I'm into my second week of "Pre-Deployment Training". The first week at the Counter IED Operations Integration Center (COIC) was interesting. It's very obvious that commanders in the field and their reachback support teams are drinking through about 15 fire hoses of intelligence data. Prior to 9/11 the problem was that all agencies were collecting the data in stovepipes and not sharing it with anyone. Now, data is pumped to those who need it but it's not integrated into anything useful until a request for services is issued. Literally 100s of reachback support personnel are involved in producing answers using some pretty innovative tools. ArcGIS and Google Earth are key applications.
It looks as though my job will be to field requests for specifics to support operations. Some of the questions I'll be able to answer directly with access to the fire hoses and the same tools used by the reachback support teams. I will be getting involved in the planning process and be proactive with providing support as I see opportunities. This happens when perhaps commanders are not aware that specific types of data exist and can be integrated into actionable information to aid in the planning phase of operations.
This week is not fun. I'm at Ft. Benning, GA going through the Army's CONUS Replacement Center (CRC). CRC prepares ALL support personnel deploying to CENTCOM to include Active Duty, and DoD and Contractor Civilians. Going through final medical evaluations, filling out reams of paper with repetitive information, getting issued protective data, and receiving dozens of orientation briefs. All in 90 degree/90 percent humidity weather.
Next week I'm in Arlington, VA for more orientation and training with reach back folks. I'm scheduled to fly downrange around the 16th. I'll try to keep everyone updated!
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