Soldiers field-test command post

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Andre Bowser
  • 439th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. --  With millions of dollars worth of tents and state-of-the-art electronics, who said camping out can't be high-tech?

The hulking, sand-colored cluster of tents across from the Armed Forces Reserve Center on Eagle Drive was part of an Army exercise conducted by the 302nd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade throughout February, and it's all about futuristic warfare.

"We're field-testing a new Army battle command system called the Command Post of the Future," said Sgt. Maj. William Powers, exercise coordinator. "We have the tents up right now, and next will come all the electronics and personnel."

Sgt. Maj. Powers said the exercise includes constructing the tents, which are a network of environmentally-controlled spaces comprised of medium-sized tents connected to a massive central enclosure; next comes testing the unit's ability to equip the command post with electronics ranging from computers to projectors and telecommunications devices; finally, soldiers will conduct a command-post exercise.

Westover, a key joint-service base, hosts 29 tenant units -- including the 302nd. The February exercise ends before March, after a visit and inspection by the unit's commander, Brig. Gen. James Williams.

Sgt. Maj. Powers said the tents and trailers cost approximately $2 million, and the cost of the electronics easily eclipses that amount.

Spc. Aquille Pierre, a mechanic, said the large generators and tents are part of what's called a Trailer Mounted Support System, which allows his unit to erect a large command post anywhere in the world in a matter of hours, if need be.

For now, the brown tents looked out of place on the snowblanketed field. "We're shoveling outside to clear a path for the troops to come," Spc. Pierre said.