Maj. Gen. Alan Cowles - National Guard Bureau Director of Command, Control, Communications and Computers - holds a prototype phone designed for satellite-based communications as he is briefed about the system during his CWID 08 tour. The satellite based phone system or “infrastructure in the sky“ - a Marines Corps Warfighting Lab project - can help commanders track their troops on the ground. It brings connection times from 30 to 45 seconds down to just two.

‘‘The year long effort to bring emerging technology and warfighters together at CWID resulted in the successful demonstration of a Marine Corps Combat Operations Center, a Coast Guard Command and Control Center and the assessment of a myriad of emerging capabilities,” said NSWC Dahlgren Division Commander Capt. Sheila Patterson.

Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines judged the effectiveness of 31 interoperability trials (ITs) at Dahlgren while fighting simulated conflicts and responding simultaneously to local and national disasters.

‘‘This year we had 94 military members at Dahlgren testing technologies,” said Patterson. ‘‘The potential delivery of these products to our joint and coalition forces in theater depends on their assessments.”

While 409 visitors observed, U.S. warfighters collaborated with 19 foreign liaison officers from seven different nations in nine Dahlgren operational centers in the use of emerging technologies.

“CWID 08 was very challenging this year due to the size, complexity, and multiple events going on concurrently,” added CWID Dahlgren Manager Dennis Warne. ‘‘We were able to successfully handle each challenge as it arose.”

Lt. Gen. John Wood, United States Joint Forces Deputy Commander, Sharie Bourbeau, NAVSEA Executive Director, and four foreign Flag officers were among 22 Flag Officers and Senior Executive Service (SES) members briefed by warfighters about CWID ITs at the nation’s largest CWID site in Dahlgren, Va.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's annual event enables the Combatant Commanders and international community to investigate command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance solutions that focus on prioritized objectives for enhancing coalition interoperability.

The demonstration took place out of four main U.S. network locations and with more than 20 coalition partners around the world. DoD, government, first response agencies and multinational counterparts all sponsored trials into CWID, based upon defined mission oriented objectives.

‘‘Once again, CWID allowed us to investigate trials and solutions in a laboratory environment where we can correct as we go,” said U.S. Marine Corps CWID Lead Col. Howard Thomas. ‘‘The intent of CWID is to identify not only potential interoperability solutions, but to also identify shortfalls and issues that may not have been discovered previously. We also work to develop the tactics, techniques and procedures of working together in a Coalition environment that our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines may encounter while deployed as exchange personnel.”

Ten demonstrations, including The U.S. Coast Guard mobile command and control van were also observed at Dahlgren. The prototype vehicle features three-frequency availability and can support up to 50 people in cases of natural disasters or emergency situations. The command and control van will be used, according to Coast Guard officials, at the upcoming Republican National Convention this year.

The U.S. Marine Corps demonstrated its regimental size Combat Operations Center command tent that could handle both data and voice over three frequency spectrums for 16 workstations and an iridium satellite phone ideal for battlefield situations where a small unit command could have almost instantaneous worldwide communications.

In all, 41 ITs were tested during CWID 2008 over a global network using three enclaves on the Combined Federated Battle Laboratories Network comprised of two Coalition Task Force classified enclaves as well as an unclassified network specifically for U.S. Northern Command.

The trials answer one or more of CWID’s published objectives: cross-domain data sharing; integrated intelligence; integrated operations; integrated logistics; integrated planning; and integrated communications.

‘‘The scenarios fit our need,” said Thomas, the CWID Marine Corps lead. ‘‘Unlike a regular exercise where forces are gathered and vendors support the scenario, CWID provides a scenario in order to test and evaluate the vendors’ technologies. The warfighters provide an assessment of those technologies to include how well the ITs performed, ease of use, compatibility and interoperability among existing systems and other test technologies.”

CWID brought hundreds of technology representatives together with military and government experts from around the world.

The process begins with a Federal Business Opportunity (FBO) publication every April (www.fedbizopps.gov) and ends 14 months later at the conclusion of the operational-scenario-driven demonstration every June. CWID is not an acquisition authority. However, it provides focus on promising solutions to specific warfighter and responder requirements through a Final Report to DoD, government agencies and first responders published by October every year. This report will be made available on the CWID Web Page (www.cwid.js.mil).

CWID 2009 is already underway with the Federal Business Opportunity now available for emerging technologies (FedBizOps link available on CWID web page).

Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) will take over from European Command (EUCOM) as the host Combatant Command for CWID 2009-2010.

NSWC Dahlgren intends to be the US Army and US Marine Corps Primary Site along with National Guard Bureau, US Coast Guard, and a US Navy Expeditionary Support Group⁄Strike Operations in 2009.