Assessing Situational Awareness in Task Force XXI.
Abstract
Situational Awareness has become the central quest of U.S. Army force developments as the nation's ground combat arm of decision seeks to leverage greater effectiveness on the battlefield through information technology. As the term implies, situational awareness provides a combatant knowledge of his battlefield environment. A commander with complete situational awareness will know with certainty, among other elements of information, the status and disposition of his own forces as well as those of his opponent. Battlefield commanders throughout time have required some measure of situational awareness in order to impose their will on the enemy. Army leaders hypothesize that information age technology can be used to achieve information dominance over the enemy and that units equipped with greater situational awareness will fight more successfully than units without the added capability. In an effort to test this hypothesis the Army conducted an Advanced Warfighter Experiment (AWE) which began at Ft. Hood, TX and culminated in a focused rotation at the National Training Center, Ft. Irwin, CA. Although many initiatives in the area of information dominance were tested in the AWE, the centerpiece of the program was a test case unit designated as Task Force Twenty-One (TF XXI). TF XXI was a normal heavy maneuver brigade out of Ft. Hood, TX. The Army equipped and trained TF with the most promising prototype technology designed to provide commanders real-time situational awareness and information dominance. TF XXI was then tested against an opposing force at the NTC in live simulated combat.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA350204
Entities
People
- Donald R. Barr
- E. T. Sherrill
Organizations
- United States Military Academy