The fundamentals of Army combat team modernization

The task of modernizing the Army -– no small feat, to be sure –- has been in the works for close to a decade, beginning at least with the $160 billion Future Combat Systems program that was ordered shut down by Defense Secretary Robert Gates in April 2009.

Now, the Army is updating its troops and plans with the Brigade Combat Team (BCT) Modernization plan built on network-centric operations that employ mobility and information-sharing in a new era of warfare.

“BCT Modernization is forcing the Army to take a hard look at how we’re structured,” said Maj. Gen. Mark Bowman, director of architecture, operations, networks and space in the Army’s Office of the Chief Information Officer. “We’re working off requirements that are eight years old. Who would have dreamed eight years ago that there would be an iPhone?”

Bowman said the modernization effort will result in an Army of networked soldiers. He spoke today at the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement’s Network Enabled Operations conference in Arlington, Va.

The BCT program hinges on capability packages, which include the deployment of high-tech communications devices, such as sensors and unmanned vehicles, and capability sets, which involve interoperable, networked communications systems and applications, Bowman said.

The two key tenets will improve situational awareness, protection and efficiency in the theater by using advanced technologies, much of which will be based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology.

Soldiers on the ground today are best poised to take advantage of COTS technology because of their upbringing in the information era, Bowman said. “What soldiers in the field can do with COTS [is superior] because they are digital natives, and so are the young officers training them,” which aids in the modernization efforts.

Success on the warfront could hang in the balance as the military seeks to go digital on an enterprise scale.

“We have to protect ourselves by leveraging technology against the enemy,” Lt. Gen. Michael Vane, director of the Army Capabilities Integration Center, said at the conference.