JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Washington — Soldiers here are testing new gear to achieve the Army’s top priority in communications to reduce its command post battlefield footprint while improving mobility and agility.

Under development in two increments, termed Increment 0 and Increment 1, Soldiers of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Ghost,” 2nd Infantry Division, are testing Inc. 0 of the Command Post Integrated Infrastructure (CPI2).

Maj. Joseph Brown, brigade fire support officer, and lead planner for the exercise and test, said, “CPI2 is intended to provide the Army a more survivable mission command platform.”

Brown said it is important for combat units like his to be able to tear down, move, and stand up their capabilities rapidly.

“If it functions the way it is intended,” he said, “brigades will consume less time in transitions and the improved survivability makes our C2 structure more resilient to enemy attack.”

“Soldiers are exercising the CPI2 by conducting real-world missions in an operational environment,” said Mr. Beresford Doherty, test officer with the U.S. Army Operational Test Command, based at West Fort Cavazos, Texas.

“Nine production representative vehicles are being tested under simulated combat operations,” he added.

According to its website, Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communication Tactical (PEO C3T) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, CPI2 is currently executing multiple phases of prototyping, integration, and experimentation.

Doherty said CPI2 will replace the dated Command Post Tent System (SICUP) with a family of more mobile systems.

“One of the most important elements of the test is Army Soldier feedback of how the CPI2 performs in support of their mission,” Doherty said.

“Soldier feedback and lessons learned during Inc. 0 will inform Inc. 1, which expands upon product lines with an additional mix of military vehicle platforms, including armored vehicles, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles and Medium Tactical Vehicles,” he added.

Sgt. 1st Class Austin Bradford, brigade help desk NCOIC said, “So far it’s been pretty good, we’ve run into some issues, but I think as we work things out it’s going to get better and faster.”

Platoon Leader 2nd Lt.  Cassie Daly, working out of the brigade’s tactical action center, seemed excited about the overall set up of the “expando” vehicles and quick connection capabilities.

“It’s been cool to see the attachments to the S3, or our attachments to the BDE S6 and other S shops that are fielding these new expandos,” she said.

“The coolest part is that they can connect the services we provide through wireless, verses through fiber, across the battlefield. And just the whole set up of the expando is like a mini conference room.”

According to Mr. Robert Potter, chief of Mission Command at the U.S. Army Evaluation Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, data points collected during the test will be used to assess operational effectiveness, suitability, and survivability of CPI2, as well as any effects across the Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership, Personnel and Facility domains.

Story by Jacqueline Howard, Test Officer, Mission Command Test Directorate, U.S. Army Operational Test Command

Photos by Tad Browning, Lead Audiovisual Production Specialist, U.S. Army Operational Test Command

BRISBANE, Australia — Technology by definition is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry.

With a force of more than 1.4 million service members, not including Reserve and National Guard component service members, Dr. Nathan Fisher says the U.S. Department of Defense is always looking years ahead for the advantage in the continually evolving, multi-trillion-dollar industry.

While significant amounts of U.S. military spending is allocated towards weapons platforms, a relatively small portion goes into the wellbeing of its most critical assets — U.S. Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and Guardians, according to Fisher, a senior scientist with the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense.

Currently, Fisher said that funding is being used to test new technology that could help DoD prevent heat-injuries among its service members, among other things. He said more than 12,000 U.S. service members experience heat injuries annually.

Fisher said various research and development organizations within the DOD are participating in a one year Wearables Pilot Program to gain insight on how to implement wearable bio-physiological monitoring devices into the military from a practical and architectural vantage point.

The wearables come in various forms, which in some cases are familiar as a smartwatch.

One of its latest devices made the thousands of miles journey from the U.S. to Australia to be tested on service members training as a part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023.

“What we have here is the Health Readiness and Performance System, which is one of the devices that we’re evaluating as part of the wearables experiment (at) Talisman Sabre,” Fisher said.

The piece of technology connects to a data strip on the skin over the heart, which is nearly the size of a standard bandage you’d have in a medicine cabinet.

Although it takes up a small amount of space on a service member who otherwise carries upwards of 60 pounds of gear, its capacity to save lives is enormous.

“This particular device can do a number of things, but one of many is to identify early signs of heat stress and heat illness,” said Fisher, the native of Arlington, Virginia, who is also the rank of major in the U.S. Army Reserve.

The device connects to a cell phone through a receiver via secure communications technology.

“It measures heart rate, heart rate variation, respiratory rate, pulse oxygen level activity, and a few other physiological metrics that all come together in order to enable a predictive algorithm to analyze the data from that service member and then alarm that individual, or squad leader, or medic to take a look at that person,” Fisher continued.

A squad leader in the immediate area, or a medic receiving the information via a server, can receive the data to make an informed potential life-saving decision.

According to Fisher, the device ideally takes two days to establish a baseline reading of an individual’s data.

He said information derived from a collection of individuals’ data can also lead to preventive medicine measures amongst a formation including the spread of communicable diseases and viruses.

Wearables have commanded the attention of senior leaders supporting Talisman Sabre.

“I don’t get too excited about technology but this device is lifesaving,” said U.S. Army Col. Kevin Bass, the deputy commanding officer of 18th Medical Command, which is part of the Australian Defence Force and U.S. Combined Joint Theater Medical Component in supporting Talisman Sabre.

Dr. Nathan Fisher, a senior scientist, sits with U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Hughes, the public affairs chief for U.S. Army Pacific’s 18th Medical Command, and the Australian Defence Force and U.S. Combined Joint Theater Medical Component to discuss “Wearable Pilot Program” technology being tested in the field during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023. The Combined Joint Theater Medical Component coordinates and synchronizes health service and support across the Australian continent, which is nearly the size of the mainland of the U.S. Talisman Sabre is the largest bilateral military exercise between Australia and the United States advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific by strengthening relationships and interoperability among key allies and enhancing our collective capabilities to respond to a wide array of potential security concerns. (U.S. Army video by Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Hughes/Released)

While reflecting on his service with the “Screaming Eagles” of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), he noted how a small percentage of paratroopers were expected to receive varying degrees of injuries on a given jump.

“Imagine if the medical guy sitting at the lead edge of the drop zone had an app,” Bass said. “You can sit there and scroll through it, and maybe in a future version of this, you can automatically race to the ones with an alert status.”

Currently, more than 500 service members across the Australian continent are testing the wearable technology.

The Combined Joint Theater Medical Component coordinates and synchronizes health service and support across the Australian continent, which is nearly the size of the mainland of the U.S.

Talisman Sabre is the largest bilateral military exercise between Australia and the United States advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific by strengthening relationships and interoperability among key allies and enhancing our collective capabilities to respond to a wide array of potential security concerns.

By SFC Timothy Hughes