When traveling through the treacherous terrain of battlegrounds, such as those in Afghanistan, it can be hard for soldiers to track their fellow service members. However, the military is testing a new blue force tracking system that will aid soldiers during combat and allow greater communication between units, something the army benefits from greatly.
JBC-P
The new system, known as the Joint Battle Command-Platform (JBC-P) was jointly tested with the Marines and army soldiers. The monitor is mounted in military vehicles and gives users a full view of the battlefield and surrounding terrain, similar to a GPS. Soldiers in the vehicle are able to locate friendly forces and their fellow military units. In addition, it allows users to plot the locations of known enemy locations and shares the information with other units in the area. The JBC-P was created to be user-friendly and easy for first time users. Although similar devices have existed, this brings a new level of technology to the field and introduces faster satellite connection and secure data encryption. It even allows the units to chat message each other during exercises and battles.
"When I'm in the middle of a fight, and I'm trying to move my platoon and talk to my platoon, instead of calling them up, right away I can pop the icon up and type a quick message and it's already on there and my TOC (tactical operations center) is tracking," said First Lt. Adam E. Martin, according to a U.S. Army press release. "The maps are a lot more detailed and it's more intuitive. You can color code your platoons or your trucks, so when you have 100 dots on a map, you can easily pick out who's who."
The system was tested in May at Fort Bliss, Texas by 900 Marines and the Army's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division during one of the Army's semi-annual field exercises, called NIE 14.1. These field exercises are known as Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) events and are meant to keep military practices modern and effective. They are the most efficient way to identify gaps in current practices, giving leaders a chance to improve their battlefield plans. Feedback from the exercise will help to further improve the JBC-P technology, but the overall response from soldiers has been positive.
"This allows us to know where the enemies are, so I can make sure our guys aren't going too far into a danger zone," said Lance Cpl. John Allen Sergeant with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. "Everyone should have this."
JBC-P was designed by the Army's Program Executive Office Command, Control and Communications. Before its testing at Fort Bliss, it underwent previous testing focusing on JBC-P's ability to reduce the amount of risk involved in military operations.
Soldiers on the ground
Defense Systems reported that the JBC-P also connects to a handheld Nett Warrior system, which is used for military members traveling on foot rather than in vehicles. Soldiers are able to use specialized Android phones that allow them to get a good overview of their surroundings and connect to their fellow soldiers. Such technology can be invaluable during battle. The Marines are currently looking into creating their own handheld technology system, similar to the Nett Warrior.