  4. Distinguishable
  5. Complete
BCT S-6 key staff alerted at receipt of mission
  1. Network management technician
  2. Brigade automations officer
  3. COMSEC account manager
  4. Spectrum manager
  5. Signal systems support NCOIC
  6. Signal company commander, if available
Battalion S-6 key staff
  1. TCN team leader
  2. S-6 NCOIC
  3. RETRANS team leader, if available
Tools the S-6 gathers
  1. Maps, paper and digital, of the area of operations
  2. Signal plans and annexes from higher headquarters
  3. Higher network architecture
  4. Asset allocation, in and out of the unit
  5. Resource allocation - frequencies, single and multi-channel TACSAT access, bandwidth, data services
  6. Unit TACSOP and higher headquarters TACSOP
  7. Reporting requirements
  8. IAVA compliance
  9. Compromise procedures
  10. Appropriate field and technical manuals
  11. Updated running estimate
What drives running estimate structure
  1. Mission analysis
  2. Facts
  3. Assumptions
  4. AO situation analysis - terrain, weather, enemy, friendly, support requirements
When to update a running estimate
  1. When the commander and staff recognize new facts
  2. When they replace an assumption with a fact
  3. When they find their assumptions invalid
Signal deliverables across MDMP
  1. Signal running estimate
  2. Annex H with appropriate appendices
  3. PACE plan for each phase of the operation
  4. Mission analysis brief
  5. COA decision brief
Lesson references
  1. FM 6-0 - Commander and Staff Organization and Operations
  2. ADP 5-0 - The Operations Process
  3. ATP 2-01.3 - Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield
  4. FM 6-02 - Signal Support to Operations

Key terms

MDMP
The military decision-making process - a universal method of ordered steps and activities leaders conduct in collaboration to plan and generate orders for a mission. It helps commanders and staffs think critically and creatively while planning.
The seven MDMP steps
Receipt of mission, mission analysis, course of action development, COA analysis (wargaming), COA comparison, COA approval, and orders production. Each step builds on the products of the previous one to produce a fully integrated order.
Signal leader's responsibility in MDMP
As a command and control expert and always a member of the battle staff, the signal leader is responsible for planning all signal operations, automation requirements, network management functions, and information systems security.
End state products of signal planning
At a minimum, clear and concise signal requirements in the OPORD and the signal communications annex to that OPORD.
Running estimate
A continuous assessment of the current situation. Its structure derives from mission analysis, facts, assumptions and AO situation analysis - terrain, weather, enemy, friendly, and support requirements.
Running estimate - triggers to update
A running estimate is updated when the commander and staff recognize new facts, when they replace an assumption with a fact, or when they find their assumptions invalid.
Annex H
The signal annex to an operation order, developed with appropriate appendices so that it accurately reflects the signal support to the concept of operations, with emphasis on the scheme of maneuver in the base OPORD.
PACE plan
Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency - the plan that deploys and sustains communication capabilities for each phase of an operation. It must be developed per phase, not once for the whole operation.
FASDC
The screening criteria a course of action must meet: Feasible, Acceptable, Suitable, Distinguishable, and Complete.
BCT S-6 key staff to alert
At receipt of mission the BCT S-6 alerts the network management technician, brigade automations officer, COMSEC account manager, spectrum manager, signal systems support NCOIC, and the signal company commander if available.
Battalion S-6 key staff to alert
The TCN team leader, the S-6 NCOIC, and the RETRANS team leader if available.
Commander's confirmation brief
The brief the S-6 attends as an observer only, in order to understand the higher headquarters order, receive the commander's initial planning guidance, and receive the initial operational and planning timelines.
Parallel planning
Issuing a WARNO to subordinate S-6s and forward signal support NCOs, if time allows and the mission necessitates, so that subordinate planning can begin before the higher order is complete.
SPEED
The signal planning tool a SPEED-enabled machine provides; one of the tools the S-6 gathers at receipt of mission.
JTNT
Joint Tactical NETOPS Toolkit - a client machine obtained from SSO as part of the S-6's tool gathering at receipt of mission.
Resource allocation (signal)
Frequencies, single and multi-channel TACSAT access, bandwidth, and data services - gathered as tools during receipt of mission.
TACSOP
The unit and higher headquarters tactical standard operating procedures, which help develop reporting requirements, battle rhythm and compromise procedures.
IPB
Intelligence preparation of the battlefield, per ATP 2-01.3 - which the Signal officer uses to understand how terrain, weather and the enemy affect the network, not only maneuver.
COMMEX
A communications exercise - the event in which the signal plan is actually proven before execution.
Mission analysis brief (signal)
The brief that reflects signal information requirements, signal specified and implied tasks, signal limitations and constraints, and signal facts and assumptions, all drawn from the base OPORD.

Testable points

  • MDMP has seven steps: receipt of mission, mission analysis, COA development, COA analysis, COA comparison, COA approval, and orders production.
  • Each MDMP step builds upon the products and process of the previous steps, with the goal of producing a fully integrated order.
  • The steps can be modified to shorten the timeline, but only if the staff officers understand the process well enough to produce the products without the deliberate timeline.
  • Signal leaders - commanders, G-6s and S-6s - initiate the signal planning process as part of MDMP upon receipt of the mission.
  • The signal leader is always a member of the battle staff.
  • As a command and control expert, the signal leader is responsible for planning all signal operations, automation requirements, network management functions, and information systems security.
  • The minimum end state products are clear and concise signal requirements in the OPORD plus the signal communications annex to the OPORD.
  • S6s often find themselves outside their unit's MDMP because they are overwhelmed or are seen as an outsider to the combat arms environment - the lesson's stated reason for existing.
  • At receipt of mission the BCT S-6 alerts the network management technician, brigade automations officer, COMSEC account manager, spectrum manager, signal systems support NCOIC, and if available the signal company commander.
  • At battalion, the S-6's key staff members are the TCN team leader, the S-6 NCOIC, and if available the RETRANS team leader.
  • The S-6 attends the commander's confirmation brief as an observer only.
  • If time allows and the mission necessitates, the S-6 issues a WARNO to subordinate S-6s and forward signal support NCOs to enable parallel planning.
  • Tools gathered at receipt of mission include paper and digital maps, higher headquarters signal plans and annexes, the higher network architecture, asset allocation, and resource allocation.
  • Signal resource allocation covers frequencies, single and multi-channel TACSAT access, bandwidth, and data services.
  • The S-6 also gathers the unit and higher TACSOPs, reporting requirements, IAVA compliance, compromise procedures, appropriate field and technical manuals, and an updated running estimate.
  • The S2 normally leads the effort to obtain digital maps; the S6 needs to get a copy for loading automated systems.
  • Unit and higher headquarters TACSOPs help develop reporting requirements, battle rhythm and compromise procedures.
  • A running estimate is a continuous assessment of the current situation, and updating it begins as soon as the mission is received.
  • Running estimate structure derives from mission analysis, facts, assumptions, and AO situation analysis covering terrain, weather, enemy, friendly and support requirements.
  • Running estimates are updated when the staff recognizes new facts, replaces an assumption with a fact, or finds an assumption invalid.
  • A PACE plan must deploy and sustain communication capabilities for each phase of the operation - phase by phase, not once for the whole operation.
  • A course of action must be Feasible, Acceptable, Suitable, Distinguishable and Complete.
  • The signal mission analysis brief must reflect signal information requirements, specified and implied tasks, limitations and constraints, and facts and assumptions from the base OPORD.
  • The lesson references are FM 6-0 (Commander and Staff Organization and Operations), ADP 5-0 (The Operations Process), ATP 2-01.3 (Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield), and FM 6-02 (Signal Support to Operations).
  • The supported tasks are 113-25A-2000 Plan Signal Sustainment Activities, 113-25A-2001 Plan DODIN Enterprise Services, and 113-25A-2003 Coordinate Combat Net Radio Networks.

References

FM 6-0ADP 5-0ATP 2-01.3FM 6-02

Signal Annex H 113-SCCCB05

Learning objective and standard

Learning objectiveIdentify the components of a Signal Annex H for an Operations Order

StandardDevelop a Signal Annex H for an Operations Order (OPORD) by completing the following requirements: define the elements of the Signal Annex H without error.

Annex H is where signal support stops being a running estimate and becomes an order. This lesson teaches its structure - the same five-paragraph attachment format every annex uses, so situation, mission, execution, sustainment, and command and signal - and then the seven appendices that carry the technical substance, from defensive cyberspace operations and the prioritized defended asset list through network diagrams, satellite communications, foreign data exchanges, spectrum management and information services. Two points do most of the work on an exam. The G-6 or S-6 develops Annex H, and the signal running estimate becomes its basis only after COA approval. And the mission paragraph must be nested in the supported unit's purpose: the lesson is explicit that it should describe supporting the warfighter rather than being signal-centric.

Doctrinal sets to know cold

The five-paragraph attachment format
  1. Situation
  2. Mission
  3. Execution
  4. Sustainment
  5. Command and Signal
Sub-paragraphs of the situation paragraph
  1. Area of interest, including the cyber area of interest
  2. Area of operations - impact of terrain and weather on signal operations
  3. Enemy forces - known and templated locations, and capabilities affecting signal support
  4. Friendly forces - higher two up, higher one up, and adjacent units
  5. Interagency, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations
  6. Risk - to networks, personnel and mission
The seven appendices to Annex H
  1. Appendix 1 - Defensive Cyberspace Operations
  2. Appendix 2 - Information Network Operations
  3. Appendix 3 - Voice, Video, and Data Network Diagrams
  4. Appendix 4 - Satellite Communications
  5. Appendix 5 - Foreign Data Exchanges
  6. Appendix 6 - Spectrum Management Operations
  7. Appendix 7 - Information Services
Tabs by appendix
  1. 1A - Prioritized Defended Asset List (PDAL)
  2. 2A - Resource Allocation and Employment; 2B - Analog to Digital Transition Matrix
  3. 3A - Voice / Data (WAN/LAN) Logical Network Diagram
  4. 4A - WIN-T Satellite Transmission Diagram; 4B - Scheme of TACSAT Employment
  5. 5A - Interoperability Plan
  6. 6A - Line of Sight Analysis (HCLOS); 6B - Line of Sight Analysis (UHF/VHF); 6C - HF Network Plan; 6D - HF Analysis Charts
  7. 7A - Information Services Infrastructure; 7B - Scheme of MCIS Employment
The five elements of a mission statement (JP 5-0)
  1. Who will execute the operation
  2. What the essential task is
  3. When it occurs
  4. Where it occurs
  5. Why - the purpose
Signal orders products
  1. Running estimate
  2. Concept of support (CONOP)
  3. Annex H
  4. Timeline
Lesson references
  1. FM 5-0 - Planning and Orders Production
  2. FM 6-0, Appendix D - Commander and Staff Organization and Operations
  3. FM 6-02 - Signal Support to Operations

Key terms

Annex H (Signal)
The annex commanders and staffs use to describe how signal supports the concept of operations described in the base plan or order. It follows the five-paragraph attachment format.
Annex H - responsible staff officer
The G-6 or S-6 develops Annex H (Signal). This is a fixed responsibility and a common test point.
Basis of Annex H
After course of action approval, the signal running estimate forms the basis for Annex H of the operation plan or order (FM 6-02). The staff adjusts the running estimate based on COA development and wargaming first.
Five-paragraph attachment format
Situation, Mission, Execution, Sustainment, and Command and Signal - the structure Annex H shares with every other annex.
Situation - Area of Interest
Describes how the area of interest domains and information aspects relate to signal operations, including the cyber area of interest.
Situation - Area of Operations
Discusses the impact of terrain and weather on signal operations.
Situation - Enemy Forces
Lists known and templated enemy locations and the enemy capabilities that will impact friendly signal support, focusing on cyber and signal threats and enemy courses of action.
Situation - Friendly Forces
Lists the higher headquarters two levels up, the higher headquarters one level up mission, and adjacent units' commander's intent and concept of operations, and discusses the impact of adjacent unit missions on signal operations.
Situation - Risk
Identifies risks to the networks, risks to personnel and risks to the mission, and identifies major entry points to the network and its vulnerabilities.
Mission statement
A short sentence or paragraph describing the organization's essential tasks, purpose and action, containing who, what, when, where and why (JP 5-0).
Nesting the signal mission
The signal mission must be nested in purpose - written about supporting the warfighter rather than being signal-centric or advertising the quality of the communications support.
Appendix 1 - Defensive Cyberspace Operations
The appendix covering DCO, containing Tab A, the Prioritized Defended Asset List.
Prioritized Defended Asset List (PDAL)
Tab A to Appendix 1 - the ranked list of network assets that will be defended, which forces the unit to decide in advance what matters most.
Appendix 2 - Information Network Operations
Carries Tab A, Resource Allocation and Employment, and Tab B, the Analog to Digital Transition Matrix.
Appendix 3 - Voice, Video, and Data Network Diagrams
Carries Tab A, the voice and data WAN/LAN logical network diagram.
Appendix 4 - Satellite Communications
Carries Tab A, the WIN-T satellite transmission diagram, and Tab B, the scheme of TACSAT employment.
Appendix 5 - Foreign Data Exchanges
Carries Tab A, the interoperability plan - the appendix that matters when operating with multinational partners.
Appendix 6 - Spectrum Management Operations
Carries line of sight analysis for HCLOS and for UHF/VHF, the HF network plan, and HF analysis charts.
Appendix 7 - Information Services
Carries Tab A, information services infrastructure, and Tab B, the scheme of MCIS employment.
Concept of support (CONOP)
One of the signal orders products, developed alongside the running estimate, the Annex H itself, and the timeline.

Testable points

  • The G-6 or S-6 develops Annex H (Signal).
  • Commanders and staffs use Annex H to describe how signal supports the concept of operations in the base plan or order.
  • Annex H follows the five-paragraph attachment format: situation, mission, execution, sustainment, and command and signal.
  • The staff adjusts the running estimate based on COA development and wargaming; after COA approval the signal running estimate forms the basis for Annex H.
  • The situation paragraph includes information affecting signal operations that paragraph 1 of the OPLAN or OPORD does not cover or that needs explanation.
  • The area of interest sub-paragraph describes how area of interest domains and information aspects relate to signal operations, including the cyber area of interest.
  • The area of operations sub-paragraph discusses the impact of terrain and weather on signal operations.
  • Enemy forces lists known and templated enemy locations and enemy capabilities affecting friendly signal support, focused on cyber and signal threats.
  • Friendly forces lists the higher headquarters two levels up, the higher headquarters one level up mission, and adjacent units' commander's intent and concept of operations.
  • The friendly forces sub-paragraph must also discuss how adjacent unit missions affect signal operations.
  • Interagency, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations operating in the AO have their goals and objectives discussed in the situation paragraph.
  • The risk sub-paragraph identifies risks to networks, to personnel and to the mission, and identifies major network entry points and vulnerabilities.
  • A mission statement is a short sentence or paragraph describing essential tasks, purpose and action, containing who, what, when, where and why (JP 5-0).
  • The signal mission must be nested in purpose - written about supporting the warfighter rather than being signal-centric.
  • Annex H has seven appendices in the structure taught by this lesson.
  • Appendix 1 is Defensive Cyberspace Operations, whose Tab A is the Prioritized Defended Asset List.
  • Appendix 2 is Information Network Operations, with tabs for resource allocation and employment, and the analog-to-digital transition matrix.
  • Appendix 3 is Voice, Video and Data Network Diagrams, with the voice and data WAN/LAN logical diagram as Tab A.
  • Appendix 4 is Satellite Communications, with the WIN-T satellite transmission diagram and the scheme of TACSAT employment.
  • Appendix 5 is Foreign Data Exchanges, whose Tab A is the interoperability plan.
  • Appendix 6 is Spectrum Management Operations, carrying HCLOS and UHF/VHF line of sight analysis, the HF network plan, and HF analysis charts.
  • Appendix 7 is Information Services, with information services infrastructure and the scheme of MCIS employment.
  • The Annex H is built up across modules as the student's skillset increases, with different appendices completed after the relevant module.
  • The signal orders products are the running estimate, the concept of support, the Annex H itself, and the timeline.
  • The lesson references are FM 5-0 (Planning and Orders Production), FM 6-0 Appendix D, and FM 6-02.

References

FM 5-0FM 6-0FM 6-02JP 5-0

Signal Support to Large-Scale Combat Operations 113-SCCCB14

Learning objective and standard

Learning objectiveIntegrate Signal Support for Large-Scale Combat Operations (LSCO)

StandardIntegrate Signal Support for LSCO by developing a mission analysis brief reflecting the signal information requirements, the signal specified and implied tasks, the signal limitations and constraints, and the signal facts and assumptions based on the base OPORD, within the allotted time and with fewer than two errors; and by identifying the common planning requirements for Signal Support to LSCO without error.

This lesson works through signal support command post by command post and then operation by operation. It starts from the position that there is no set standard for what a command post looks like - the unit tailors it - but that no matter what, the S6 is responsible for installing, operating, maintaining and defending the networks and platforms in it. It covers the functions every command post performs - the slide heading says six and then lists eight, so learn the items rather than the number - then the specific posts: the main command post and its lower and upper tactical internet and mission command information systems, the tactical command post which should replicate the MCP as closely as possible so it can take control of the fight, and the battalion's combat trains and field trains command posts, which are communications-poor and typically not allocated a 25-series Soldier at all. It then applies signal support to the offense, the defense and operations to consolidate gains.

Doctrinal sets to know cold

The eight command post functions
  1. Conducting knowledge management and information management
  2. Building and maintaining situational understanding
  3. Controlling operations
  4. Assessing operations
  5. Coordinating with internal and external organizations
  6. Performing command post administration
  7. Establishing, displacing and securing the command post
  8. Maintaining continuity of operations
Command posts by echelon
  1. Main command post (MCP) - all levels except theater army and field army
  2. Tactical command post (TAC) - all levels except theater army and field army
  3. Combat trains command post (CTCP) - added at battalion
  4. Field trains command post (FTCP) - added at battalion
Assets typically at the main command post
  1. Lower tactical internet systems
  2. HF, VHF and UHF radio systems
  3. Upper tactical internet systems
  4. Tactical network transport, on-the-move or at-the-halt
  5. Mission command information systems
Mission command information systems at the MCP
  1. JBC-P
  2. CPOF / CPCE
  3. DCGS
  4. AFATDS
Combat trains command post
  1. Administrative and logistical hub for the battalion; updated name for the ALOC
  2. Staffed by the S1 and S4 sections, led by the S4
  3. Forward support company typically co-located
  4. Upper TI from the FSC's V-SAT, lower TI on VHF, JBC-P and JBC-P Log
  5. Must be able to monitor battalion operations and prepare to assume MCP roles
Field trains command post
  1. Co-located in the brigade support area or in the battalion AO
  2. Often led by the HHC commander
  3. S4 elements, forward support company elements, company supply sections, administration personnel
  4. Coordination point for supply and maintenance requests
  5. Limited communications - VHF, JBC-P and JBC-P Log
Signal support across the operations
  1. Signal support to large-scale combat operations
  2. Signal support to offensive operations
  3. Signal support to defensive operations
  4. Signal support to operations to consolidate gains
Lesson references
  1. FM 6-02 - Signal Support to Operations (SEP19)
  2. ATP 6-0.5 - Command Post Organization and Operations (MAR17)
  3. CALL 21-06 - Preparing for Large-Scale Combat Operations (JAN21)
  4. CALL 21-18 - NTC Rotation 20-10 lessons learned (MAY21)

Key terms

Command post
There is no set standard for what a command post looks like; units tailor it to the organization. Regardless of form, the S6 is responsible for installing, operating, maintaining and defending its networks and communications platforms. Note: the lesson slide says 'six functions that all command posts carry out' and then lists eight; the list is reproduced here as written.
Main Command Post (MCP)
The principal command post, present at all echelons except theater army and field army. It typically holds lower and upper tactical internet systems, HF, VHF and UHF radio, tactical network transport on-the-move or at-the-halt, and the mission command information systems.
Tactical Command Post (TAC)
A command post that should reflect the capabilities of the MCP as much as possible, so it can take control of the fight and retain the same ability to receive reports from lower and submit reports to higher.
Combat Trains Command Post (CTCP)
The administrative and logistical hub for the battalion, and the updated doctrinal name for the Administrative and Logistical Operations Center (ALOC). Usually staffed by the S1 and S4 sections and led by the S4, with the forward support company typically co-located.
Field Trains Command Post (FTCP)
Co-located within the brigade support area or in the battalion's area of operations. It serves as the coordination point for supply and maintenance requests and is often led by the HHC commander.
Command posts at battalion
At battalion level, doctrine adds the CTCP and FTCP to the MCP and TAC that exist at all other levels.
CTCP communications
Upper TI from the forward support company's V-SAT, lower TI on VHF, and JBC-P with JBC-P Log. The CTCP must be able to monitor battalion operations because of its functions.
FTCP communications
Limited: VHF, plus JBC-P and JBC-P Log.
25-series allocation to trains
The FTCP and CTCP are typically not allocated a 25-series Soldier - but that does not prevent a unit sending one if mission requirements demand it.
JBC-P
Joint Battle Command-Platform, with its logistics variant JBC-P Log. One of the few systems available in the trains command posts.
CPOF / CPCE
Command Post of the Future and the Command Post Computing Environment - mission command information systems found at the main command post.
DCGS
The Distributed Common Ground System - the intelligence mission command information system found at the main command post.
AFATDS
The Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System - the fires mission command information system found at the main command post.
Lower tactical internet
The lower-echelon network layer - in the trains command posts this is typically VHF.
Upper tactical internet
The higher-capacity network layer, provided at the CTCP by the forward support company's V-SAT.
Tactical network transport
Provided either on-the-move or at-the-halt, depending on the formation - a distinction that decides whether a command post can communicate while displacing.
Command post restructuring trend
The design and functions of command posts are currently restructuring toward a smaller and more displaced footprint, which changes what signal support must deliver.
ATP 6-0.5
Command Post Organization and Operations - the reference for command post structure, functions and echelon differences.
Signal personnel at a command post
Varies by unit and commander, but must be enough personnel to install, operate and maintain the upper and lower tactical internet systems.
CALL publications for LSCO
CALL 21-06, Preparing for Large-Scale Combat Operations, and CALL 21-18 on NTC Rotation 20-10 division-level multi-echelon training lessons learned.

Testable points

  • There is no set standard for what a command post will look like, which allows units to tailor the command post to the needs of the organization.
  • Whatever its form, the S6 is responsible for installing, operating, maintaining and defending the networks and communications platforms of the command post.
  • Command posts carry out EIGHT functions. The slide's own heading says six and then lists eight; eight is the answer.
  • The main command post and the tactical command post remain constant at all levels except theater army and field army.
  • At battalion level, doctrine adds the combat trains command post and the field trains command post.
  • Command post design and functions are restructuring toward a smaller and more displaced footprint.
  • Assets typically at the main command post are lower tactical internet systems, HF/VHF/UHF radio, upper tactical internet, tactical network transport on-the-move or at-the-halt, and the mission command information systems.
  • The mission command information systems named at the MCP are JBC-P, CPOF/CPCE, DCGS and AFATDS.
  • The number of S6 personnel at a command post varies by unit and commander, but must be sufficient to install, operate and maintain the upper and lower tactical internet.
  • The TAC should reflect the capabilities of the MCP as much as possible so it can take control of the fight.
  • A TAC that replicates the MCP retains the ability to receive reports from lower and submit reports to higher.
  • The CTCP is the administrative and logistical hub for the battalion and is the updated doctrinal name for the Administrative and Logistical Operations Center (ALOC).
  • The CTCP is usually staffed by the S1 and S4 sections and led by the S4, with the forward support company typically co-located.
  • Because of its functions, it is vital that the CTCP can monitor battalion operations - including preparing to assume the roles of the MCP.
  • CTCP assets are upper TI from the FSC's V-SAT, lower TI on VHF, and JBC-P with JBC-P Log.
  • The FTCP can be co-located within the brigade support area or located in the battalion's area of operations.
  • The FTCP is often led by the headquarters and headquarters company commander.
  • FTCP personnel typically include elements of the S4 section, the forward support company, company supply sections, and administration personnel.
  • The FTCP serves as the coordination point for supply requests and maintenance requests.
  • FTCP communications are limited to VHF plus JBC-P and JBC-P Log.
  • The FTCP and CTCP are typically not allocated a 25-series Soldier, though a unit may send one based on mission requirements.
  • The reference for command post organization and operations is ATP 6-0.5.
  • The lesson's agenda covers signal support to LSCO overall, then to offensive operations, defensive operations, and operations to consolidate gains.
  • The condition for this lesson includes a division OPORD from a DATE scenario.
  • The LSCO references include CALL Publication 21-06 (Preparing for Large-Scale Combat Operations) and CALL Publication 21-18 (NTC Rotation 20-10 lessons learned).

References

FM 6-02ATP 6-0.5CALL 21-06CALL 21-18

Spectrum Management 113-SCCCB07

Learning objective and standard

Learning objectiveIdentify Battalion Electromagnetic Spectrum Requirements

StandardManage Battalion Electromagnetic Spectrum requirements by completing the following requirements: define spectrum management fundamentals and responsibilities, identify the Spectrum Management 12-Step Lifecycle, and define spectrum management inputs to MDMP.

The premise is that the spectrum is a finite, natural sovereign resource whose propagation ignores political boundaries, and that it therefore has to be managed like fuel, water and ammunition rather than assumed. The lesson establishes what spectrum management operations are and who does them at each echelon, then walks the twelve-step lifecycle that produces the four deliverables a signal officer actually consumes: the spectrum management plan in Annex K, the frequency assignments, the JCEOI, and the joint restricted frequency list. It closes by mapping spectrum inputs and outputs onto the seven MDMP steps. The framing the lesson repeats is that you are not the spectrum manager - the 25E is, usually at brigade and division - but a portion of what they do depends entirely on information you provide.

Doctrinal sets to know cold

The Spectrum Management 12-Step Lifecycle
  1. 1. Define command-specific policy and guidance
  2. 2. Gather requirements
  3. 3. Develop an electromagnetic spectrum requirements summary
  4. 4. Define the electromagnetic operational environment (EMOE)
  5. 5. Obtain spectrum resources
  6. 6. Develop a spectrum management plan
  7. 7. Nominate and assign frequencies
  8. 8. Generate Joint Communications-Electronics Operating Instructions (JCEOI)
  9. 9. Develop the Joint Restricted Frequency List (JRFL)
  10. 10. Perform EW deconfliction
  11. 11. Resolve interference
  12. 12. Interference reporting
The four major deliverables of the lifecycle
  1. Spectrum Management Plan - Annex K, with spectrum management appendices
  2. Frequency assignments, maintained in a database
  3. Joint Communications-Electronics Operating Instructions (JCEOI)
  4. Joint Restricted Frequency List (JRFL)
Why spectrum management exists
  1. Make effective use of the RF spectrum
  2. Regulate the use of radio frequencies
  3. Prevent electromagnetic interference (EMI)
  4. Manage spectrum-dependent devices
Spectrum management personnel by echelon
  1. Corps - four: one spectrum management NCO, two spectrum managers, one spectrum management chief
  2. Division - three: chief in G-6 network management, one in the CEMA element, one in G-6 plans
  3. BCT - two: one in the S-6 section, one CEMA spectrum manager in the CEMA section
  4. ESB - two: spectrum manager and spectrum management NCO, both in S-2/S-3
EMOE color convention
  1. Blue - friendly
  2. Red - enemy
  3. Gray - neutral and civil
SMO inputs at receipt of mission
  1. Updated EMS database
  2. Unit electronic order of battle
  3. Library of EMS documents
  4. Host nation allocation tables
  5. Gathered spectrum management tools
SMO outputs at receipt of mission
  1. Defined EMOE
  2. Data call message
  3. Identified EMS constraints
  4. JRFL guidance
SMO outputs at mission analysis
  1. Prioritized EMS use
  2. Completed JRFL
  3. Frequency reuse plans
  4. Initial EMS risk assessment
Spectrum management tools
  1. CJSMPT - Coalition Joint Spectrum Management Planning Tool
  2. SPECTRUM XXI
  3. ACES / JACS
  4. SPEED
Lesson references
  1. AR 5-12 - Army Use of the Electromagnetic Spectrum
  2. ATP 6-02.70 - Techniques for Spectrum Management Operations
  3. FM 3-12 - Cyberspace Operations and Electromagnetic Warfare
  4. JP 3-85 - Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations
  5. CJCSM 3320.01B, CJCSM 3320.02C, CJCSI 3320.03A
  6. DoDI 4650.01
  7. NTIA Manual of Regulations and Procedures for Federal Radio Frequency Management
  8. ACP 190 - Guide to Frequency Planning

Key terms

Electromagnetic spectrum
A continuum of all electromagnetic waves arranged according to frequency and wavelength, extending from below the frequencies used for radio at the long-wavelength end through gamma radiation at the short-wavelength end. It is a finite, natural sovereign resource.
Spectrum management
The operational, engineering and administrative procedures to plan, coordinate and manage use of the electromagnetic spectrum; it enables cyberspace, signal and electronic warfare operations.
Spectrum management operations (SMO)
Operations aimed at ensuring access to the electromagnetic spectrum in support of the Army's operational missions. SMO is a supporting function or enabler for operations and an enabler for cyberspace electromagnetic activities (CEMA).
Electromagnetic environment (EME)
The composite of electromagnetic energy, including man-made and natural sources, to which a system or subsystem will be exposed in performing its mission. When defined, the environment is for a particular time and place.
Electromagnetic interference (EMI)
Interference that prevents electronic systems from performing their functions in the intended environment. Preventing it is one of the primary reasons spectrum use is regulated.
Spectrum management 12-step lifecycle
A series of activities leading the spectrum manager through the processes needed to accomplish spectrum management operations in support of a mission. Its doctrinal framework comes from the CJCSI and CJCSM 3320.0X series.
Order of the lifecycle steps
The twelve activities are not necessarily performed in the order they appear. Some are conducted simultaneously; others can only be completed in succession, because activities generate deliverables used by subsequent activities.
The four major deliverables
The products expected from the Joint Spectrum Management Element: the spectrum management plan (Annex K), frequency assignments maintained in a database, the JCEOI, and the joint restricted frequency list.
JCEOI
Joint Communications-Electronics Operating Instructions - one of the four major deliverables of the spectrum management lifecycle, generated at step 8.
JRFL
Joint Restricted Frequency List - developed at step 9, listing frequencies that must not be jammed or otherwise interfered with. Frequencies are categorized as protected, guarded or taboo.
Annex K
The spectrum management plan annex, with its spectrum management appendices - the first of the four major deliverables.
Electromagnetic operational environment (EMOE)
Defined at step 4 - a common, single, authoritative source for spectrum-use information covering all friendly, enemy to the extent available, neutral and civil emitters and receivers. It must be current, accurate and accessible to authorized users.
EMOE color convention
In the electromagnetic operational environment, blue represents friendly users of the spectrum, red represents enemy, and gray represents neutral and civil.
Corps spectrum personnel
Four people: one spectrum management NCO, two spectrum managers, and one spectrum management chief. Corps focuses on host nation coordination and establishing policy and procedure.
Division spectrum personnel
One spectrum management chief in the G-6 network management element, one spectrum manager in the CEMA element of the CEMA section, and one spectrum manager in the G-6 plans element.
BCT spectrum personnel
Two: one spectrum manager in the S-6 section, and one CEMA spectrum manager in the CEMA section.
ESB spectrum personnel
Two, both in the S-2/S-3 section: a spectrum manager and a spectrum management NCO, who together conduct SMO for the ESB and its subordinate units.
25E
The Electromagnetic Spectrum Manager military occupational specialty. Depending on the MTOE, a 25E is generally found at brigade and division level.
Spectrum-dependent device
Any emitter whose operation depends on the spectrum - cellular telephones, GPS, radio frequency identification scanners, and wireless local area network devices are the examples given.
Spectrum management tools
CJSMPT (Coalition Joint Spectrum Management Planning Tool), SPECTRUM XXI, ACES/JACS, and SPEED. CJSMPT lets spectrum managers detect emissions and radiation in their AO - and the lesson's caution is that if you can see it, so can the enemy.

Testable points

  • The spectrum is a finite, natural sovereign resource, and the propagation of radio waves is a physical phenomenon not limited by political or social boundaries.
  • Air, land, sea and space are all affected by the electromagnetic spectrum.
  • The electromagnetic spectrum extends from below the frequencies used for radio at the long-wavelength end through gamma radiation at the short-wavelength end.
  • The three reasons given for spectrum management are to make effective use of the RF spectrum, to regulate the use of radio frequencies, and to prevent electromagnetic interference.
  • The electromagnetic spectrum is described as a vital warfighting resource requiring the same planning and management as fuel, water and ammunition.
  • SMO is a supporting function or enabler for operations, and an enabler for cyberspace electromagnetic activities.
  • The spectrum management lifecycle has twelve activities, drawn from the CJCSI and CJCSM 3320.0X series.
  • The twelve activities are not necessarily performed in order - some run simultaneously, others only in succession, because each generates deliverables used later.
  • There are four major deliverables from the Joint Spectrum Management Element: the spectrum management plan (Annex K), frequency assignments in a database, the JCEOI, and the JRFL.
  • Step 1 is to define command-specific policy and guidance, producing the JTF spectrum management concept and the spectrum requirements data call message.
  • Step 4 defines the electromagnetic operational environment - a common, single, authoritative source of spectrum-use information for friendly, enemy, neutral and civil emitters and receivers.
  • In the EMOE, blue represents friendly spectrum users, red represents enemy, and gray represents neutral and civil.
  • Step 5 obtains spectrum resources, requested from host nations unless the operation is a forced entry, with resources stored as allotment plans.
  • A corps has four spectrum management personnel: one NCO, two spectrum managers, and one spectrum management chief.
  • Corps spectrum personnel focus on host nation coordination and establishing policy and procedure, and ensure subordinate units use allotted resources efficiently.
  • A division has three spectrum personnel: a spectrum management chief in the G-6 network management element, a spectrum manager in the CEMA element, and a spectrum manager in the G-6 plans element.
  • The division spectrum management chief is responsible for network frequency assignments including satellite access authorization and deconfliction.
  • A BCT has two spectrum management personnel: a spectrum manager in the S-6 section and a CEMA spectrum manager in the CEMA section.
  • An expeditionary signal battalion has two spectrum personnel, both in the S-2/S-3 section.
  • The 25E Electromagnetic Spectrum Manager is generally found at brigade and division level, depending on the MTOE.
  • The lesson stresses that the signal officer is not the spectrum manager, but that a portion of what the 25E does depends on information the signal officer provides.
  • At MDMP step 1, receipt of mission, key SMO inputs are the updated EMS database, unit electronic order of battle, library of EMS documents, host nation allocation tables, and the spectrum management tools.
  • At MDMP step 1 the SMO outputs are the defined EMOE, the data call message, identified EMS constraints, and JRFL guidance.
  • At MDMP step 2, mission analysis, SMO outputs are prioritized EMS use, a completed JRFL, frequency reuse plans, and the initial EMS risk assessment.
  • Spectrum management tools include CJSMPT, SPECTRUM XXI, ACES/JACS and SPEED; CJSMPT detects emissions and radiation within the AO.

References

AR 5-12ATP 6-02.70FM 3-12JP 3-85CJCSM 3320.01BCJCSM 3320.02CCJCSI 3320.03ADoDI 4650.01ACP 190

Communications Security (COMSEC) 113-SCCCB06

Learning objective and standard

Learning objectiveDefine Communications Security (COMSEC) as a Signal Officer

StandardManage Communications Security (COMSEC) as a Signal Officer by completing the following: define COMSEC functional organization and roles, identify components of COMSEC, identify network and physical security measures, and manage COMSEC materials and programs.

This lesson is about running a COMSEC account without generating an incident, which is mostly a question of knowing who is responsible for what. It walks the functional organization from NSA down through the central office of record and the Tier 1 at Fort Huachuca to the account and its hand receipt holders, then fixes the commander's responsibilities: the commander has overall responsibility for control, safeguarding and accounting of COMSEC material, must ensure account managers complete the TRADOC-approved course, must ensure only properly cleared personnel have access, and must conduct mandatory risk assessments of COMSEC facilities. The sharpest point in the lesson is the one about incidents - the most damaging COMSEC insecurity is the one that cannot be neutralized because the incident that caused it was never reported. Learn the four incident types and the four report types cold.

Doctrinal sets to know cold

The four types of COMSEC incident
  1. Physical - loss, theft, capture, unauthorized viewing or access, tampering, photographing
  2. Cryptographic - equipment malfunction, or operator or CAM error affecting crypto-security
  3. Personnel - capture, attempted recruitment, hostile control, unauthorized absence, defection
  4. Administrative - action that jeopardizes the integrity of the material; the most common type
The four types of incident report
  1. Initial - as soon as the incident is discovered, to the COR
  2. Amplifying - on new information, or every 30 days until a final report
  3. Abbreviated - typically for errors, or as a supplement
  4. Final - disposition of the incident and COR recommendations
Commander's COMSEC responsibilities
  1. Overall responsibility for control, safeguarding and accounting of COMSEC material
  2. Ensure COMSEC account managers complete the TRADOC-approved CAM course
  3. Ensure only properly cleared personnel have access to cryptographic equipment or material
  4. Conduct mandatory risk assessments of COMSEC facilities per AR 190-51 and DA PAM 190-51
  5. Notify the chain of command when a COMSEC incident occurs
COMSEC functional organization
  1. NSA - national level responsibility; produces electronic key
  2. HQDA - DCS/G2, with authority delegated to CECOM for functions not serviced by Tier 1
  3. AMC - overall administration and operation of the Army COMSEC program
  4. CECOM - MSC within AMC, oversees Tobyhanna Army Depot and CSLA
  5. INSCOM - DACAP polygraph, and assistance where foreign intelligence services are involved
  6. PST1 - the Central Office of Record
  7. Tier 1 - Fort Huachuca (primary) and Lackland AFB
  8. Account - issues to hand receipt holders and local elements
CAM duties outlined in AR 380-40
  1. Report COMSEC incidents
  2. Maintain operational and contingency stockage levels
  3. SOP preparation
  4. Training and certification
  5. Physical security
Lesson agenda
  1. Account management and functional organization
  2. Commander responsibilities
  3. CAM and ACAM personnel
  4. COMSEC Facility Approval Request (CFAR)
  5. Physical security and storage
  6. Incidents and reporting
  7. Destructions and inventories
  8. Short titles and common devices
  9. Emergency plans
  10. Audits and inspections
  11. Policies and regulations
Lesson references
  1. TB 380-41 - Procedures for Safeguarding, Accounting and Supply Control of COMSEC Material
  2. AR 380-40 - Safeguarding and Controlling Communications Security Material
  3. AR 190-51 - Security of Unclassified Army Resources
  4. DA PAM 190-51 - Risk Analysis for Unclassified Army Resources
  5. AR 25-2 - Army Cybersecurity
  6. ATP 6-02.75 - Techniques for COMSEC Operations
  7. ATP 3-39.32 - Physical Security

Key terms

COMSEC
Communications security - the measures and controls taken to deny unauthorized persons information derived from telecommunications and to ensure the authenticity of that communication. FM 6-02 classes it as an essential capability of signal support rather than a core competency.
COMSEC incident
An occurrence that potentially jeopardizes the security of COMSEC material.
Physical incident
Any loss, or loss of control, theft, capture, recovery by salvage, tampering, unauthorized viewing, access or photographing that has the potential to jeopardize COMSEC material.
Cryptographic incident
An equipment malfunction, or an error by an operator or COMSEC account manager, that adversely affects the crypto-security of a machine, auto-manual or manual cryptosystem.
Personnel incident
Any capture, attempted recruitment, known or suspected control by a hostile intelligence entity, or unauthorized absence or defection of an individual having knowledge of or access to COMSEC information or material.
Administrative incident
An action that jeopardizes the integrity of the material. These are the most common - typically a CAM, ACAM or hand receipt holder failing to maintain proper documentation of key issue or destruction.
Initial report
Submitted as soon as an incident is discovered, to the central office of record, with as much information as possible. If it contains all required facts it also becomes the final report and must say so, including corrective measures taken or planned.
Amplifying report
Submitted when there is new information about an incident already reported, or every 30 days until a final report is submitted. It may also serve as the final report.
Abbreviated report
Typically used for errors, but can also be used as a supplement.
Final report
The disposition of the incident and the recommendations from the central office of record.
NSA
The agency responsible for all actions pertaining to COMSEC material at the national level, and the producer of electronic key.
Central Office of Record (COR)
PST1. Nearly all records produced by COMSEC account managers are sent to the COR on a monthly basis.
Tier 1
The primary Tier 1 for all Army accounts is at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, with a second at Lackland AFB. All Army accounts use Fort Huachuca for Tier 1 helpdesk operations.
AMC
Army Materiel Command - the major command responsible for the overall administration and operation of the COMSEC program within the Army.
CECOM
A major subordinate command within AMC that oversees Tobyhanna Army Depot and CSLA.
INSCOM
Administers the polygraph in support of the Department of the Army Cryptographic Access Program (DACAP) and assists when foreign intelligence services are involved.
COMSEC Account Manager (CAM)
The appointed manager of a COMSEC account, who must complete the TRADOC-approved CAM course. Duties are outlined in AR 380-40 and include reporting incidents, maintaining stockage levels, SOP preparation, training and certification, and physical security.
CFAR
COMSEC Facility Approval Request - the approval process for a COMSEC facility.
COMSEC material - where responsibility rests
Ultimate responsibility for safeguarding COMSEC material rests with the individuals in possession of the material. It is also inherent with the commander or comparable civilian director.
CCI
Controlled cryptographic item. Incidents involving unclassified COMSEC material, including unkeyed CCI, are reported by the unit or activity accountable officer responsible for that material.

Testable points

  • A COMSEC incident is an occurrence that potentially jeopardizes the security of COMSEC material.
  • There are four types of COMSEC incident: physical, cryptographic, personnel, and administrative.
  • Administrative incidents are the most common, typically from failure to document the issue or destruction of key.
  • The most damaging COMSEC insecurity is the one that cannot be neutralized because the incident that caused it was not reported.
  • There are four types of incident report: initial, amplifying, abbreviated, and final.
  • An initial report that contains all required facts becomes the final report and must state that it does, including the corrective measures taken or planned.
  • An amplifying report is submitted when new information emerges, or every 30 days until a final report is submitted.
  • COMSEC incident reports are official command correspondence and are submitted by or for the commander, through direct channels to meet the required time frame.
  • Incidents involving classified COMSEC material and cryptographic key are submitted through COMSEC accounting channels.
  • Incidents involving unclassified COMSEC material, including unkeyed CCI, are reported by the unit or activity accountable officer.
  • Reporting commanders are responsible for notifying their chain of command that a COMSEC incident has occurred.
  • A zeroized SKL is a cryptographic incident, but the audit trail must be reviewed to confirm key was not copied or moved to another device before failure.
  • The SKL user does not have access to the audit trail unless the COMSEC account manager provides those details.
  • The commander has overall responsibility for the proper control, safeguarding and accounting of COMSEC material within the command.
  • Commanders must ensure COMSEC account managers complete the TRADOC-approved CAM course.
  • Commanders must ensure only properly cleared personnel have access to cryptographic equipment or COMSEC material.
  • Commanders must conduct mandatory risk assessments of COMSEC facilities per AR 190-51 and DA PAM 190-51.
  • The ultimate responsibility for safeguarding COMSEC material rests with the individuals in possession of it, as well as being inherent with the commander.
  • NSA is responsible for all actions pertaining to COMSEC material at the national level and produces electronic key.
  • PST1 is the Central Office of Record, and nearly all records produced by CAMs go to the COR monthly.
  • The primary Tier 1 for all Army accounts is at Fort Huachuca, Arizona; a second Tier 1 is at Lackland AFB; all Army accounts use Fort Huachuca for helpdesk operations.
  • AMC is the major command responsible for overall administration and operation of the Army COMSEC program.
  • CECOM is a major subordinate command within AMC overseeing Tobyhanna Army Depot and CSLA.
  • INSCOM administers the polygraph supporting the Department of the Army Cryptographic Access Program and assists when foreign intelligence services are involved.
  • AR 380-40 outlines the responsibility for safeguarding and controlling all COMSEC material, both classified and unclassified, and also outlines CAM duties.

References

AR 380-40TB 380-41AR 190-51DA PAM 190-51AR 25-2ATP 6-02.75ATP 3-39.32

Power Distribution 113-SCCCB03

Learning objective and standard

Learning objectiveDefine Power Distribution concepts for Signal Planning

StandardDetermine Power Distribution concepts for Signal Planning by completing the following: define power distribution techniques in a clear and concise manner without error, and identify proper grounding techniques in a clear and concise manner without error.

Power is the constraint that decides whether a command post works, and this lesson makes the S6 responsible for proving it will. It teaches the power calculation from Ohm's law, then walks the four-step planning process: develop the command post layout and analyze the electrical load, select the power generation equipment, select the power distribution equipment, and ground everything. The grounding standard is the number to remember - 10 ohms or less resistance, with soil composition, moisture content and temperature deciding whether you can reach it. The recurring theme is that the S3 and S6 do this together, because the layout of the command post and the power required to run it are the same problem approached from two directions.

Doctrinal sets to know cold

The power planning process
  1. Develop the layout and analyze electrical load requirements
  2. Select power generation equipment
  3. Select power distribution equipment
  4. Ground the equipment
Four key components of power planning
  1. Selection of a power source - the proper generator
  2. Setup of power generators, based on generator type
  3. Determining grounding procedures for power sources and electrical components
  4. Selection of proper distribution feeders and systems to extend site power requirements
The power formula and its rearrangements
  1. Watts = Volts x Amps
  2. Volts = Watts / Amps
  3. Amps = Watts / Volts
The plumbing analogy
  1. Voltage - water pressure
  2. Current - flow rate
  3. Resistance - pipe size
Factors determining proper grounding
  1. Soil composition
  2. Moisture content
  3. Temperature
  4. Geographic location, because soil types differ
Questions to answer when selecting power generation equipment
  1. How much power will we need to power all systems?
  2. How much power can the generator actually support?
  3. What do we have available?
  4. How are we transporting it?
Command post draws to include in the load calculation
  1. Printers
  2. Computers
  3. Projectors
  4. Communication cases
  5. Heaters and air conditioners
  6. Coffee pots
Lesson references and handouts
  1. TM 3-34.46 - given as a condition of instruction
  2. DA PAM 385-26 - Army electrical safety
  3. Student Handout 1 - Advanced Medium Mobile Power Source (AMMPS)
  4. Student Handout 2 - ESB Grounding Handbook

Key terms

Voltage
The electrical force produced. In the plumbing analogy used in this lesson, voltage is equivalent to water pressure.
Current (amps)
The movement of electron flow. In the plumbing analogy, current is equivalent to the flow rate.
Resistance
Opposition to current flow, measured in ohms. In the plumbing analogy, resistance is like the pipe size.
Power (watts)
The instantaneous rate of work, measured in watts. When force (voltage) causes motion (amps), it produces work - and that rate is power.
Power formula
Power = Voltage x Current, or Watts = Volts x Amps. Rearranged: Voltage = Watts / Amps, and Amps = Watts / Voltage.
Electrical load requirement
The total power a command post needs, calculated by summing the demand of every device in it. Ratings are found on the equipment, in the manuals, or from the manufacturer.
Grounding standard
The military grounding standard is 10 ohms of resistance or less. Lower is better.
Factors affecting grounding
Soil composition, moisture content and temperature determine whether proper grounding can be achieved. Geographic location matters because soil types differ.
DA PAM 385-26
The Army electrical safety publication, the reference for grounding procedures for power sources and electrical components.
TM 3-34.46
The technical manual students are given access to as a condition of this lesson, covering power generation and distribution planning.
Power generation equipment
The generators that produce the power. Selection depends on how much power all systems need, how much the generator can actually support, what is available, and how it will be transported.
Power distribution equipment
The feeders and distribution systems that move power from the generator into the command post and extend it to site power requirements.
AMMPS
Advanced Medium Mobile Power Source - the generator family covered in the student handout for this lesson.
Command post layout
The interior design of the command post - the location and number of printers, computers, projectors, communication cases, heaters and air conditioners, and other draws - which is what drives the load calculation.
Generator capacity versus demand
Two separate planning questions the lesson deliberately keeps apart: how much power all the systems need, and how much power the generator can actually support. Assuming the second equals the nameplate figure is how a command post trips its generator.
S3 and S6 relationship in power planning
The S3 owns the command post layout and the S6 owns the network and power requirement; the lesson requires them to work together to complete the planning steps, because layout and load are the same problem from two directions.
ESB Grounding Handbook
The expeditionary signal battalion reference issued as a student handout, giving practical grounding technique for tactical sites.
Specification rating
The manufacturer's stated electrical specification for a device. The deck: "The specification rating are typically found on the equipment, manuals, or through the manufacture." It is the starting point for any load calculation. Commonly called a nameplate rating in industry, but the course says specification rating.
Ohm's law
The relationship between voltage, current and resistance that underlies the power calculation used in this lesson to size a command post's electrical load.
Four key components of power planning
Selection of a power source, setup of the generators according to type, determining grounding procedures, and selection of proper distribution feeders and systems to extend site power.

Testable points

  • Power = Voltage x Current. In the units used for planning, Watts = Volts x Amps.
  • The formula rearranges two ways worth memorizing: Voltage = Watts / Amps, and Amps = Watts / Voltage.
  • The plumbing analogy taught in this lesson maps voltage to water pressure, current to flow rate, and resistance to pipe size.
  • Voltage is the force produced; amps are the movement of electron flow; when force causes motion it produces work, and that instantaneous rate of work is power in watts.
  • The military grounding standard is 10 ohms of resistance or less, and lower is better.
  • Grounding is measured in resistance, not in voltage or current.
  • Soil composition, moisture content and temperature are the determining factors in whether equipment can be properly grounded.
  • Geographic location affects grounding because soil types differ from place to place.
  • The Army electrical safety reference for grounding is DA PAM 385-26.
  • The four key components of power planning are selecting a power source, setting up the generators according to type, determining grounding procedures, and selecting proper distribution feeders and systems.
  • The power planning process has four steps: develop the layout and analyze electrical load requirements, select power generation equipment, select power distribution equipment, and ground the equipment.
  • The S3 and the S6 complete the power planning steps together as units establish or refine command posts.
  • Equipment specification ratings are found on the equipment itself, in the manuals, or from the manufacturer.
  • Load planning must account for everything in the command post that draws power, including printers, computers, projectors, communication cases, heaters, air conditioners and even coffee pots.
  • Generator selection asks two separate questions: how much power all the systems need, and how much power the generator can actually support - these are not the same number.
  • Generator selection also has to account for what equipment is actually available and how it will be transported.
  • Distribution equipment selection asks how power gets from the generator into the command post and whether that equipment supports the command post's requirements.
  • Grounding of equipment is a step in the planning process in its own right, not an afterthought, and its purpose is to protect the systems.
  • The condition for this lesson includes access to TM 3-34.46 and a practical exercise.
  • The AMMPS - Advanced Medium Mobile Power Source - is the generator family covered in the lesson's student handout.
  • The expeditionary signal battalion grounding handbook is issued as a student handout for practical grounding technique.
  • Command post size, the structures needed to house it, and the generation and distribution equipment available all constrain the design.
  • The load calculation is described as a simple universal power calculation applied to determine the electrical load requirement in step 1 of the planning process.
  • Setup of power generators varies by generator type, which is why generator selection and setup are treated as separate planning components.
  • The purpose of the lesson is to enhance knowledge of power distribution, grounding techniques, and all the factors that contribute to developing a power distribution plan.
  • The term the deck uses is "specification rating" - found on the equipment, in the manual, or from the manufacturer. Industry more often calls this the nameplate rating; answer with the course's wording.

References

TM 3-34.46DA PAM 385-26

Signal Support to the Space Domain 113-SCCCB08

Learning objective and standard

Learning objectiveIdentify Denied, Degraded, and Disrupted Space Operational Environment (D3SOE) threat capabilities

StandardIdentify space threat capabilities and their effect on signal support to operations, and describe how Army forces fight through a denied, degraded and disrupted space operational environment.

This lesson exists to make a dependency visible. The Army is the Department of Defense's largest user of space-enabled capability, and a single brigade combat team holds over 3,200 pieces of GPS-enabled equipment and over 300 that depend on satellite communications - most of it operated by Soldiers who are unaware there is a space connection at all. The lesson works through what space actually provides, how orbits differ and what missions each supports, and then turns to the threat: adversaries know about that dependence and are equipped to exploit it. The term to own is D3SOE, a denied, degraded and disrupted space operational environment, and the point is that it is not a single event but a range - from kinetic attack on a ground station, through jamming the receiver in a Soldier's hand, to attacking the satellite in orbit.

Doctrinal sets to know cold

Orbits and their periods
  1. LEO - about 1.5 hours per orbit, roughly 15 times a day
  2. MEO - about twice a day
  3. GEO - 24 hours (23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds); SATCOM and missile warning
  4. HEO - about 12 hours of coverage; high-latitude SATCOM and missile warning over the North Pole
What is lost without GPS
  1. Friendly force tracking - battle tracking and the common operating picture
  2. DAGRs and the Movement Tracking System
  3. Excalibur 155mm and the precision guidance kit fuze
  4. JDAMs and guided MLRS rockets
  5. SHADOW and RAVEN unmanned aircraft
What is lost without SATCOM
  1. SMART-T, STT, VSAT
  2. Spitfire, Phoenix, Trojan SPIRIT
  3. Gray Eagle and GBS
  4. DSCS, MILSTAR, WGS, AEHF
  5. Iridium, INMARSAT, SCAMP
Space capability categories the lesson names
  1. Positioning, navigation and timing (GPS)
  2. Satellite communications
  3. Space-based reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition
  4. Space-based weather, terrain and environmental monitoring
  5. Space-based missile warning
Army space forces
  1. Space Support Element (SSE) - organic to theater army, corps and division staffs
  2. Multi-Domain Task Force - deployable
  3. 1st Space Brigade
  4. Army Space Support Teams (ARSST) - deployable
  5. Army Space Control Detachments - deployable
Equipment dependence, BCT against battalion
  1. GPS-enabled: over 3,200 in a BCT, about 500 in a battalion
  2. SATCOM-enabled: over 300 in a BCT, about 180 in a battalion
Key space publications
  1. DODI 3100.10 - Space Policy
  2. JP 3-14 - Joint Space Operations
  3. FM 3-14 - Army Space Operations

Key terms

D3SOE
Denied, Degraded, and Disrupted Space Operational Environment - an environment that prevents the U.S. from completely exploiting space due to enemy efforts, ranging from kinetic attacks on ground stations, through jamming the receiver of the Soldier on the ground, to attacking the satellite in orbit.
GPS
The Global Positioning System - a satellite constellation of a minimum of 24 satellites broadcasting positioning, navigation and timing data. A receiver needs a minimum of four visible satellites to acquire a location and timing fix, and accuracy reaches within one meter with military-approved equipment.
PNT
Positioning, Navigation and Timing - often used interchangeably with GPS. The timing element matters as much as position, because the GPS signal is a timing source for civilian and military equipment requiring communication and data synchronization.
SATCOM
Satellite communications - the use of satellites to provide beyond line-of-sight communications for voice and data. Most communications satellites sit at roughly 22,300 miles, giving a footprint of about one third of the earth's surface, which makes them the ultimate retransmission capability.
Area of Responsibility (AOR)
The geographical area associated with a combatant command within which a geographic combatant commander has authority to plan and conduct operations.
FFT
Friendly force tracking - the process of fixing, observing and reporting the location and movement of friendly forces. It is GPS-dependent, which is why loss of GPS costs battle tracking and the common operating picture.
LEO
Low earth orbit. A LEO satellite circles the earth in about one and a half hours, roughly fifteen times a day.
MEO
Medium earth orbit, whose satellites circle the earth about twice a day.
GEO
Geosynchronous orbit, with an orbital period of 24 hours - precisely 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. GEO missions are SATCOM and missile warning.
HEO
Highly elliptical orbit, providing about 12 hours of coverage. HEO supports high-latitude SATCOM and missile warning over the North Pole.
Molniya orbit
A type of highly elliptical orbit used to provide communications coverage in the northern hemisphere. Satellites in these orbits pass through the inner and outer Van Allen belts.
Space Support Element (SSE)
The space element organic to theater army, corps and division staffs.
1st Space Brigade
The Army space brigade, which provides deployable Army space support teams and Army space control detachments.
ARSST
Army Space Support Team - a deployable team provided by 1st Space Brigade.
FA40
The Army space operations officer functional area, found in space support elements and multi-domain formations.
DODI 3100.10
Space Policy - recognizes space as a priority domain of national military power that underpins multidomain joint and combined military operations to advance national security.
JP 3-14
Joint Space Operations - states that space operations help preserve freedom of action, enable joint lethality and effectiveness, and provide independent options in all domains. It defines the ten space mission areas.
FM 3-14
Army Space Operations - states that the Army depends on Soldiers to understand unit equipment, capabilities, limitations, vulnerabilities and TTPs in order to fight through a D3SOE.
Cascading failure
The effect where disruption of a space-based system manifests in unexpected places. The 1998 failure of a single U.S. communications satellite stopped credit card processing, blinded weather radars and disabled automatic fuel pumps.
Space Domain Awareness
One of the joint space mission areas - knowing what is in the space domain and what it is doing, which is the precondition for recognizing that a capability is being denied rather than merely broken.

Testable points

  • The Army is the Department of Defense's largest user of space-enabled capabilities.
  • Space capabilities are integrated into all six warfighting functions and enable mission effectiveness down to the lowest echelon.
  • A brigade combat team holds over 3,200 pieces of GPS-enabled equipment; a battalion holds about 500.
  • A brigade combat team holds over 300 pieces of SATCOM-enabled equipment; a battalion holds about 180.
  • Soldiers are frequently unaware of the space connection and the protection and operational advantage that space capabilities provide.
  • The U.S. Army executes or is directly supported by 7 of the 10 space mission areas outlined in JP 3-14.
  • D3SOE stands for Denied, Degraded, and Disrupted Space Operational Environment.
  • D3SOE effects range from kinetic attacks on ground stations, through jamming a Soldier's receiver, to attacking the satellite in orbit - it is a range, not a single event.
  • Losing GPS costs friendly force tracking, DAGRs, the Movement Tracking System, Excalibur 155mm munitions, the precision guidance kit fuze, JDAMs, guided MLRS rockets, SHADOW and RAVEN.
  • Losing SATCOM costs SMART-T, STT, VSAT, Spitfire, Phoenix, Trojan SPIRIT, Gray Eagle, GBS, DSCS, MILSTAR, WGS, AEHF, Iridium, INMARSAT and SCAMP.
  • A GPS receiver requires a minimum of four visible satellites to acquire a location and timing fix.
  • The GPS constellation has a minimum of 24 satellites, and military-approved equipment can achieve accuracy within one meter.
  • The GPS signal is used as a timing source for civilian and military equipment that requires communication and data synchronization - so GPS loss is a synchronization problem, not only a navigation problem.
  • Most communications satellites orbit at roughly 22,300 miles and have a footprint covering about one third of the earth's surface.
  • A LEO satellite circles the earth in about an hour and a half, roughly fifteen times a day.
  • A MEO satellite circles the earth about twice a day.
  • A GEO satellite has a 24-hour orbital period - 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds precisely - and supports SATCOM and missile warning.
  • HEO provides about 12 hours of coverage and supports high-latitude SATCOM and missile warning over the North Pole.
  • A Molniya orbit is a type of highly elliptical orbit used for northern hemisphere communications; satellites in it pass through the inner and outer Van Allen belts.
  • Army space forces organic to theater army, corps and division staffs are the space support elements; deployable forces include the multi-domain task force, 1st Space Brigade, Army space support teams, and Army space control detachments.
  • The 1998 failure of a single U.S. communications satellite stopped credit card payments, blinded weather radars, and disabled automatic fuel pumps - the standard illustration of cascading failure.
  • DODI 3100.10 recognizes space as a priority domain of national military power underpinning multidomain joint and combined operations.
  • JP 3-14 holds that space operations preserve freedom of action, enable joint lethality and effectiveness, and provide independent options in all domains.
  • FM 3-14 places the burden on Soldiers to understand their equipment's capabilities, limitations, vulnerabilities and TTPs in order to fight through a D3SOE.
  • During large-scale combat operations it is expected that the enemy will attempt to deny friendly access to space capabilities, degrading the BCT across all warfighting functions.

References

JP 3-14FM 3-14DODI 3100.10FM 3-0

Signal Support for Multi-Domain Operations 113-SCCCC09

Learning objective and standard

Learning objectiveIdentify Signal assets deployed in support of multi-domain operations

StandardEstablish Signal assets deployed in support of multi-domain operations by completing the following: identify the capabilities of the Multi-Domain Task Force and the Multi-Domain Effects Battalion, and complete the Futures Application practical exercise.

This lesson is really about two formations. The Multi-Domain Task Force is the Army's answer to adversary anti-access and area denial - scalable from operational to strategic level, built to gain and maintain contact during competition, to provide flexible response options during crisis, and to neutralize adversary A2/AD networks in conflict so the joint force regains freedom of action. Inside it sits the Multi-Domain Effects Battalion, which Army Futures Command's first commander called the centerpiece of the MDTF, and which was previously named the I2CEWS unit. The MDEB is where a Signal officer's interest concentrates: it holds a Signal company alongside military intelligence, space, extended range and sensing effects, and information defense companies, and its whole purpose is to synchronize and maneuver within the electromagnetic spectrum, cyberspace and space.

Doctrinal sets to know cold

The five planned MDTFs
  1. Two aligned to the Indo-Pacific region
  2. One aligned to Europe
  3. One stationed in the Arctic region, oriented on multiple threats
  4. One aligned for global response
MDTF purpose across the competition continuum
  1. Competition - gain and maintain contact with adversaries to support rapid transition to crisis or conflict
  2. Crisis - deter adversaries and shape the environment with flexible response options for the combatant commander
  3. Conflict - neutralize adversary A2/AD networks to enable joint freedom of action
Anti-access versus area denial
  1. Anti-access - usually long-range; prevents an advancing force from entering an operational area
  2. Area denial - usually short-range; limits an adversarial force's freedom of action within an operational area
Components of threat A2/AD defenses
  1. Layered and integrated long-range precision-strike systems
  2. Littoral anti-ship capabilities
  3. Air defenses
  4. Long-range artillery and rocket systems
MDEB subordinate companies
  1. Signal Company
  2. Military Intelligence Company (MICO)
  3. Space Company
  4. Extended Range and Sensing Effects (ERSE) Company
  5. Information Defense Company
Effects the MDEB delivers
  1. Disrupt
  2. Degrade
  3. Deny
  4. Manipulate enemy capabilities
Domains the MDEB synchronizes and maneuvers within
  1. Electromagnetic spectrum
  2. Cyberspace
  3. Space
  4. The multi-domain environment generally
Lesson references
  1. TRADOC Pamphlet 525-3-1 - The U.S. Army in Multi-Domain Operations 2028
  2. Army Multi-Domain Transformation: Ready to Win in Competition and Conflict (Chief of Staff Paper #1)
  3. Multi-Domain Effects Battalion Objective Design Smart Book, 27 April 2022

Key terms

Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF)
A formation intended to support the freedom of action of U.S. forces, scalable from operational to strategic level and modifiable to the needs of joint force commanders. It gives supported commanders the ability to plan, integrate, control, track and assess joint counter-A2/AD activities.
MDTF purpose during competition
To gain and maintain contact with adversaries in order to support the rapid transition to crisis or conflict.
MDTF purpose during crisis
To deter adversaries and shape the environment by providing flexible response options to the combatant commander.
MDTF purpose during conflict
To neutralize adversary anti-access and area denial networks in order to enable joint freedom of action.
Anti-access (A2)
Any action, activity or capability, usually long-range, designed to prevent an advancing military force from entering an operational area.
Area denial (AD)
Action, activity or capability, usually short-range, designed to limit an adversarial force's freedom of action within an operational area.
Threat A2/AD composition
Layered and integrated long-range precision-strike systems, littoral anti-ship capabilities, air defenses, and long-range artillery and rocket systems.
All-Domain Operations Center (ADOC)
The center the Army intends each MDTF to have, enabling 24/7 monitoring of adversary activities in all domains.
Multi-Domain Effects Battalion (MDEB)
The centerpiece of the MDTF according to General John Murray, the initial commander of Army Futures Command. It was previously named the Intelligence, Information, Cyber, Electronic Warfare and Space (I2CEWS) unit.
I2CEWS
The former name of the Multi-Domain Effects Battalion - Intelligence, Information, Cyber, Electronic Warfare and Space.
MDEB mission
Provides 24-hour mission command, mission planning, mission analysis, mission execution and company-level staff support; and provides organic staff and technical expertise to synchronize and maneuver within the electromagnetic spectrum, cyberspace, space and multi-domain environments.
MDEB effects
Coordinating and employing offensive cyberspace operations, defensive cyberspace operations, electromagnetic warfare and space assets, informed by intelligence, to deliver effects that disrupt, degrade, deny or manipulate enemy capabilities.
MDEB subordinate companies
Signal, Military Intelligence (MICO), Space, Extended Range and Sensing Effects (ERSE), and Information Defense.
MDEB personnel strength
523 personnel assigned to the battalion, with company command positions at O4.
MDEB stand-alone capability
Under tactical operations the MDEB is capable of standing alone in support of MDTF cyberspace operations.
MDEB S3
A fully integrated S3 section providing signal, military intelligence, cyber, electromagnetic warfare, space and information operations staff and operational expertise across future operations and planning.
IRC
Information-related capability. The MDEB coordinates with the MDTF information operations cell and with Army, service or joint forces to use IRCs to augment existing unit capability shortfalls.
OPSEC and MILDEC support
The MDEB provides information as required in support of operations security and military deception.
2nd MDTF composition
A headquarters element; an intelligence, cyberspace, electronic warfare and space detachment; and a brigade support company.
MDTF experimental origin
The first MDTF was created in 2017 as an experimental unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and took part in experiments and exercises both to test its capabilities and to develop requirements for the MDTF force design.

Testable points

  • The Army plans to build five Multi-Domain Task Forces.
  • Of the five MDTFs, two are aligned to the Indo-Pacific region, one to Europe, one is stationed in the Arctic region oriented on multiple threats, and a fifth is aligned for global response.
  • MDTF1 is headquartered at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and aligned to U.S. Army Pacific.
  • MDTF2 is headquartered at Wiesbaden, Germany, and aligned to Europe and Africa.
  • MDTF3 is planned for Hawaii.
  • The first MDTF was created in 2017 as an experimental unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
  • MDTFs are scalable from operational to strategic level and can be modified to support joint force commander needs.
  • MDTFs give supported commanders the ability to plan, integrate, control, track and assess the effectiveness of joint counter-A2/AD activities.
  • The Army intends each MDTF to have an All-Domain Operations Center enabling 24/7 monitoring of adversary activities in all domains.
  • During competition the MDTF gains and maintains contact with adversaries to support rapid transition to crisis or conflict.
  • During crisis the MDTF deters adversaries and shapes the environment by providing flexible response options to the combatant commander.
  • During conflict the MDTF neutralizes adversary A2/AD networks to enable joint freedom of action.
  • Anti-access is usually long-range and designed to prevent a force from entering an operational area; area denial is usually short-range and limits freedom of action within it.
  • Threat A2/AD defenses comprise layered and integrated long-range precision-strike systems, littoral anti-ship capabilities, air defenses, and long-range artillery and rocket systems.
  • General John Murray, the initial commander of Army Futures Command, called the MDEB the centerpiece of the Multi-Domain Task Force.
  • The MDEB was previously named the Intelligence, Information, Cyber, Electronic Warfare and Space (I2CEWS) unit.
  • The MDEB has 523 personnel assigned, with company command positions at O4.
  • The MDEB's subordinate companies are Signal, Military Intelligence, Space, Extended Range and Sensing Effects, and Information Defense.
  • The MDEB provides 24-hour mission command, mission planning, mission analysis and mission execution for its organic subordinate units.
  • The MDEB synchronizes and maneuvers within the electromagnetic spectrum, cyberspace, space and multi-domain environments.
  • The MDEB employs offensive and defensive cyberspace operations, electromagnetic warfare and space assets, informed by intelligence, to disrupt, degrade, deny or manipulate enemy capabilities.
  • Under tactical operations the MDEB is capable of standing alone in support of MDTF cyberspace operations.
  • The MDEB coordinates with the MDTF information operations cell and with Army, service or joint forces to use information-related capabilities to augment capability shortfalls.
  • The MDEB provides information as required in support of operations security and military deception.
  • The 2nd MDTF includes a headquarters element, an intelligence, cyberspace, electronic warfare and space detachment, and a brigade support company.

References

TRADOC Pamphlet 525-3-1FM 3-0FM 6-02

Future Signal Capabilities 113-SCCCB15

Learning objective and standard

Learning objectiveAssess concepts shaping future Signal capabilities

StandardEstablish concepts shaping future Signal capabilities by completing the following: identify concepts shaping future Signal capabilities in a clear and concise manner without error, develop a Future Signal Capabilities presentation, and write a Future Signal Capabilities paper.

This lesson is about two documents a battalion S6 or signal company commander is expected to have read: the Army Unified Network Plan and the Joint All-Domain Command and Control strategy. The problem both address is the same - there are too many tools on the network that are not integrated, interoperable or sustainable between the enterprise strategic network and the tactical network at the edge, and the intent is to link them into a single unified network centered on data. The mechanism is capability sets, which deliver technology to units every two years with each build resting on the previous one. The concrete example the lesson uses is that deployed units have had to reimage their computers on arrival in theater, and the Unified Network eliminates that requirement.

Doctrinal sets to know cold

The three AUNP phases
  1. Phase one - unify the network (the focus of the 2021 plan)
  2. Phase two - operationalize the Unified Network, 2024 to 2026
  3. Phase three - continuously modernize and transform the Unified Network, 2027 and beyond
What the Unified Network is meant to fix
  1. Too many tools that are not integrated
  2. Tools that are not interoperable between enterprise and tactical networks
  3. Tools that are not sustainable across that divide
  4. The requirement for deployed units to reimage computers on arrival in theater
Capability sets
  1. Deliver technologies to units every two years
  2. Each set builds upon the previous delivery
  3. Capability Sets 23 and 25 are where the transition goes vertical
Communities that shape tactical network modernization
  1. Industry
  2. The Army acquisition community
  3. Army Futures Command
  4. The operational community
Lesson agenda
  1. Overview of the AUNP
  2. Capability sets
  3. Integrated Tactical Network (ITN)
  4. Overview of JADC2
  5. Practical exercises, assigned briefing and assigned paper
Lesson references
  1. The Army Unified Network Plan (2021, and version 2.0)
  2. Summary of the Joint All-Domain Command and Control Strategy
  3. ITN Executive Overview
  4. RID Overview and Signal Support to Army 2030 briefing

Key terms

Army Unified Network Plan (AUNP)
The Army's plan to link its enterprise network to tactical formations. The first version, published in 2021, focused on phase one - unifying the network. AUNP 2.0 focuses on phase two and part of phase three.
AUNP phase two
Operationalize the Unified Network, covering 2024 to 2026.
AUNP phase three
Continuously modernize and transform the Unified Network, covering 2027 and beyond.
Capability sets
The delivery mechanism of the Unified Network - technologies provided to units every two years, each set building upon the previous delivery. Capability Sets 23 and 25 are where the transition is described as going vertical.
Unified Network - the problem it solves
Too many tools on the network are not integrated, interoperable or sustainable between the enterprise strategic network and the tactical network at the edge. The goal is a truly singular unified network centered around data.
Reimaging problem
The concrete example given: deployed units have had to reimage their computers on arrival at the deployed location. The Unified Network eliminates that requirement.
JADC2
Joint All-Domain Command and Control - a strategy addressing rapid changes in the global security environment that challenge the Joint Force's ability to protect its information and decision advantage. It synchronizes the C2 infrastructures of all U.S. military services through lines of effort.
Decision dominance
What the Unified Network is intended to enable - the ability to operate in a highly contested and congested operational environment with speed and at global range, so commanders maintain overmatch.
ITN
The Integrated Tactical Network - one of the agenda items of this lesson and a component of the tactical network modernization effort.
MDO-capable force
The 2028 objective the network modernization effort is framed against - as the Army transforms into an MDO-capable force, it must also transform its approach to network modernization.
Contested and congested environment
The operating condition the Unified Network is designed for - contested by adversary action and congested by the sheer density of emitters and demand.
Enterprise network
The strategic, installation-based side of the Army network, which the Unified Network is intended to link seamlessly with tactical formations.
Tactical network at the edge
The deployed, forward end of the network - historically disconnected in practice from the enterprise network by tooling that did not interoperate.
Army Futures Command
One of the communities, alongside industry, the Army acquisition community and the operational community, that gathers to outline priorities and capabilities for modernizing the tactical network.
RID
The Requirements Integration Directorate, whose overview briefing on signal support to Army 2030 forms part of this lesson's material.
Data-centric network
The design principle behind the Unified Network - centering the network on data rather than on individual systems, so forces gain greater insight and visibility from theater to the edge.
Future Signal Capabilities presentation
One of the two graded products of this lesson - a briefing developed as a practical exercise.
Future Signal Capabilities paper
The second graded product - a written paper on concepts shaping future signal capabilities.
Overmatch
The advantage the Unified Network is intended to preserve for commanders, achieved through speed and global range of operation rather than through equipment count.
Interoperability
One of the three qualities the current tooling lacks - alongside integration and sustainability - between the enterprise strategic network and the tactical network.

Testable points

  • The Army Unified Network Plan links the Army's enterprise network to tactical formations.
  • The first AUNP was published in 2021 and focused mainly on phase one, unifying the network.
  • AUNP 2.0 focuses mainly on phase two and some of phase three.
  • Phase two of the AUNP is to operationalize the Unified Network, from 2024 to 2026.
  • Phase three is to continuously modernize and transform the Unified Network, in 2027 and beyond.
  • Capability sets provide technologies to units every two years, each building upon the previous delivery.
  • Capability Sets 23 and 25 are described as where the transition to the unified network goes vertical.
  • The problem the Unified Network addresses is that too many tools on the network are not integrated, interoperable or sustainable between the enterprise strategic network and the tactical network at the edge.
  • The goal is a truly singular unified network across the globe, centered around data.
  • A data-centered network is intended to give forces greater insight and visibility from theater to the edge.
  • Deployed units have historically needed to reimage their computers upon arriving at the deployed location; the Unified Network eliminates that requirement.
  • JADC2 addresses rapid changes in the global security environment that challenge the Joint Force's ability to protect information and decision advantage over adversaries.
  • The JADC2 strategy discusses lines of effort by which all U.S. military services synchronize their command and control infrastructures.
  • As the Army transforms into an MDO-capable force, it must also transform its approach to network modernization.
  • The MDO-capable Army requires a Unified Network enabling it, as part of the joint and coalition force, to integrate and operate simultaneously and seamlessly in all domains, all environments, across all geographies and all warfighting functions.
  • The Unified Network is intended to give the Army the ability to operate in a highly contested and congested operational environment with speed and at global range.
  • The stated end the Unified Network serves is the decision dominance commanders need to maintain overmatch.
  • Network modernization meetings gather industry, the Army acquisition community, Army Futures Command and the operational community.
  • Those meetings exist to outline priorities and capabilities for modernizing the service's tactical network.
  • The lesson agenda covers the AUNP overview, capability sets, the Integrated Tactical Network, the JADC2 overview, and practical exercises.
  • The two graded products for this lesson are a Future Signal Capabilities presentation and a Future Signal Capabilities paper.
  • The lesson's stated purpose is to familiarize students with the Army Unified Network Plan and JADC2 as they will be applied by a battalion S6 or signal company commander.
  • The Integrated Tactical Network is one of the named agenda items for this lesson.
  • The lesson's reference material includes the Army Unified Network Plan, the JADC2 strategy summary, and an ITN executive overview.
  • The three qualities the current disparate tooling lacks are integration, interoperability and sustainability.

References

Army Unified Network PlanJADC2 StrategyFM 6-02

Unified Network Operations 113-SCCCB15

Learning objective and standard

Learning objectiveApply Unified Network concepts in support of Multi-Domain Operations

StandardApply Unified Network concepts in support of Multi-Domain Operations by completing the following requirements without error: Define Unified Network Operations in relation to Multi-Domain Operations. Define the phases of the Unified Network Plan. Define Unified Network Capabilities. Identify the Lines of Effort of the Unified Network Plan. Define the Role of a Signal Officer to enable at echelons of the UNO.

The lesson that puts everything else in Module D on a timeline. Zero trust, hybrid cloud, the Mission Partner Environment and the Integrated Tactical Network are each taught elsewhere as a subject; here they appear as phased deliverables of a single Army plan running from 2021 into the 2030s. The structure is three closed lists worth learning together - three phases, five capabilities, four lines of effort - and a fourth thing that matters more than any of them: what a Signal officer is expected to do in each phase. Note that this deck carries a Module B lesson code while being filed and taught in Module D; the content is the Army Unified Network Plan either way.

Doctrinal sets to know cold

The three phases of the Unified Network Plan
  1. Phase I - Near term, present to 2024: Set the Unified Network
  2. Phase II - Mid term, 2025 to 2027: Operationalize the Unified Network
  3. Phase III - Far term, 2028 and beyond: Continuously Modernize the Unified Network - a phase with no end
Phase I primary efforts
  1. Standard security architecture, zero trust principles
  2. Emerging technologies: software defined networking and 5G
  3. Utilize wireless cellular networks
  4. Movement to cloud infrastructure
  5. Common data standards for AI and machine learning
  6. Ongoing development of the Mission Partner Environment
  7. Updates to force structure
  8. Eliminate redundant systems
Phase II primary efforts
  1. Completion of updates to force structure
  2. Fully developed hybrid cloud capabilities set up for AI and machine learning assistance
  3. Mission Partner Environment fully developed to integrate joint and multinational partners
  4. Continued convergence of ITN and IEN capabilities, beginning FY25
  5. Doctrine matures to support multi-domain operations
Phase III primary efforts
  1. Continuous modernization, with no end state
  2. Dynamic and diverse transport, robust computing, and edge sensors
  3. Data to decisive action
  4. Robotics and autonomous operations
  5. Corresponding cybersecurity and resiliency capabilities
The five Unified Network capabilities
  1. Common Operating Environment
  2. Common Services Infrastructure
  3. Common Transport Layer
  4. Unified Network Operations
  5. Cyber Defensive Capabilities
The four Unified Network Plan lines of effort
  1. Establish the Unified Network
  2. Posture the Force
  3. Security and Survivability
  4. Reform Processes and Policies
The technologies and tools the plan rests on
  1. Zero trust architecture - security focused on users, assets and resources rather than perimeters and devices; eliminates implicit trust at the cost of greater requirements
  2. Hybrid cloud and cloud computing - shifts computing from local resources to larger data centers, reducing cost and letting Soldiers test new technology in compartmentalized environments
  3. Mission Partner Environment - a framework for joint and multinational partners to share information and collaborate
  4. Integrated Tactical Network - next generation mobile network reaching the dismounted squad; replaces WIN-T while absorbing some of its components
  5. AI and machine learning - computer-assisted statistical analysis and decision making tools
The Signal officer's role by phase
  1. Phase I - be prepared for a wider variety of equipment and constant change; begin developing best practices for training on and using new equipment; learn to operate in the ESB-Enhanced structure
  2. Phase II - understand how systems integrate to provide data to AI and machine learning platforms; refine TTPs and SOPs for ITN equipment within formations; support maturing doctrine
  3. Phase III - understand the continuous modernization approach and the data-to-action flow; balance current systems against emerging ones
  4. Throughout - act as the key proponent developing and advancing doctrine, TTPs and SOPs, and advise commanders on how AI and machine learning bear on operational planning

Key terms

Army Unified Network
Inclusive of all hardware, software, and infrastructure from the very forward edge of the battlefield back to the continental United States - attributed in the deck to GEN Joseph M. Martin. The definition's reach is the point: it is one network, not a tactical one and an enterprise one.
Army Unified Network Plan
The Army's plan to develop networking capabilities supporting its transition to a multi-domain force, dated October 2021. It aligns to and underpins the Army's modernization priorities and supports the intent to build an MDO-capable force.
Integrated Tactical Network (ITN)
The next generation mobile network, available to users down to the dismounted squad level. It is the replacement for WIN-T, though some WIN-T components remain as part of it.
Integrated Enterprise Network (IEN)
The enterprise half of the convergence. Phase I synchronizes modernization of the ITN and the IEN; Phase II continues their convergence.
Common Operating Environment
One of the five Unified Network capabilities - a standardized environment supporting Soldiers as they transition between systems and formations.
Common Services Infrastructure
One of the five Unified Network capabilities, providing standardized services across the network rather than per-system implementations.
Common Transport Layer
One of the five Unified Network capabilities - a standardized transport underneath the applications and services that ride on it.
Unified Network Operations (UNO)
Both the name of the lesson and one of the five capabilities. As a capability it is the standardization and improvement that delivers greater reliability and efficiency across the whole network.
Cyber Defensive Capabilities
The fifth Unified Network capability, and the one that ties the plan to the zero trust and cybersecurity material taught elsewhere in the module.
Establish the Unified Network
The first line of effort - building the network itself.
Posture the Force
The second line of effort - force structure, manning and positioning rather than technology. Updates to force structure appear as a Phase I and Phase II deliverable.
Security and Survivability
The third line of effort. Security is not a separate program in the plan; it is one of four parallel efforts.
Reform Processes and Policies
The fourth line of effort, and the non-technical one - the plan treats policy reform as a peer of building the network.
ESB-Enhanced (ESB-E)
The expeditionary signal battalion-enhanced structure Signal officers must learn to operate in as part of the Phase I force structure updates. It represents more modularity than the legacy structure.
Software factory graduates
Named in Phase I as a means of enabling rapid decision making, alongside AI and machine learning at tactical units - the Army growing its own software capability rather than buying all of it.
Data to decisive action
A Phase III emerging technology theme - the flow from collected data through analysis to a decision and an action, which is what the whole data literacy block of Module D exists to support.
Edge sensors
Named among Phase III emerging technologies alongside dynamic and diverse transport and robust computing - sensing pushed out to the forward edge rather than centralized.

Testable points

  • This lesson carries a Module B code (113-SCCCB15) but is filed in the course drop under Module D, alongside the Army Unified Network Plan key-note documents. It is on both module pages for that reason - the same lesson, not two.
  • The Army Unified Network is defined as inclusive of all hardware, software, and infrastructure from the very forward edge of the battlefield back to the continental United States.
  • The Unified Network Plan aligns to and underpins the Army's modernization priorities and supports the intent to build an MDO-capable force.
  • The plan is dated October 2021, and the lesson cites specific pages of it throughout.
  • The lesson's background is Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the heavy use of cell phones in that conflict, raising the balance between the speed commanders expect and the security operations require.
  • Three drivers motivate the plan: diverse equipment sets, rapidly changing technologies, and the need for streamlined policies and procedures.
  • There are three phases. Phase I near term, present to 2024, set the Unified Network. Phase II mid term, 2025 to 2027, operationalize the Unified Network. Phase III far term, 2028 and beyond, continuously modernize the Unified Network.
  • The three phase verbs are set, operationalize, and continuously modernize. Learning the verbs is faster than learning the date ranges and answers most questions about them.
  • Phase III has no end. It is described as a program of continuous development and improvement rather than a state to be reached.
  • Phase I begins with synchronizing the modernization of the Integrated Tactical Network and the Integrated Enterprise Networks.
  • Phase I's eight primary efforts are a standard security architecture with zero trust principles; emerging technologies including software defined networking and 5G; wireless cellular networks; movement to cloud infrastructure; common data standards for AI and machine learning; ongoing development of the Mission Partner Environment; updates to force structure; and eliminating redundant systems.
  • The ITN replaces the legacy WIN-T, but some WIN-T components remain as part of the ITN. It is a replacement that absorbs rather than discards.
  • Phase I's force structure update requires Signal officers to learn to operate in the ESB-Enhanced structure, which represents more modularity than what it replaces.
  • Phase II begins in FY25 with the continued convergence of ITN and IEN capabilities.
  • Phase II's three primary efforts are completing the force structure updates, fully developed hybrid cloud capabilities set up for AI and machine learning assistance, and a fully developed Mission Partner Environment integrating joint and multinational partners.
  • Doctrine matures during Phase II to support multi-domain operations, and officers are expected to familiarize themselves with and support those doctrinal changes.
  • Phase III's emerging technologies are dynamic and diverse transport, robust computing, edge sensors, data to decisive action, robotics and autonomous operations, and corresponding cybersecurity and resiliency capabilities.
  • Note the phrase corresponding cybersecurity and resiliency capabilities in Phase III - security is expected to scale with the new capability rather than trail it.
  • There are five Unified Network capabilities: common operating environment, common services infrastructure, common transport layer, unified network operations, and cyber defensive capabilities.
  • Four of the five capabilities begin with the word common or unified. Standardization is the organizing idea of the entire capability set.
  • There are four lines of effort: establish the unified network, posture the force, security and survivability, and reform processes and policies.
  • Two of the four lines of effort are not about technology at all - posturing the force is about structure and people, and reforming processes and policies is about how the Army governs itself.
  • Zero trust architecture is described as eliminating implicit trust and providing significantly greater protection for Army networks at the cost of greater requirements - the cost is stated, not hidden.
  • Hybrid cloud is valued in this lesson for a specific reason: it lets Signal Soldiers test and implement new technologies in more compartmentalized environments.
  • The Mission Partner Environment is presented here as a framework for joint and multinational partners to share information and collaborate more easily than before - the same MPE taught in Module C's multinational lesson.
  • The ITN is available to users even at the dismounted squad level, which is what makes it a genuine change rather than an upgrade at the top.
  • The Signal officer's role changes by phase. In Phase I, be prepared for a wider variety of equipment and constant change, and begin developing best practices for training and use. In Phase II, understand how systems integrate to feed AI and machine learning platforms and refine TTPs and SOPs for ITN equipment. In Phase III, understand the continuous modernization approach and the data-to-action flow.
  • Signal officers are named as the key proponents to develop and advance doctrine, TTPs and SOPs for the Unified Network and its sub-components - the plan makes doctrine development part of the job.
  • Signal officers are expected to understand how AI and machine learning work with regard to operational planning and future systems, in order to advise commanders.

References

The Army Unified Network Plan (October 2021)FM 6-02ATP 6-02.12NIST SP 800-207DoDI 8110.01