MC2 Katrina Parker takes us inside a limited objective experiment designed to look at sharing of information with interagency, multinational and non-government agencies during crisis operations.
Our folks in the Joint Concept Development and Experimentation Directorate worked with the Joint Staff, National Guard Bureau, U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, the Department of State, the Virginia Emergency Operations Center and the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.
From the story:
“There is a large coalition of the willing coalescing around this experiment to explore their information sharing techniques.”
This is part of my perfect battalion concept.
We have to have standing battalions that have this skill set in their inventory.
These battalions take over comms, interfaces, etc. when the situation demands to expedite tactical advantage whether the problem is electronic infrastructure from an enemy attack or an evacuation of a city.
Simple awareness sessions like when I was sent as a team leader in a USCG detachment to a SEABEE base to work on some of their equipment, they were amazed that we had a wider range of skill sets under our rating system than they did in theirs. We could switch from welder to mechanic to operator to warfighter without having seperate rate designators other than warfighter.
The U.S. Coast Guard has interoperability standards that get practiced on a daily basis.
Any failure to include them into this operational realm would be a less effective option.