Department of the Army Historical Summary: FY 1978

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Intelligence, Automation, and Communications

Whether at peace or at war, collecting and disseminating information are prime functions of a military organization. Knowledge of the capabilities of potential foes, the location and strength of their forces, is essential to the defense of the nation and its allies. As the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff declared: "No segment of our forces can function effectively in isolation." During the past fiscal year the Army improved its methods of accumulating intelligence data, especially at the tactical level, and made its already sophisticated communications channels more dependable and secure. As might be expected, advanced electronic equipment and computer systems played a major role.

Much of the Army's energies were devoted to preparing for the next crisis. It was a time for experimentation, for testing new concepts and equipment. Since the main responsibility for strategic intelligence was shifted to the Defense level in recent years, the Army has had to reorganize its intelligence establishment. Efforts in this direction continued this past year.

Prior to 19'76, when some Intelligence Organization and Stationing Study recommendations were adopted, Army intelligence operations and support were fragmented or vertically controlled. The reorganization placed many tactical intelligence units under the corps commanders; the remainder were either centralized under the new U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) or, if they were performing support services, assigned to a functional command.

The shift resulted in a more responsive and economical use of intelligence resources, but it also demonstrated a need for more effective management of the overall system. Accordingly, the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence began work on a master plan for the use of intelligence assets. With the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Office of Management and Budget, and Congress deeply interested in the subject, the plan must ensure that Army intelligence personnel work toward approved goals in conjunction with other intelligence agencies. It will cover peace and war, short- and long-range prospects, the Army's needs and the ability of other agencies to supply them,

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and working out compatible arrangements with other American and foreign intelligence organizations.

In March the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence assumed responsibility for Army participation in the U.S. signals intelligence system. He would henceforth formulate policy, help Army representatives prepare presentations to Congress, coordinate signal intelligence matters with other services, agencies, and nations, and ensure that Army signal intelligence activities are compatible with those of other members of the system, especially the National Security Agency/Central Security Service. In addition, he took over INSCOM's function of developing the basic framework for all future Army signal intelligence.

The Army drafted a five-year management plan for electro optics intelligence. The plan will develop the potential of this means for collecting information.

In late December the Army and the National Security Agency reached an agreement on their respective responsibilities for tactical signal operations. The integration of Army signal intelligence units into the tactical forces-one of the results of the Intelligence Organization and Stationing Study-made such clarification necessary.

The Army sought to raise the level of its topographic support to field commanders. Standard maps failed to furnish the detail required in modern warfare. Technological advances in mapmaking improved the commander's ability to site weapons, analyze their destructive effects, and locate enemy targets.

The Army was working on a five-year plan to improve topographical support. Set to begin in 1980, the plan was designed to furnish combat-oriented, timely, and reliable direct support to commanders primarily at the corps and division level. It will also provide information on technological advances, new doctrine and force structures, and requirements for acquiring and training personnel.

The Army planned more immediate measures to help major tactical commanders buttress their intelligence capabilities. It has received the first deliveries of hardware and software for a photolocator, which will provide rapid and accurate data on friendly and hostile positions and survey information. Mounted on a 21/2-ton truck, the photolocator is an analytical photogrammetric positioning system in an environmentally controlled shelter. Training of personnel to operate it began at Fort Sill and the Aberdeen Proving Ground. Eventually a photolocator will be issued to each division and corps artillery headquarters.

The Army has contracted for six mobile ground interpreta-

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tion centers to replace tactical imagery interpretation facilities. Each center will have a computer to aid photo and electronic imagery interpretation and permit quicker and more accurate responses to tactical needs. The first centers will be assigned to Army corps and intelligence schools.

To improve field commanders' meteorological support, the Army experimented with small belt weather observation kits adapted from the ones used by the Department of the Interior to fight forest fires. With the help of the kit, intelligence personnel have collected weather data in overseas trials and forwarded it to Air Weather Service forecasters to increase the accuracy of their weather predictions for battlefield areas. In early 1979 the Army will begin issuing calculators to each artillery ballistic meteorological section. They will cut down the time required for manual plotting of upper air soundings and make meteorological information more responsive to the needs of artillery firing units.

In April an appraisal of tactical intelligence support and interoperability in the NATO area was made in Germany. Senior representatives from Washington and the major commands examined the current threat, the warning system, problems of providing adequate support and working with other NATO intelligence organizations, and other concerns.

One the major problems affecting intelligence activities was the retention of trained enlisted personnel. Many failed to reenlist because they were frustrated by the lack of opportunity to maintain their skills in a peacetime environment. To cut down such losses, the Army developed a program to maintain signal, human, and imagery intelligence proficiency. INSCOM will be the executive agent and work closely with other major commands. The program will assign intelligence missions to tactical units in the United States and abroad, provide specialized operational training for tactical personnel at various national agencies and organizations, and send selected personnel overseas for training against actual targets.

Initially, major commands were funding these activities and experiencing good returns. If the funds requested for fiscal year 1980 are approved, the Army will expand the program, build a training facility in Europe, increase the number of personnel involved, and bring reserve personnel into the training system. Meanwhile, the major commands sustain present efforts by diverting funds from other programs.

Many of the changes contemplated by the Intelligence Organization and Stationing Study were being carried out. One of

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the more far-reaching proposals was developing fully integrated combat electronic warfare and intelligence (CEWI) battalions and groups to support divisions and corps. In April the 504th Military Intelligence Group (Corps) was activated at Fort Hood, Texas, to organize and test CEWI over the next two years. In September the Army also approved the activation of a headquarters and operations company at Fort Bragg similar to the test unit at Fort Hood. It provided command and control of the newly established 525th Military Intelligence Group (Corps Airborne), and was an interim step to the activation of a CEWI group at XVIII Airborne Corps. The Army also approved the final table of organization and equipment for a battalion.

A milestone was passed in developing the Army System for Standard Intelligence Support Terminals (ASSIST). Software was installed at Army and Army-supported intelligence data handling systems worldwide. Project ASSIST was initiated to improve support to intelligence analysts through terminal oriented, interactive automatic data processing and telecommunications. Software was installed and tested in support of the U.S. European Command analysts' intelligence display and exploitation system. This provided analysts of the U.S. Army, Europe, and U.S. Air Forces in Europe with common software for exchanging data, analyst-to-analyst communications, and full-time access to the European command's central computer.

Upon completion of the Defense Intelligence Agency front end support system, Intelligence Data Handling System Communications-II/ASSIST modules now installed in Europe will facilitate European and component command access to national data bases via the trans-Atlantic communications circuit.

The Army designated 1 October 1977 as INSCOM organization day. With the merging of most Army strategic intelligence and counterintelligence activities, INSCOM conducted all such operations above corps level. Major INSCOM field units included the 470th Military Intelligence (MI) Group in the canal zone, the 501st MI Group in Korea, the 66th MI Group in Germany, the 902d MI Group at Fort Meade, Maryland, the 500th MI Group in Japan, a detachment in Hawaii, and field stations in Germany, Japan, Korea, Okinawa, and other locations.

On the same date the Army established the U.S. Army Intelligence and Threat Analysis Center (Provisional). Resources for the new organization came from the Intelligence and Threat Analysis Detachment, the INSCOM Intelligence Group, the Imagery Interpretation Center, the Intelligence Operations Sup-

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port Detachment, the Intelligence Support Detachment, and the Special Research Division of the Intelligence and Threat Analysis Detachment.

The U.S. Army Security Agency Test and Evaluation Center was transferred to the U.S. Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command (DARCOM) on I October 1977. INSCOM's research, development, and acquisition resources were also shifted to DARCOM and became part of a newly designated Signal Warfare Laboratory. The laboratory became a subordinate element of DARCOM's Electronics Research and Development Command and was consolidated at Vint Hill Farms Station, Virginia, during the last quarter. In the process, 114 spaces were relocated from Arlington Hall Station, Virginia.

On 22 January 1978 the U.S. Army Intelligence Systems Support Agency (ISSA), a staff support agency of the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence (OACSI), was inactivated. Concurrently, the Intelligence Automation Management Office was established within OACSI. With this reorganization, ISSA's automatic data processing and systems development operations were transferred to INSCOM, and the following ISSA functions were transferred to OACSI: intelligence automation, automation security, and the intelligence data handling system's life-cycle management and its program and budget.

The Army was less successful in efforts to consolidate the intelligence schools at Forts Huachuca, Arizona, and Devens, Massachusetts. Although no immediate action was in the offing, it remained a long-range objective.

Congress asked the Army for a combined budget request for intelligence support to tactical commanders. The Army assigned this task to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans. The budget request covered procuring and developing equipment, organizing and training units and personnel, and evolving tactical intelligence doctrine and concepts of operation.

Military and civilian personnel security clearance was scheduled to come under the Military Personnel Center in mid-1978. But the final transfer of this function from INSCOM was deferred to 1 January 1979. Meanwhile, INSCOM would continue to support the program by conducting interviews using personnel resources assigned to the 902d MI Group.

INSCOM retained responsibility for collateral clearances and for guarding access to sensitive information. The Central Personnel Security Clearance Facility became operational at Fort Meade on 1 October 1977. By the end of the fiscal year it was the

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sole authority in the Army for granting, denying, or revoking collateral clearance and access to sensitive information.

In June the President took a major step toward liberalizing public access to classified documents when he issued Executive Order 12065. As of 1 December 1978, documents would be automatically declassified in twenty rather than thirty years. The Secretary of the Army could approve specific exceptions. In addition, the executive order eliminated the ten-year requirement before an individual could ask for review of a document for declassification. Under the new regulations, reviews might be requested at any time.

The government retained responsibility for safeguarding classified information. A representative from the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence was a member of a team that conducted a security systems survey in the United States and Europe of present methods of protecting classified military data. Results were positive.

In retrospect, the reorganization of intelligence activities initiated in 1976 emphasizing centralization and improvement of Army tactical intelligence support continued dominating the intelligence area. Barring unforeseen developments, such will be the case in the years to come.

Intelligence, automation, and communications are interrelated. Intelligence must be passed on to decision makers in a timely and accurate manner. The Army continued its efforts to improve the organization, effectiveness, and modernization of automation and communications systems. Programs often span five or ten years, and progress in a given year might seem small because of the time required to develop, test, and introduce new systems. The following account presents the highlights of the 1978 fiscal year.

For some time it has been apparent that automation and communications technologies and applications were converging. A 1977 study of Army management of command, control, communications, and computers led to a staff conference in March 1978 that produced three major recommendations: the management of automation and communications should be consolidated at the headquarters of the Department of the Army; the management of command and control functions should remain under the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans; and a

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new Assistant Chief of Staff for Automation and Communications should be established on 1 October 1978.

After further study and revision, the recommendations were approved by the Chief of Staff and the Secretary of the Army during the spring. The new Assistant Chief of Staff for Automation and Communications would manage .policy, planning, programming, budget functions, and the integration of automation and communications systems. The U.S. Army Management Systems Support Agency, the U.S. Army Computer System Selection and Acquisition Agency, the U.S. Army Computer Systems Command, and the Joint Interface Test Force would be under the new assistant chief of staff. The Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans would have a strong role in validating automation and communications requirements. The Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development, and Acquisition would handle the development of tactical computer systems supporting management information systems.

The Army split the management of the frequency spectrum between the staff and the major commands. As of 1 March, the staff would limit itself to matters essential to overall control of Army spectrum management; the majority of the responsibilities would be delegated to the major commands. For instance, TRADOC would be in charge of spectrum management requirements for all combat developments doctrine, and concepts, while the Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command would be responsible for research, development, and acquisition of equipment which used or affected the spectrum.

There was considerable progress in consolidating the Pentagon telecommunications centers operated by the services and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In January the Air Force and Army activities were combined in the Army center. The success of this effort led the Navy to agree to a triservice staff service center under the Army. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have consented to participate under similar arrangements. If no unexpected delays are encountered, the consolidation will be completed by April 1981, a year earlier than anticipated.

Special intelligence and ground service telecommunications centers were being collocated at forty-five sites throughout the world. Five consolidations were completed and plans for thirty-eight others were well under way. When the program is finished, a hundred military spaces and $2 million annually will be saved.

Interoperability has become a key word in recent years, both at joint and combined levels. Incompatible systems impair command and control, especially by the tactical commander. During

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the year the Army worked closely with other services and agencies on the joint interoperability of tactical command and control system (JINTACCS). Testing was scheduled to begin in the summer of 1979. The Army and the other organizations began to reach agreement on the systems and units that would take part in the exercises.

The Army and the Marines have completed a memorandum of understanding on a method for producing an automated interface of their fire support systems. Since members of NATO expressed interest, the program might be broadened to include NATO requirements.

Ever since 1971, when the joint tactical communications program began developing equipment for the 1980's, the Army has been an active participant. Under the program, the Office of the Secretary of Defense gave the Army responsibility for seven components: a modular traffic terminal; the AN/TTC-39 automatic switch; a family of digital group multiplexers; a super high frequency satellite that would permit a channel to be timeshared; mobile subscriber equipment; items to promote the compatibility of radio nets; and short-range wide-band radios.

In December study was completed on the modular traffic terminal. The result was two basic configurations for developing a single subscriber terminal and a module-tactical communications terminal. Draft specifications were written. Difficulties with the contractor over the costs of the automatic switches-the circuit switch (AN/TTC-39) and the message switch (AN/TYC39)-were worked out. The contractor resolved the most difficult technical challenges. The software package for the circuit switch was designed and tested. A training message switch was installed at the Signal School at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and operational testing of the switch began at Fort Huachuca in mid-1978.

Engineering development of the digital group multiplexers proceeded on schedule, and contractor development tests were, finished during the year. The super-high frequency satellite was eliminated from the program and turned over to the Satellite Communications Agency for further development. The Secretary of the Army helped coordinate the shift and arrange the transfer of funds.

In accordance with last year's request, the Vice Chief of Staff approved the designation of mobile subscriber equipment as a major program. A special task force formed in February was working on requirements for appointing a program manager.

The Army began engineering development of a basic net

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radio interface analog device in April. The device will permit subscribers using wire lines to communicate through a switchboard to radio subscribers.

The short-range, wide-band radio program had two parts: developing a new radio, and modifying the Army GRC-144 radio and TRC-138. In April the second part of the program was transferred from the Air Force to the Army. Its aim is to permit transmitting wide-band traffic from the .switching node directly to the radio park area, thus eliminating the need for cable connections. Full-scale engineering development began in August.

Another joint program in which the Army was involved was the tactical information distribution system. Its goal was to establish a loop system with air, ship, and ground terminals; terminals connected to the network would receive tactical information on a selective basis according to the users' needs. The Army's primary responsibility would be the ground terminals, and studies have been completed by five contractors. The studies will also be useful for the integrated tactical communication system and in developing advanced systems for data distribution.

As stated in previous reports, the integrated tactical communication system is an all-digital system designed to be reliable, compatible, and reasonably inexpensive. It will be introduced into the Army inventory over the next decade. A steering committee was formed in fiscal year 1977 to oversee the transition.

Last year's report discussed the procedure evolved by the U.S. Army Signal School in which the proponents for a functional system identify their communication requirements in terms of the parties needing to communicate, and the number, classification, priorities, and purposes of the exchanges. That information has now been stored in a computer and is available to communications planners. Since the data was subject to frequent changes as doctrine was developed, systems were introduced, or previous deficiencies were identified, the computer bank had to be updated continuously. Many of the communications support requirements identified during 1978 led to significant alterations in the 1976 list of requirements for the integrated tactical communication system.

The Army base information transfer system underwent further testing this year. The system is a compatible network of computers, telephones, teletype, video, and facsimile equipment, with terminals connected by a broadband distribution system using coaxial cables. The Mitre Corporation, architect of the system, completed the overall design and distribution cable plant

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at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. At the second installation designated as a test facility, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, the corporation installed all cables in the new hospital building and demonstrated a computer system which handled patient records. Eight terminals and about twenty-five television receivers were connected to the cables. The system was used for television surveillance and to show videotaped staff meetings to hospital personnel.

On the military satellite communications front, the last of eighteen large, Defense Satellite Communications System fixed station AN/FSC-78 terminals became operational in September. Twenty-three digital communication subsystems were shipped to sites around the world, bringing the total of installed subsystems to thirty. The six strategic multichannel AN/TSC-86 superhigh frequency transportable terminals approved during the preceding fiscal year will begin entering the inventory in late 1979. Operations and maintenance was assigned to the Army.

At the end of December the Army awarded one contract for twenty-one 38-foot antennas and another for the concomitant equipment for a new series of strategic, medium-size terminals (AN/GSC-39). Initial delivery was scheduled for mid-1982. As the fiscal year ended the Army also signed a contract for a fixed station antijamming system that would cover the entire frequency spectrum and permit Defense satellite communications terminals to continue .operations if the enemy employed jamming techniques.

The Defense satellite communications system had three operating satellites in orbit. One was over the Atlantic, a second was over the Indian Ocean, and the third covered the western Pacific. Two satellites were launched during the fiscal year, but one failed to function properly; as a consequence, a NATO satellite was used to satisfy communications demands over the eastern Pacific until additional satellites could be launched.

Testing proceeded on the lightweight manpack terminal for ground soldiers that would permit linkage with tactical satellites. A production contract for 205 terminals was projected for fiscal year 1979. Additional progress was reported on the combat net radios which will replace those currently in use at the division level. The Army let three contracts during the year for prototypes and will select the best candidate for engineering development. The Army was investigating the possibility of adopting a minicomputer to help the field soldier deal with the complex communications systems of the future.

The development of AUTODIN II, an advanced automatic

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digital network, encountered scheduling difficulties during the year. The system will be a leased general purpose data communications network offering precedence and security protection to high-level users, and including command and control and compartmented intelligence systems. It was originally scheduled to go into operation in January 1979 using three packet switching nodes and a network control center in the continental United States, and eventually expanding to eight nodes. The system had a target date of December 1979.

For several years the Army has been considering overhauling and modernizing the telephone system in Europe supporting U.S. forces. A number of proposals were evaluated for purchasing or leasing a replacement system from the Deutsches Bundespost. After review of U.S. cost estimates, the Secretary of the Army concluded that modernization would cost $93 million, and that the U.S. should purchase the system from the Deutsches Bundespost if its bid were in line with that estimate. Work involved replacing 112 switches of World War II vintage with solid state digital switches, and using American telephones and key systems. A decision by the German agency not to raise tariff rates for circuits was a contributing factor to the Army decision.

In assessing communications developments during the fiscal year, the main themes were managing assets in the most effective manner, improving quality and reliability, especially of support to tactical commanders, and consolidating facilities and services.

Last year's report spoke of a severe crisis in managing the Army's data processing resources. This year the Director of Automation continued reviewing proposals for new projects to determine which resources could be curtailed, deferred, or eliminated without impairing the Army's combat readiness. In the future such reviews will be conducted through normal evaluation procedures under the Army automation planning, programming, and evaluation system established in 1976 to integrate the Army's automation objectives with the planning, programming, and budgeting system. This year's efforts focused on developing fiscal years 1981-85 automation budgets.

The first Go-to-War Automation Appraisal, described last year, sought to determine how effectively the Army's automatic data processing systems supported combat missions. The appraisal found that many systems could not handle wartime workloads. Another review at Fort Hood, Texas, the second tactical automation appraisal, examined tactical command and control systems, intelligence systems, and supporting communications

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networks. In March a Go-to-War II Automation Appraisal dealt with developing systems in the personnel, financial management, and logistics areas.

Last year's reviews confirmed the need for a basic battlefield automation management program and for centralized control over tactical data processing systems and supporting networks. This year the third in a series of battlefield automation appraisals was conducted at Fort Gordon, Georgia, on developing an orderly, effective battlefield automation management plan.

Installation of a standard automated military construction progress reporting system at the field operating agency level was completed in all Engineer military construction divisions, except Huntsville, Alabama. There were seventeen such agencies operating around the world, including Europe, Japan, and Korea.

Automated Systems Security, AR 380-380, was published and carried out this year. The new regulation requires commanders to conduct an in-depth analysis of the security controls within their data processing activities, and formally certify that these controls are adequate to protect the information and the automated system. Reports from the major commands indicate that AR 380-380 has been a valuable tool in safeguarding sensitive information in automated systems.

During the year three Engineer reports were consolidated with the new construction progress reporting system: the Corps of Engineers performance measurement system, the annual forecast of construction contract awards, and the monthly status of construction contract awards.

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