By Sgt. Joshua L. Derry, Mission Command Test Directorate, U.S. Army Operational Test Command
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii – Soldiers on the Hawaiian isles are testing an updated software package to allow commanders better communications on the modern battlefield.
25th Infantry Division Soldiers are helping with Army Mission Command technology as they put the Command Post Computing Environment (CPCE) through its paces and give their feedback on what works right.
“With the advent of mission command technology circa the introduction of the command post computing environment (CPCE), it is of my opinion that CPCE or a CPCE-like capability will continue to be designed with an open architecture framework,” said Col. Delton Nix, MCTD (Mission Command Test Directorate) Director, underscoring the strategic implications of CPCE’s evolution.
The newest version of the CPCE package came during the 25ID’s Command Post Exercise (CPX1) during Exercise Freedom Shield 24 (FS24), an exercise in the Korean Theater of Operations, which aims to provide improvements to the currently fielded mission command software and integrate more capable Tactical Server Infrastructure (TSI).
Nix explained that to speed up software development, integration and interoperability, the test is showing how to better support vendor integration with disparate software developers supporting Army Mission Command Applications.
“The new Command Post Computing Environment version 1.0.6.1 met expectations for the 25ID Division staff as we were able to successfully plan, prepare, execute, and assess,” said Maj. Kelly Tseng, 25ID senior data systems engineer, detailing the system’s impact on operations.
Following training, Soldiers from 25ID used CPCE over the course of an 11-day record test.
One MCTD test officer said Soldiers’ feedback from field exercises such as CPX1/FS24 is central to continuous improvement.
“The feedback from 25ID is crucial for the acquisition community, as it identifies the positives and negatives of the system,” said Mr. Scott Uini.
“This directly helps to inform future capability development.”
OTC’s methodology for evaluating CPCE’s effectiveness and suitability involves comprehensive data collection and analysis under operational conditions.
“The aim is to inform whether CPCE performs effectively in accordance with it’s designed operational use case requirements and critical operational issues criteria,” said Nix.
He explained how CPCE technology is a developmental stride in command post technology, which is informed by direct Soldier feedback and realistic training while testing.
“Additionally, the operational event also helps to inform if CPCE is suitable and survivable for the real-world environment that it is expected to operate in, according to its designed concept of employment.
“OTC remains true to its ultimate customer – The American Soldier!”
