Engineer

MAY-AUG 2013

Engineer presents professional information designed to keep U.S. military and civilian engineers informed of current and emerging developments within their areas of expertise for the purpose of enhancing their professional development.

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In the past, teams were responsible for gleaning, consolidating, and presenting operationally relevant information. With advancements in technology, everyone can be a common operational picture operator. Today, many units and senior leaders have Twitter™ and Facebook® accounts to tell the story of their organization. However, there is still signifcant room for growth in leveraging these tools directly in support of response coordination. It can be done, but will require time, policy changes, and departures from past processes. With organizations like NORTHCOM and USACE setting the pace, the use of smartphone technology is slowly becoming the norm. The other side of information-sharing technologies is the concern for information security. Digital threats are real and cannot be ignored. Information assurance processes and digital rules of engagement continue to adjust to the everchanging digital environment. Balancing the requirements for security against operational necessity is a constant effort. Speeding the process to fnd balance must occur at every level. Failure to share information with others or to use information from others, is no longer an option. Keeping select datasets for use by authorized users is mandatory, but it can be done without restricting everything. Access to information may require end users to have numerous user names and passwords or other methods of control. Users of information should always be vigilant in how they access, use, create, and disseminate data, but that should not stop them from sharing. The success of interagency-shared situational awareness depends on preparation before the next major disaster. Forces responding to disasters within the Homeland must adapt to the tools and processes of the organizations they support. Although they are different from those traditionally employed by military units, information-sharing resources are readily available for use by those supporting domestic operations. We must prepare, or prepare to fail. We will not fail; therefore, we prepare. Endnotes: 1 Federal Interagency Geospatial Concept of Operations, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, June 2011, , accessed on 2 April 2013. 2 The 9/11 Commission Report Executive Summary, , accessed on 2 April 2013. 3 Ibid. Lieutenant Colonel Foster served 22 years in the U.S. Army and 4 years in the U.S. Army Reserves. In his fnal assignment before retirement, he was the geospatial information offcer (provisional) for U.S. Army North. He holds an associate's degree in liberal arts, a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, and a master's degree in military studies. 20 Engineer ("Challenges," continued from page 17) such a laborious process to become profcient at operating these assets. While thorough coordination between internal components is critical in any S-2 section, it is especially important in a multifunctional engineer battalion. Because of the support relationships that the battalion has with numerous OE owners, short-notice taskings appear far more frequently than in other units. As enemy targets on the battlefeld appear and disappear, so do time-sensitive missions. Thorough intelligence analysis and product development are required for the intelligence preparation of the battlefeld. The S-2 section must be integrally linked with the battalion operations and construction management sections. Construction project activities constantly shift as priorities change because of evolving requirements in multiple OEs. Standard meetings are not enough to meet the requirements; it is necessary to conduct constant dialogue with these sections and to maintain a presence on countless distribution lists to stay informed of changes. This allows the S-2 section to manage its own internal production to ensure that commanders have timely and accurate intelligence to use in planning and executing their missions. A vast amount of information is learned during a deployment, sometimes at a high cost. It is essential that these lessons, products, architectures, systems, and processes continue during the handover from one unit to the next. The outgoing unit must have a systematic knowledge management system in place to ensure that incoming personnel can pick up the mission in stride. Knowledge management is an ongoing process that requires fnesse, deliberate organization, and constant supervision. Armed with tools such as Palantir®, Microsoft SharePoint®, and a shared network computer drive, the S-2 section must store this information in a way that is easy to locate, access, and understand. Naming conventions, proper classifcations, and standing operating procedures are needed to create this organizational framework. However, knowledge management is not the job of one person. The entire team must understand its importance and execution to ensure that the next unit can maintain the processes that work and to preserve institutional knowledge. Another recommendation is to ensure that information is stored (or at least a copy is maintained) on networks accessible to follow-on units before deployment. While most business in Afghanistan is conducted on the Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange (CENTRIX) system, most engineer units do not have access to CENTRIX in garrison. It is crucial to ensure that products, situational reports, and formats are transferred to networks that these units can access, ensuring that they understand the situational environment before they deploy. Captain Diebold is the intelligence offcer for the 20th Engineer Battalion. He holds a bachelor's degree from Western Illinois University and is a graduate of the Intelligence Captains Career Course. May–August 2013

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