Technology for the Warfighter: New Technology, Joint Forces Advancing Modern Warfare

Soldiers prepare by studying the art of war and training. Scientists and engineers prepare by thinking about, looking for, creating, and developing capabilities that will enhance the warfighters effectiveness. Both often face difficulty in carrying out their charters. But the fact that neither gives up is what has made our Army the best, most advanced in the world. Id like to say that the SMDC Battle Lab - Space Directorate went from the learning of the requirement to the concept on the drawing board to the warfighter in the field in six weeks, but thats not exactly what happened. Two years ago, the Army Space Support Teams ARSST were requesting larger bandwidth so they could respond more quickly to requests for Space products and imagery which are typically very large files and even larger when they are encrypted. As part of its experimentation plan in support of transformation, the Battle Lab had integrated a number of off-the-shelf communications products, encryption, computer systems, and some other items into the Space Support Element Toolset SSET, a HMMV-mounted assemblage of tools with which the Space Support Team supported the commander and his staff. The Battle Lab tested their creation at Millennium Challenge 2002 in August 2002. It outperformed their expectations.