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U.S. Military's Communications Advantage

Aired January 02, 2004 - 15:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Precision-guided missiles, smart bombs, drones, they are all part of a new way of fighting a war.
And, as CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh tells us from Tikrit, U.S. troops in Iraq have the latest in communications gear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major Lawrence Wilson (ph) is e-mailing orders to troops as they travel in a convoy in central Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, just keep your eyes on the road. I'm typing something, OK?

VAN MARSH: While palm pilots, wireless Internet service and text-messaging are commonplace in many industrialized nations, Iraq is not one of them. So the 4th Infantry Division here considers having a secure instantaneous digital network for tracking troop movements and e-mailing battle plans as a technological wonder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you can also send log reports for -- a log status for like equipment you needed or personnel, if you're short.

VAN MARSH: The Army calls the 4th I.D. the digital division, because it was the first Army unit to go high tech to silently communicate in combat.

MIKE IACOBACCI, FIELD SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE: This is a normal computer that you would find in your house. What they have done is, they have made it ruggedized, or made it so they can put it in a Humvee or a Bradley or a tank.

VAN MARSH (on camera): While this digital technology allows division troops in these Humvees to communicate with each other, it's also designed to link up with a mini war room of sorts called the tactical operations sector.

(voice-over): Digital technician Steve Jones says the system displays troop vehicles as blue symbols on war room computer screens, like on this simulated map.

STEVE JONES, DIGITAL SUPPORT ENGINEER: Instead of having a map that has to be updated every few hours, it's a real-time map that is continuously updated as the vehicles move. You can -- that way, the commanders can adjust the way they're fighting their battle. VAN MARSH: But the Army digital battlefield can't replace the human factor.

COL. JAMES HICKEY, U.S. ARMY: But at the core of it is a soldier that imagines what must be done, thinks through how to get it done, and then gets it done. The technology is simply an enabler.

VAN MARSH: An enabler that may help save soldiers' lives.

Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, Tikrit, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired January 2, 2004 - 15:07   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Precision-guided missiles, smart bombs, drones, they are all part of a new way of fighting a war.
And, as CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh tells us from Tikrit, U.S. troops in Iraq have the latest in communications gear.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major Lawrence Wilson (ph) is e-mailing orders to troops as they travel in a convoy in central Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, just keep your eyes on the road. I'm typing something, OK?

VAN MARSH: While palm pilots, wireless Internet service and text-messaging are commonplace in many industrialized nations, Iraq is not one of them. So the 4th Infantry Division here considers having a secure instantaneous digital network for tracking troop movements and e-mailing battle plans as a technological wonder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you can also send log reports for -- a log status for like equipment you needed or personnel, if you're short.

VAN MARSH: The Army calls the 4th I.D. the digital division, because it was the first Army unit to go high tech to silently communicate in combat.

MIKE IACOBACCI, FIELD SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE: This is a normal computer that you would find in your house. What they have done is, they have made it ruggedized, or made it so they can put it in a Humvee or a Bradley or a tank.

VAN MARSH (on camera): While this digital technology allows division troops in these Humvees to communicate with each other, it's also designed to link up with a mini war room of sorts called the tactical operations sector.

(voice-over): Digital technician Steve Jones says the system displays troop vehicles as blue symbols on war room computer screens, like on this simulated map.

STEVE JONES, DIGITAL SUPPORT ENGINEER: Instead of having a map that has to be updated every few hours, it's a real-time map that is continuously updated as the vehicles move. You can -- that way, the commanders can adjust the way they're fighting their battle. VAN MARSH: But the Army digital battlefield can't replace the human factor.

COL. JAMES HICKEY, U.S. ARMY: But at the core of it is a soldier that imagines what must be done, thinks through how to get it done, and then gets it done. The technology is simply an enabler.

VAN MARSH: An enabler that may help save soldiers' lives.

Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, Tikrit, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com