War Exercise Adds a Digital Front

In the largest and most complex military exercise of its kind, thousands of U.S. troops, some armed with hand-held computer devices, are fighting mock battles across the country, attempting to mimic what a major military operation could look like in the near future.

Under the specter of a possible invasion of Iraq, about 13,500 soldiers and 70,000 more computer-generated enemy and U.S. troops are waging a simulated war, testing some of the most advanced technologies in development and providing a rare glimpse at the Pentagon’s efforts to push the lumbering military into the digital age.

“This is clearly the largest joint experiment we’ve ever conducted

For the first time, all of the military services--Army, Navy and Air Force, as well the Marines and Special Operations Forces--are being linked in real time to fight coordinated battles at multiple locations. The services typically like to train and plan operations on their own.

Moreover, in an unprecedented move, hundreds of officials with the State Department, the CIA and the FBI are taking part in the exercise, providing for the first time a coordinated effort to gather and share intelligence data with the Pentagon.

The training exercise, dubbed Millennium Challenge 2002, was planned months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but military action in Afghanistan and the possibility of another one in Iraq have heightened the importance of the operation.

All of the “live” mock battles using real troops, for instance, are set in the Southern California desert, which provides climate and terrain similar to Iraq.

Pentagon officials insisted that the three-week exercise--which ends Aug. 15 and is expected to cost $250 million--was not in preparation for any specific conflict, including Iraq. But they acknowledged that the results could provide commanders and strategists invaluable experience and insight into using information technology to overwhelm enemy forces.

The exercise reflects post-Cold War realities in which U.S. troops are expected to fight swift regional skirmishes against nontraditional foes such as rebel forces or terrorist groups, rather than set battles with well-defined enemies, defense analysts said.

The exercise includes Marines attacking a mock chemical weapons laboratory at the former George Air Force Base in Victorville. The exercise is also taking place at the Navy’s China Lake weapons station, the Marines’ Camp Pendleton and at various Western sea ranges from Point Mugu to San Clemente.

Teams of computer hackers at undisclosed locations have also been attempting to crack into U.S. defense computer networks, hoping to disrupt the exercise and simulate the kind of cyber warfare military analysts expect in future battles.

Pentagon officials said that in the end, the exercise will test new technologies and procedures that they hope will eventually allow generals to plan and initiate a major military operation within a week of a crisis erupting. It took three weeks to plan and implement Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Moreover, finding the right mix of technology and organizational changes will mean saving money, time and even lives, Pentagon officials said.

In a preview of what a future operation may look like, Lt. Gen. B.B. Bell coordinated the mock battles this week via laptops, first aboard a C-17 aircraft and then a Navy ship off the San Diego coast. The laptops were linked to other regional commanders at 26 different locations via a secret satellite-based Internet protocol network and provided a “common picture” of the military operation. It gave Bell, the commanding general, an unprecedented view of the battles while he was still moving from location to location.

The technology, which consists of about a dozen laptop computers, was first used by Central Command Chief Army Gen. Tommy Franks aboard a C-17 during Operation Enduring Freedom, but Pentagon planners hope to eventually field the system to regional commanders.

In the past, the command center would have used “stickies” and grease pencils to map out battles based on verbal communications over a radio system, which were often inaccurate and prone to miscommunication and failure.

Meanwhile, paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division dropping into a nighttime raid at Ft. Irwin last week were equipped with hand-held devices, dubbed “digital op pods,” that not only told them exactly where they were but relayed that information to the commanding general hundreds of miles away.

It marked the first time that infantry tested the technology, which Pentagon officials hope will improve the soldiers’ “situational awareness,” as well as helping battle commanders better coordinate operations. The devices, which resemble hand-held computers, have a global positioning system linked to a satellite.

For instance, during the air drop to seize a desert airfield, the 750 paratroopers were able to quickly move into their predetermined battle positions using the hand-held devices despite darkness and lack of any defined landmarks on the flat desert terrain.

At a “digital operations center,” a mobile trailer outfitted with large monitors, computers and communications equipment, the commanding officer was able to view the troops’ precise locations as well as the position of potential enemy troops and targets.

A video monitor also showed real-time, infrared images from an unmanned spy plane hovering above the battlefield. At the same time, the commanding general in San Diego was able to view the same images and information on his laptop.

“Commanders at all levels are going to have a much higher level of understanding of what’s taking place on the ground with their soldiers--where they’re located, where friendly units are, where the enemy is located--than we’ve ever had in the past,” said Brig. Gen. John M. Brown III, deputy commanding general for transformation.

Even though 80% of the exercise involves computer-generated troops and simulated battles, the exercise hasn’t been free of accidents typical of massive training operations. Last week, a vehicle rolled over, killing a soldier and injuring two others, all of them with the 82nd Airborne unit that had successfully seized the airfield a few days earlier.

In an unusual twist, the exercise is generating more attention elsewhere, particularly by governments that are seen as potential U.S. adversaries. In a radio report last week, North Korean officials decried the exercise, saying it “shows the recklessness of the U.S.” and that the exercise was “heating up aggression and war fever.”

Maj. Gen. John R. Vines, the commander for the 82nd Airborne Division who parachuted into a battle with his troops last week, said the new technologies tested in the exercise are helping his soldiers make quicker decisions but cautioned against relying on technology too heavily.

“Technology is an enabler, but not the solution,” he said as his troops dropped from the sky around him. “It still requires people with a will to confront the enemy. They’re the secret weapon of America.”