As the Army transforms into a more data-centric force, it’s testing out how to support soldiers navigating data problems, drowning in battlefield information, and adapting to new systems.
The US Army Data Operations Center, a 180-day pilot program, is the service’s solution to data management, providing a hotline for soldiers across the Army to receive help with problems ranging from data on the Next Generation Command and Control system to troubleshooting new software or issues in the cloud. It’s the latest element of what Army leadership describes as a generational shift in how the service operates and fights.
ADOC went live last week, with a small team of civilian and soldier data specialists and engineers taking requests from different organizations. As of Tuesday, officials told reporters, the center had received seven requests.
The warfighting engagement cell, operating 24/7, receives questions, essentially tickets in a dashboard, and then analyzes the issues, works with data engineers to provide solutions, and sends them back to the user.
While the center is currently in test-mode, it could be the nexus of how the Army manages its data problems across the service. “I think ADOC will serve as the Army’s single authoritative organization for anything when it comes to data operations,” Lt. Gen. Jeth Rey, deputy chief of staff of the Army’s G-6, said. ADOC, Army leaders said, could be vital to helping the Army’s transition to fully maturing in the data space.
The center has so far received requests related to unit training. But ADOC is able to respond to tickets from soldiers in conflict or battlefield environments.
“We haven’t received anything yet to support those operations, but if there were to be a request, we would surge on that and prioritize that appropriately,” said Brig. Gen. Michael Kaloostian, director of Command and Control Future Capabilities Directorate at Army Transformation and Training Command.
One major aspect of the first 180 days of ADOC is tracking trends in the types of problems it receives, what types of information related to data could be implemented in training, and whether the center should be expanded.
Conversations are already underway about what role artificial intelligence can play in help requests and whether an AI agent could field a call and provide a solution before a specialist gets involved.
The center helps address what Army leaders have referred to as data silos in the service, separating different programs, weapons, and software. It was born out of the Army recognizing frustration over red tape that prevented full-picture understandings of information.
“We’re seeing these lieutenant colonels and these operational data teams that are banging their heads against the wall trying to figure out how to make these connections happen,” Kaloostian said.
“They need somebody to call,” he continued. “There isn’t a help desk for them to call. That’s why we say we’re the 9-1-1 for those operational data teams… We’re just there to augment and help. Let’s alleviate some of that burden.”
There is a surge in data from across the battlefield, and the Army believes accessing, analyzing, and understanding all of that data quickly will be essential in a potential future war.
But with more sensors, weapons, and systems, and therefore more data, comes the potential for data overload. ADOC, Army officials said, is an example of the service trying to help cut through the noise and move faster, with an ultimate goal being, as Lt. Gen. Chris Eubank, head of US Army Cyber Command, said, that the service is “creating soldiers that are data-smart more and more, and the heavy lifting is done inside of a central organization, if need be.”
The Army has undergone a seismic shift in how it thinks about battlefield data, specifically getting information to commanders and decision-makers and how weapons and technologies communicate and work together. It’s a transformation initiative perhaps best exemplified by NGC2, the Army’s future warfighting software, which is heavily data-driven.
“It used to be about firepower, but it isn’t really about that anymore,” Rey argued. “It’s really about who can get the data to make decisions faster, to dominate.”
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