Marines' radio experiment may help
revolutionize communications in battle
Story and photos by Mark Oliva,
Okinawa bureau
A Marine takes cover
behind a wall during a mock urban battle, part of "Information Warrior." The
experiment involved testing of individual radios, allowing for one Marine to tell another
what's beyond the next wall without shouting or giving away their location. |
CAMP HANSEN — Experiments by Marines on Okinawa are promising to change the way
infantrymen communicate during battles.
Marine officials recently wrapped up monthlong experiments aimed at making it easier
for Marines to talk to one another while in the field.
Dubbed "Information Warrior," the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, based
out of Quantico, Va., tested two new radios so Marines can get a clearer picture of
what’s happening on the battlefield.
"What’s going on here is an experiment," said retired Marine Col. Randy
Gangle, of the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. "There will be good things that
will happen and there will be bad things that happen."
The concept for improved communications at the small unit level isn’t new for the
Marine Corps. Force reconnaissance teams, assigned with some of the more secretive
missions, employ encrypted radios for inter-team communication.
But their missions are highly specialized. Infantry units in the past bought their own
off-the-shelf technology to use in the field, but this is the first time the Marine Corps
is looking at taking the idea Corps-wide.
"If (the experiment) works, we’re going to get better decision-making
ability," Gangle said. "We’ll have better coordination overall, and that
translates to victories on the battlefield."
But the concept doesn’t stop there. Future experiments could include changing the
organization of the rifle squad to include Marines talking about what they see.
"We’re even looking at taking a rifleman and changing his duty to be an
information warrior, who does nothing but observe and report on the situation and pass the
information to adjacent units," Gangle said.
Being tested are two new radios. The first is off-the-shelf technology, according to
Gangle. It’s a Kenwood radio transmitter and receiver given to every infantry Marine.
It consists of a headset, wired to a radio that can easily fit inside a Marine’s
backpack or even inside a Camelbak, the hydration system Marines wear on their backs.
Marines run through their
mock attack plan on Combat Town on Okinawa. The Marines tested a new radio's performance
in a variety of environments including jungle, urban and semi-open terrain to see how
radios supplied to every Marine might paint a better picture of the battlefield to
individuals. |
The advantage of the intra-fire team radio is it gives every Marine, from the platoon
commander to the private, a way to communicate with each other. It eliminates the need for
hand-and-arm signals or shouting in urban environments.
The result: Marines can spread themselves beyond line-of-sight to communicate, reducing
the vulnerability to area weapons, such as grenades and mortars. By talking through radios
rather than shouting through walls in urban terrain, intra-team radios reduce confusion in
urban battlefields. Marines also regain the element of surprise when movements are
coordinated quietly over radios.
Early results show that the new gear does what it’s supposed to do. Marines are
getting a better idea of what’s occurring on their left and right, even when they
can’t see what’s happening.
"It helps to clarify what’s going on," said Marine Cpl. Adam Davison, a
fire team leader for 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines. "You get
a clearer picture in your mind."
Davison’s been part of the deciding factors officials at the Warfighting
Laboratory will rely on when they make the final recommendations as to whether the Marine
Corps should supply radios to every Marine infantryman.
"Using the radios, we’re able to move farther away," he said.
He said the practicality of the team radios became apparent during night patrols
through Okinawa’s jungles. Thick vegetation, rough terrain and the darkness of night
usually combine to force Marine patrols into file formations, one Marine following the
other.
It’s an economical use of force, allowing Marines to keep track of one another and
move quickly and quietly. But the danger of the file formation is Marines are grouped
together, making them an easy target for machine gunners or grenadiers.
Cpl. Adam Davison |
The new radios solved the tracking problems and Davison found his night patrols
spreading out and making better time through the jungle without having to stop for
accountability.
"Once you get comfortable with it, you really do rely on it," he said.
"It’s all about reassurances. At night, in the middle of the jungle, if I can
talk to another Marine, I’ll feel better about getting a little farther away."
And it’s easy to use, he added.
"All you have to do is turn the power on, find the frequency you want and go ahead
and talk," Davison said. "It’s just like you when you were a 6-year-old and
had walkie-talkies."
The drawbacks to the team radios start with the technology.
The radios transmit in the "clear," meaning they’re not encrypted and
their signals easily can be intercepted by radio scanners.
Still, most information passed over team radios is perishable, usually confined to
present actions of rapidly moving forces through a confined area.
For Davison, the drawbacks were much simpler. The radio’s wires kept getting in
the way.
"Sometimes they get caught in the (rifle) butt stock," he said. "In the
jungle, the wires kept getting caught in the vines and slowed us down a bit. Otherwise
it’s a good piece of equipment."
Davison’s Marines put the radios through the paces, including checking to see if
the radio was "Marine-proof," meaning it’s tough to break.
"Water was a problem," he said. "Every time it rained hard, we could
have a breakdown of one or more of the radios. That interferes with the mission. But, for
the most part it held out. We were rough on the gear. We were constantly dropping it,
kicking it, even taking them over cliffs with us."
Squad leaders, platoon sergeants and platoon commanders carried the second radio, the
AN/PRC-148, during the experiment. The radio is compact, about a foot long and four inches
wide.
It transmits by "channel hopping" over secured frequencies, making it
difficult for an enemy to pinpoint the location of the transmission or even keep up with
what’s being said.
A Marine peers around the
corner as he "fights" his way from room-to-room during an experiment to see
whether individual radios make urban fighting easier. |
And it utilizes the same frequencies as do tanks, light-armored vehicles and even
fighter jets and helicopters. Essentially, it eliminates a communications gap between the
Marine on the hill with a rifle and the rest of the battlefield.
"It’s pretty good," said Marine Lance Cpl. Miguel Diaz, a radio operator
with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines. "It’s a whole helluva lot lighter."
That’s because the AN/PRC-148 weighs just a couple of pounds, including the
battery, compared to the 18-pound radio Diaz usually carries. The weight savings came at
little cost to range. The AN/PRC-148 transmits about as far as older version of squad and
platoon radios.
But the new radios are more user-friendly. Frequency can be pre-set; switching is just
a matter of scrolling through options. Handsets connected by telephone-like wires are
replaced by headsets worn like a sweatband around the head, eliminating bulky gear that
never fit quite right when clipped to a helmet’s chinstrap.
And this radio, too, has proven more survivable.
"I used to have to waterproof the old radios," Diaz said. "This radio is
already waterproof."
So far, all around, the experiment seems to earning high marks from Marines.
"For the infantry, all the new gear that seems to be coming out is getting smaller
and lighter," Davison added. "That's making our job a little easier."
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