Updating the Joint Common User Communications Architecture -- A Case for the Army's View
Abstract
In 1984 the senior leadership of the Army made a decision of huge proportions when they accepted the findings of the Battlefield Communications Review (BCR) II committee and authorized the acquisition of the Mobile Subscriber Equipment (MSE) communications system. This $4.8 billion investment in the digital future gave the Army a world-wide upgrade of its corps and divisions across the Active, Guard, and Reserve components, and ended nearly thirty years of patchwork system architectures. The rapid outfitting of the Army's echelons Corps and Below (ECB) with MSE enabled the Signal Corps, in 1986, to pursue a second, lesser known, but equally important decision effecting Echelons Above Corps (EAC): the modification of its large fleet of Tri-Service Tactical Communications System (TRI-TAC) digital circuit switches to an MSE compatible routing system and channel rate. The Army had the vision to recognize the synergy of mobile, self-organizing communications systems and AirLand Battle doctrine, and the initiative to modify the long standing TRI-TAC architecture when it was no longer relevant in its current form.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 15, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA263904
Entities
People
- Robert G. Shively
Organizations
- United States Army War College