1997 Congressional Hearings
Intelligence and Security


Statement of
Lieutenant General Otto J. Guenther
Director of Information Systems for Command,
Control, Communications, and Computers
Department of the Army


GOOD MORNING MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, AND STAFF. I AM LIEUTENANT GENERAL OTTO J. GUENTHER, DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR COMMAND CONTROL, COMMUNICATIONS, AND COMPUTERS FOR THE UNITED STATES ARMY. CO-TESTIFYING WITH ME IS BRIGADIER GENERAL ROBERT T. CLARK, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR COMBAT DEVELOPMENTS, UNITED STATES ARMY TRAINING AND DOCTRINE COMMAND. I APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO COME BEFORE YOU TODAY TO DISCUSS WHAT THE UNITED STATES ARMY IS DOING TO MAINTAIN INFORMATION DOMINANCE ON THE JOINT BATTLEFIELD OF THE 21ST CENTURY. I WILL BEGIN BY ADDRESSING HOW THE ARMYíS ADVANCED WARFIGHTING EXPERIMENT, CURRENTLY BEING CONDUCTED AT THE NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER AT FORT IRWIN, CALIFORNIA, IS VALIDATING OUR CURRENT COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES AND GIVING US INSIGHT INTO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE FUTURE BATTLEFIELD. I WILL THEN DISCUSS SOME OF THE EMERGING LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE EXPERIMENT. I WILL CONCLUDE WITH WHAT WE ARE DOING TODAY TO PROTECT AGAINST VULNERABILITIES TO OUR CRITICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS. 

TO START, LET ME EXPLAIN WHAT THE ARMY MODERNIZATION STRATEGY DEFINES AS THE KEY TO INFORMATION DOMINANCE - IT IS THE WARFIGHTERíS ABILITY TO TAKE OUT, SORT AND EVALUATE, INTEGRATE AND DISTRIBUTE BATTLEFIELD INFORMATION TO SUSTAIN AN APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. SAID ANOTHER WAY, I WANT TO KNOW WHERE I AM, WHERE MY BUDDIES ARE, AND WHERE THE ENEMY IS - AND I NEED THIS INFORMATION NOW, WITH CHANGES DISSEMINATED AS THEY OCCUR SO OUR SOLDIERS CAN ACT FASTER THAN THE ENEMY. THIS IS SHARED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS- A COMMON RELEVANT PICTURE DISTRIBUTED RAPIDLY, PROVIDED BY A FLEXIBLE AND INTEROPERABLE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE. 

ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS TOWARD HARNESSING THE OPERATIONAL ADVANTAGES OF INFORMATION DOMINANCE WAS THE ARMY ENTERPRISE STRATEGY- A SINGLE, UNIFIED VISION FOR THE ARMY COMMAND CONTROL, COMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTERS AND INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY. THE ENTERPRISE STRATEGY ALIGNS AND FOCUSES EXISTING JOINT AND ARMY EFFORTS TO MAXIMIZE BENEFITS TO THE WARFIGHTER. IT SYNCHRONIZES ARMY PROGRAMS WITH THE JOINT STAFFíS C4I FOR THE WARRIOR CONCEPT AND THE DEFENSE INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE. IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ENTERPRISE STRATEGY, WE NOW HAVE DOCTRINE FOR WINNING THE INFORMATION WAR WITH THE PUBLICATION OF FIELD MANUAL 100-6, INFORMATION OPERATIONS. THIS DOCTRINE REQUIRES THAT WE PROVIDE A WARFIGHTER INFORMATION NETWORK WITH ADVANCED C4 CAPABILITIES THAT WILL PROPEL THE ARMY INTO THE 21ST CENTURY. IN SUPPORT OF THIS STRATEGY AND DOCTRINE, WE ARE USING A PROTOTYPE TACTICAL INTERNET IN THE ONGOING ADVANCED WARFIGHTING EXPERIMENT. THE TACTICAL INTERNET AND APPLIQUE COMPUTERS INSTALLED IN WEAPONS PLATFORMS LEVERAGES COMMERCIAL HIGH TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS. WHAT WE ARE CREATING IS A SECURE, MOBILE INTERNET WHICH MOVES WITH THE WARFIGHTER ON THE BATTLEFIELD. 

BUT THE ADVANCED WARFIGHTING EXPERIMENT IS EXAMINING MORE THAN JUST C4 AND INTELLIGENCE TECHNOLOGIES. THE ARMY IS ALSO EXAMINING NEW, INNOVATIVE TACTICS, TECHNIQUES, AND ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE FORCE TO DETERMINE HOW BEST TO INCREASE LETHALITY, SURVIVABILITY, AND TEMPO. WE ARE TRYING TO ANSWER A SERIES OF QUESTIONS: TO WHAT DEGREE DOES DIGITIZATION HAVE AN IMPACT ON CONTROL OF FORCES? HOW WELL DOES THE NEW COMBAT SERVICE SUPPORT STRUCTURE CONTRIBUTE TO COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS? HOW DO NEW WEAPONS AND TECHNOLOGIES CONTRIBUTE TO FORCE EFFECTIVENESS? WHAT CHANGES ARE REQUIRED IN COMMAND AND CONTROL ORGANIZATION AND PROCESSES? HOW DO NEW TACTICS, TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES IMPACT ON THE FORCE? 

NOW LET ME TELL YOU WHAT WE ARE STARTING TO SEE FROM THE ADVANCED WARFIGHTING EXPERIMENT AND OTHER ARMY EXPERIMENTS LEADING UP TO THIS EVENT. WE HAVE DEMONSTRATED SUCCESS IN COMMUNICATING ON THE BATTLEFIELD AND IN ACHIEVING JOINT INTEROPERABILITY. WE HAVE ESTABLISHED CONNECTIVITY WITH THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS USING AN ENHANCED VERSION OF THE ARMY GLOBAL COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEM (AGCCS) AS A GATEWAY BETWEEN THE ARMYíS MANEUVER CONTROL SYSTEM / PHOENIX AND THE MARINESí TACTICAL COMMAND OPERATION SYSTEM. 

WE HAVE DEMONSTRATED THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE FRIENDLY AND ENEMY FORCE POSITIONS, IN NEAR REAL-TIME, TO AIR FORCE F-16 AND A-10 CLOSE AIR SUPPORT AIRCRAFT THROUGH THE USE OF THE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS DATA LINK (SADL). WE ALSO SUCCESSFULLY TRANSMITTED INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION FROM NATIONAL (U2), THEATER (RIVETJOINT, JSTARS), AND TACTICAL (GUARDRAIL COMMON SENSOR, QUICK FIX, AND UAV) SENSORS DIRECTLY TO THE GROUND MANEUVER COMMANDER . 

THE UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE (UAV) PROVIDES A REVOLUTIONARY SITUATIONAL AWARENESS CAPABILITY. IT HAS DEMONSTRATED GREAT POTENTIAL TO BE A REAL WINNER AT THE NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER. THE UAV PROVIDES THE COMMANDER A REAL TIME VISUAL PICTURE OF A SECTOR OF THE BATTLESPACE. IT CAN BE QUEUED BY OTHER SENSORS TO CONFIRM INTELLIGENCE REPORTS, DETECT TARGETS, DO BATTLEFIELD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, AND PROVIDE REAL TIME SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. THE ENEMY WHO TRIES TO HIDE FROM IT WILL PAY A PRICE. HIS ACTIONS TO AVOID CONSTANT OBSERVATION WILL WEAR HIM OUT, DENY HIM THE ABILITY TO SUSTAIN HIS TEMPO, AND BREAK HIS CYCLE OF OPERATIONS. 

OUR ENHANCED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS HAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE BATTLE TEMPO. WITH IT, LEADERS AT ALL LEVELS CAN ANTICIPATE REQUIREMENTS BASED ON A CURRENT INTEGRATED PICTURE OF FRIENDLY AND ENEMY ACTIVITY, TAKE THE INITIATIVE, AND EXECUTE THEIR MISSIONS MORE RAPIDLY. COMPREHENSIVE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS PROVIDES THE COMMANDER WITH INCREASED FLEXIBILITY BY NOT ONLY SHOWING WHERE THE ENEMY IS, BUT JUST AS IMPORTANTLY, WHERE HE IS NOT. IT ALSO PROVIDES GREAT POTENTIAL FOR REDUCING FRATRACIDE BY PROVIDING ACCURATE, TIMELY, FRIENDLY POSITION LOCATIONS. 

THE ARMY AIRBORNE COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEM HAS ALSO DEMONSTRATED GREAT POTENTIAL BY PROVIDING A HIGHLY MOBILE COMMAND AND CONTROL PLATFORM TO SUPPORT HIGH TEMPO, FAST MOVING OPERATIONS AND ENHANCED OPERATIONAL AGILITY TO THE COMMANDER. CONNECTIVITY TO THE TACTICAL INTERNET ALLOWS THE COMMANDER TO RAPIDLY MOVE ANYWHERE ON THE BATTLEFIELD WITHOUT ANY LOSS OF CONTINUITY OR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. THE COMMANDER IS SEEING THE SAME PICTURE IN FRONT OF HIM AS HE WOULD IN HIS TACTICAL OPERATIONS CENTER ON THE GROUND. 

AS WE PREPARE TO MOVE TO THE 21ST CENTURY, PROTECTING INFORMATION IS PARAMOUNT. 

TO COUNTER THE THREAT, WE HAVE DEVELOPED AN INTEGRATED, SYSTEMATIC APPROACH THAT ADDRESSES NOT ONLY OUR SUSTAINING BASE AND POWER PROJECTION PLATFORMS BUT ALSO OUR TACTICAL AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY. OUR FIRST STEP WAS TO WRITE A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT ASSIGNED RESPONSIBILITIES, IDENTIFIED TRAINING REQUIREMENTS, AND PROVIDED AN IMPLEMENTATION AND INVESTMENT STRATEGY. 

ONE OF THE INITIATIVES WITHIN THE PLAN IS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ARMY COMPUTER EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM (CERT). THIS EFFORT IS IN JOINT COORDINATION WITH THE OTHER MILITARY SERVICES AND WITH DEFENSE INFORMATION SECURITY AGENCY (DISA) TO IDENTIFY AND RESPOND TO ATTACKS TO INFORMATION SYSTEMS. WE ARE ALSO WORKING JOINTLY WITH DISA TO DEVELOP EXPORTABLE AND RESIDENT TRAINING COURSES FOR SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATORS AND NETWORK SECURITY MANAGERS. 

ADDITIONALLY, WE DEVELOPED A NETWORK SECURITY IMPROVEMENT PLAN THAT PROCURES AN INTEGRATED PACKAGE OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE CAPABILITIES TO PROTECT OUR INSTALLATION INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND PREVENT UNAUTHORIZED PENETRATIONS AND INTRUSIONS. 

WITHIN THE TACTICAL ENVIRONMENT, THE ARMY HAS A CLASSIFIED BACKBONE NETWORK, WHICH UTILIZES NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY (NSA) APPROVED BULK ENCRYPTION TECHNIQUES THEREBY GIVING US A HIGH LEVEL OF ASSURANCE THAT THE INFORMATION BEING TRANSMITTED IS SECURE. 

THE ACQUISITION OF CRITICAL CAPABILITIES SUCH AS; FIREWALLS, SECURE NETWORK SERVERS, CRYPTOGRAPHIC DEVICES AND OTHER SECURITY RELATED DEVICES, WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PRIORITY IN OUR ACQUISITION STRATEGY TO PROTECT OUR WARFIGHTING AND INSTALLATION SYSTEMS. 

I WOULD NOW LIKE TO TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO SHOW YOU A VIDEO OF SOME OF THE SYSTEMS WE ARE VALIDATING AT THE ADVANCED WARFIGHTING EXPERIMENT. 

MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE AND STAFF, I THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT HOW THE ARMY, IN CLOSE COORDINATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, IS AGGRESSIVELY ASSURING INFORMATION DOMINANCE FOR THE WARFIGHTERS.