How ArcGIS for the Military

Supports Land Operations

An Esri® White Paper

March 2013
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J10176

How ArcGIS for the Military

Supports Land Operations
An Esri White Paper

Contents Page

A Complete Geospatial Platform .......................................................... 1

The Warfighter's Toolbox ..................................................................... 2

Servers, Basemaps, and Templates ................................................. 2

The System Architecture....................................................................... 3

Common Information Model .......................................................... 4
ArcGIS for Desktop ........................................................................ 4
Server Technologies........................................................................ 4
Web Technologies .......................................................................... 5
Mobile Technologies ...................................................................... 5

Open Standards ..................................................................................... 6

Leveraging Existing Enterprise License Agreements ........................... 7

Additional Resources ............................................................................ 7

Appendixes

Appendix A—Esri Professional Services ............................................. 8

System or Application Review ....................................................... 8
ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations Implementation ......... 8
Application and Map Template Development ................................ 9
Information Modeling ..................................................................... 9

Appendix B—Esri Training .................................................................. 10

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Contents Page

Appendix C—Example Scenario .......................................................... 12

ArcGIS Helps Hornets Home In on Weapons Cache ..................... 12
Prepare and Rehearse at the Home Station ............................... 12
The Transfer of Knowledge ...................................................... 12
Reviewing the Operations Order .............................................. 13
Gathering Intelligence ............................................................... 13
Analyzing Past and Present Situations...................................... 14
Planning the Mission................................................................. 14
Searching for the Weapons Caches........................................... 14
Creating an After Action Brief for the Commander ................. 16

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How ArcGIS for the Military

Supports Land Operations
A Complete Geography is at the heart of every defense mission. Geospatial technology
Geospatial Platform helps warfighters answer the where, what, when, who, and why questions,
generating information that will help them make well-informed decisions.
They collect intelligence, conduct intelligence analyses, plan missions,
and monitor operations using mapping products and applications.

ArcGIS® for the Military—Land Operations is Esri® technology configured to provide a

complete and interoperable platform to manage, visualize, analyze, and share geospatial
information for land-based missions.

Servers, portals, ready-to-use basemaps, operational map templates, and application

templates form the geospatial platform. ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations puts
the latest geospatial knowledge into the hands of everyone from the commanders at
headquarters to the troops in the field.

ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations provides a configuration for server and portal
technology warfighters can use to manage, analyze, and share geospatial information,
including imagery and positional information. Basemaps serve as background reference
information they can use to create custom maps, saving them time. Operational map and
application templates will give them the tools and information to quickly build,
configure, and deploy their own web-based and mobile applications.

In today's defense operational environment, geospatial intelligence is often managed and

distributed using isolated stovepipe applications. Deployed ground forces lack an
enterprise-level solution to share and manage geospatial data, analytics, and products.
ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations, coupled with a central information model
(the geodatabase), eliminates the need to use stovepipe systems.

The ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations configuration is able to operate with
other systems because of adherence to open standards such as the Open Geospatial
Consortium, Inc. (OGC), making it easier to exchange geospatial information. Why is
that critical? It increases the flow of geospatial data back and forth between the field and
headquarters. This information is vital for intelligence analysis; situational awareness;
and, ultimately, decision making.

Stovepipe systems slow many processes including managing data, creating and sharing
maps and mapping applications, and conducting analyses. If different types of
noninteroperable systems are used within the same organization or a group of agencies
that work together, it's more difficult or impossible to share these maps and mapping
applications and analyses with colleagues. Working with multiple and/or disparate data
models forms a bottleneck, again making data management and analysis hard to do.
Training on stovepipe systems does not serve organizations well, either, as personnel

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with expertise in one system will likely have difficulty transferring their knowledge to
another system. This often happens when they deploy to a new unit.

ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations provides a simple, streamlined platform for
creating and sharing geospatial information, including maps, applications, analyses, and
situational awareness.

The Warfighter's
Toolbox

Servers, Basemaps, The ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations configuration offers a toolbox of
and Templates technology and resources to set up a geospatial system for land forces that includes
elements for situational awareness and command and control (C2). Components include
the following:

■ Servers and portals to store, manage, and share internal collections of imagery,
maps, and data such as the following:

● Defense and national mapping agency basemaps in a variety of formats and

services

● Satellite, aerial, and unmanned aerial system (UAS) imagery in multiple formats

● Elevation data such as digital terrain elevation data (DTED) and models derived
from lidar

● Streaming information for blue force tracking (BFT) and ground moving target
indicator (GMTI) platforms

■ Ready-to-use basemaps to quickly visualize areas of operation. Basemaps provide

authoritative and consistent geographic context for analysis, planning, and situational
awareness. They are the reference content that serves as the foundation for creating
custom map products on which an organization adds operational layers. The
basemaps can be printed, shared via the secure web, or loaded in a mobile
SM
application. Esri basemaps are available on ArcGIS Online at arcgis.com. Esri
basemaps include the following:

● The topographic basemaps, such as boundaries, cities, water features,

physiographic features, parks, landmarks, transportation, and buildings

● The Light Gray Canvas basemap, which draws attention to your thematic
content by providing a neutral background map with minimal colors, labels, and
features

Note: ArcGIS Online is available via the web. Organizations can purchase a similar
capability that works behind an intranet firewall.

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■ Operational map templates to capture common workflows and create customized

maps and map overlays. The maps may include specific feature types, analytical
tools, and layouts needed for particular products. Operational map templates are
available in the gallery on the ArcGIS Resources Defense and Intelligence
Communities web page at resources.arcgis.com/defense. The templates make it easy
to reuse or standardize a series of maps and include the following:

● Military Aspects of Terrain (MAoT) to describe the terrain of the battlefield

environment

● Lodgment to create a lodgment or place of accommodation plan for a unit the

size of an infantry company

● Range Cards to simplify the process of creating range cards or diagrams for a
weapons/fighting position

■ Application templates to simplify the development of web-based and mobile

solutions using Esri technology. Application templates also are available in the
gallery on the ArcGIS Resources Defense and Intelligence Communities web page.
These solutions can then be embedded in mounted and dismounted (mobile) devices
running on Linux, Android, iOS, and Windows Mobile and include the following:

● Squad Leader for Android devices, designed to enhance situational awareness

for platoon and squad-sized units during operations

● Vehicle Commander to demonstrate best practices for building in-vehicle

military applications with ArcGIS

● Operations Dashboard for use in an operations room to view troop movements

and provide other aspects of situational awareness

The System The system architecture for ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations includes ArcGIS
Architecture technology and a suite of tools configured for military land operations. It also includes a
common information model, designed to work well with ArcGIS, called the geodatabase.
The architecture's main components include ArcGIS for Desktop, ArcGIS for Server,
Portal for ArcGIS, ArcGIS Runtime, and several application programming interfaces
(APIs). Developers use the APIs to tailor the system and/or build applications.

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Operations and Intelligence Convergence Using a Geospatial Enterprise

Common The geodatabase is the common information model for ArcGIS, meaning it's the central
Information Model data repository for storing and managing spatial data. All ArcGIS technology leverages
the geodatabase, which contains the schema for various geospatial datasets such as road
networks, elevation data, and satellite imagery. The schema defines the geospatial
objects, rules, and relationships for adding behavioral characteristics such as one- or two-
way roads. It also ensures integrity to protect against making unintended changes or
introducing errors to the datasets.

ArcGIS for Desktop Compiling, managing, analyzing, and sharing geospatial information begins with ArcGIS
for Desktop. The software's users can deploy maps, geographic knowledge, and
geospatial intelligence throughout an organization and onto the secure network.

Esri also offers operational map templates to use with ArcGIS for Desktop. These
templates simplify the process of creating military planning workflows. For example, a
helicopter landing zone (HLZ) for an upcoming operation can quickly be mapped using
the HLZ template.

Experienced users can develop operational map templates to capture their workflows and
best practices, without programming. They can share the templates through Portal for
ArcGIS and ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations Server.

Server Technologies ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations Server acts as the central component of the
geospatial system built with ArcGIS technology. It can be configured using one or more
Esri server technologies, which include ArcGIS for Server, Portal for ArcGIS and Data
Appliance for ArcGIS. These technologies can deliver geospatial services such as the
OGC Web Feature Service (WFS). They also provide scalability, power web and mobile
applications, and serve data in a variety of formats, such as JPEG 2000, to use in
applications, such as FalconView.

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ArcGIS for Server delivers and manages geospatial information, maps, imagery, and
data services across the enterprise and the web.

ArcGIS GeoEvent Processor for Server makes it simple for users to configure and use
streaming data. This includes receiving streams such as from UASs, performing
continuous analysis (stream processing), and producing new streams from analyzed data.

Portal for ArcGIS provides the same collaboration and sharing tools as Esri's public,
subscription-based ArcGIS Online but differs in where it is hosted and what content users
can access. Portal for ArcGIS can be deployed behind an organization's firewall. Esri also
can host and manage a private instance for the organization.

Data Appliance for ArcGIS is a turnkey solution that provides terabytes of worldwide
imagery; basemaps; and geospatial layers, such as roads, preloaded onto a network-
attached storage device that plugs right into an organization's internal network.

Web Technologies People use web-based mapping to work with maps when connected to the secure
network. These maps can be tailored for specific user communities and customized to
provide a focused set of information for a particular mission. They combine ready-to-use
basemaps with layers of static data, such as roads, and dynamic data, such as full-motion
video (FMV), to provide up-to-date knowledge about what's happening in an area of
operations.

Story maps that document and map events or activities can be built using JavaScript and
Flex components. An alternative is to download one of Esri's ready-to-use templates from
ArcGIS Online, which can be customized if necessary.

ArcGIS Explorer Desktop or ArcGIS Online can be used to find and visualize geospatial
information and produce map-based presentations for briefings. ArcGIS Explorer users
can play the briefs back in a planned order or explore the content using the map interface.

ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations Server also deploys web applications. To
assist users in creating these applications, Esri provides sample application templates on
the ArcGIS Resources site. For example, the Vehicle Commander application template
can be used to develop an in-vehicle application that provides near real-time situational
awareness.

The Operations Dashboard application template lets users create a configurable web
viewer that is used in an operations room to view situational awareness information and
collaborate with other service members using chat text.

Mobile Technologies Developers can use ArcGIS Runtime tools to create mobile applications customized to do
what the users require, such as gather information in the field in a connected or a
disconnected environment.

Mobile clients include smartphones, tablets, and other handheld devices.

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For example, Esri offers a Squad Leader application template for the Android platform
that developers can quickly deploy on smartphones and tablets. This application provides
situational awareness for platoons and squads. The user can also provide situational
reports and denote areas to avoid or mark as clear using electronic ChemLights.

Open Standards Military applications handle an increasing variety, volume, and velocity of data. This can
burden the system, creating interoperability and performance problems. The consistent
use of standards makes it easier for systems that were developed by different vendors to
be interoperable.

Standards help solve many interoperability problems through the use of common data
formats, application interfaces, and information schemas. ArcGIS for the Military—Land
Operations supports many standards including the following:

■ OGC Web Map Service (WMS) and WFS, Geography Markup Language (GML),
and Keyhole Markup Language (KML)

■ National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) standards such as Compressed ARC

Digitized Raster Graphic (CADRG), DTED, and National Imagery Transmission
Format (NITF)

■ North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) geospatial data specifications such as

Digital Geographic Information Exchange Standard (DIGEST)

■ Department of Defense (DoD) messaging standards such as Variable Message

Format (VMF) and Cursor on Target (CoT)

■ Military symbology standards such as MIL-STD-2525C and APP-6B

■ World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards including XML, HTTP, SOAP, and
HTML

ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations Server supplies data in a variety of formats
and standards including open standards such as WMS, WFS, KML, and the Open
GeoServices REST interfaces. Simple web clients built on JavaScript; desktop clients,
such as ArcGIS and FalconView; or 3D viewers, such as ArcGIS Explorer, Google Earth,
or National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) World Wind, can either use
the files directly or connect to web services. ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations
Server also can consume and then serve maps built from data provided by non-Esri WMS
map services such as KML.

ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations can consume and export data using open
standards. Additional tools are also available to import nonstandard/unsupported data
types using tools such as the ArcGIS Data Interoperability extension. Using the ArcGIS
Data Interoperability extension provides direct data access; data translation tools; and the
ability to build complex spatial extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) processes
to import hundreds of data formats.

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Leveraging Existing ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations is ArcGIS. ArcGIS is available through
Enterprise License numerous enterprise license agreements (ELAs) that exist within many national
Agreements governments and agencies such as NGA's Commercial Joint Mapping Toolkit (CJMTK)
Program and the NATO Core Geographic Services.

Additional Visit resources.arcgis.com/defense to learn more about ArcGIS for the Military—Land
Resources Operations.

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Appendix A—Esri Professional

Services
ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations components are ready to use
off the shelf. However, Esri has also created a set of implementation
packages to help developers in programs, offices, and agencies integrate
the components into existing architectures and systems. The packages
cover a range of functions that may include conducting site surveys,
reviewing system configurations, and making suggestions on how to
optimize the geospatial architecture. The services can be purchased as a
complete package or tailored according to a user's unique needs and
requirements.

System or Esri subject matter experts (SMEs) will review an organization's system or application.
Application Review SMEs will create a document with estimates that will include a rough order of magnitude
of the time and materials it will take to integrate the system or application into the
customer's existing environment. Esri SMEs will do the following:

■ Meet with the customers and end users to determine the workflows and user interface
requirements. The SME(s) will do this at the customer's facility or a designated site.

■ Review the system architecture, geospatial requirements, and hardware and software
requirements. Part of this review is to physically examine the hardware. The SME
will write a report that will thoroughly cover the requirements.

■ Present the findings to the customer.

The offerings help set the initial stage for a review of the program to ensure its success.
The review takes approximately one workweek to perform, with the results to follow in a
timely manner.

ArcGIS for the Esri SMEs will travel to the developer's or end customer's site to install and configure
Military—Land ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations. This includes the following:
Operations
Implementation ■ Installing and configuring associated Esri components

■ Configuring web services, such as ArcGIS for Server web services, and/or external
connections to non-Esri web services

■ Optimizing the speed and/or efficiency of existing map services and/or migrating
them to ArcGIS for Server

The system can be implemented in one workweek.

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Application and Esri personnel will identify existing applications and templates in the organization's
Map Template system that can be used in the new system's geospatial architecture. The package to do
Development this includes the following:

■ Traveling to and from the customer site

■ Examining the findings from the system or application review

■ Developing applications and templates to match end-user requirements

■ Installing, configuring, and testing the applications and templates that were
developed and/or reused

This covers two workweeks.

Information This package includes the work necessary to modify existing information data models.
Modeling This work may reuse or modify models to comply with existing geospatial data model
standards. This is necessary to support the analytics, workflows, and geospatial
production requirements of the program or office. This includes a review of the program's
data, existing data storage and dissemination infrastructure, and interoperability
requirements. Esri SMEs will modify and/or enhance existing information models to
allow the most efficient data storage and access capabilities available. This takes one
workweek.

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Appendix B—Esri Training

Esri offers a variety of training to match most budgets, including
instructor-led and self-paced web courses, training seminars, and free
online training.

US government customers can also use the Esri Training Pass. Organizations can
purchase a specific number of training days. Personnel can then access the courses or
seminars when they need them. The pass is available through Esri's GSA schedule.

Instructor-Led Training
Instructor-Led Course ■ Courses are held in a traditional classroom setting,
where discussions, group activities, and hands-on
exercises emphasize peer-to-peer learning and real-
world GIS problem-solving skills.

■ Esri can host a private class for an organization at one

of our training facilities or teach a class at the client's
facility. Contact [email protected] or call
800-447-9778, extension 1-5757, about setting up a
class.
Instructor-Led Online ■ These courses provide all the benefits of traditional
Course classroom learning presented in a real-time interactive
online classroom.

■ Students can communicate with the instructor and other

students via the telephone and typed messages.
Instructor-Led Course ■ These courses are designed and taught by Esri
Offered by Professional Services staff members, who have
Professional Services expertise in real-world projects.

■ The courses cover specific industry solutions or

products.

■ The format varies from course to course.

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Self-Paced Training
Virtual Campus Web ■ The web courses include conceptual material and
Courses presentations, hands-on software exercises, and an
exam.

■ The courses with a recorded presentation require a

broadband connection.

■ Participants must have access to the appropriate ArcGIS

software to complete the course exercises.
Virtual Campus ■ The free, one-hour recorded presentations include
Training Seminars software demonstrations and question-and-answer
sessions with Esri SMEs.

■ Attending the seminars requires a broadband

connection.

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Appendix C—Example Scenario

ArcGIS Helps When land forces deploy on a mission, geospatial technology goes with
Hornets Home In on them to provide the situational awareness they need to plan operations and
Weapons Cache minimize threats.

ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations, for example, gives a Brigade Combat Team
(BCT) the software components needed to collect, view, manage, analyze, and share
geospatial information. To illustrate its usefulness, follow the "Hornets" BCT to their
forward operating base (FOB), where they will use the configuration in their mission to
provide security assistance in the province where they will be stationed and help locate a
weapons cache.

Prepare and The Hornets' motto is "Sting 'em before they sting you!"
Rehearse at the
Home Station They take pride in their combat record of stinging the enemy first rather than being
caught off guard. Their not-so-secret weapon: carefully laying the groundwork for the
mission before moving outside their FOB. They rehearse their security duties and prepare
and preload their geospatial information using the ArcGIS for the Military—Land
Operations configuration at their home station before they deploy.

The Hornets' brigade staff implemented ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations
because they needed a way to ease the problems of managing their intelligence assets
such as imagery, geospatial information, and situation reports (SITREPs). The foundation
they lay at the home station enables the BCT to satisfy mission requirements and improve
after action reports (AARs).

The configuration includes ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations Server, which is
preloaded with basemaps, imagery, web and mobile applications, and operational map
templates. The operational map templates will be very useful in their area of operations
(AO) so the staff can quickly generate map products, reducing training and production
time to support faster decision making.

The Hornets have kept in contact with the unit they are to replace. They're ready to go.

The Transfer of After arriving in their AO, the Hornets brigade staff set up an FOB dubbed the "Hornets'
Knowledge Nest." They unpack and put together their servers, workstations, and mobile devices. It
takes them a week to get to their AO, so they need to perform checks to ensure the
equipment works properly.

After completing the checks, the brigade staff begin to work with the "Golden Bears," the
BCT they are replacing. The Golden Bears transfer their information and knowledge to
the Hornets. This includes imagery, the latest intelligence products, past patrol routes,
geospatial-enabled mission briefs and AARs, and operational map templates the Golden
Bears modified for operational readiness. The Hornets are quickly trained on how to use
the new ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations operational map and application
templates. The templates aren't really new in the sense that the Hornets are completely

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unfamiliar with them. They are the same templates the Hornets possess but have been
slightly modified by the Golden Bears to satisfy the security mission for the AO.

The Hornets staff quickly produce new maps of the AO, such as an updated engagement
area map. The engagement area map is created using an operational map template called
the Engagement Area Template. It details how the Hornets will delineate their AO
boundaries, identify key terrain, and plot where they anticipate enemy movement within
their AO.

The Hornets get briefed about the current situation including recent attacks and the
improvised explosive devices (IEDs) found in the area. The main concern? Villagers who
are helping the enemy by hiding weapons caches in their homes and underground
bunkers. The Patrol Data Capture Template is used to set up their mobile devices to
capture relevant information such as bridges and choke points while on patrol.

The Hornets BCT headquarters (HQ) is set up and the technology and situation
information transferred. The HQ includes trucks and tents with a building in the center.
Within the building, ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations Server is unpacked and
turned on. Large computer monitors are the focal point of the room. The Hornets brigade
staff quickly display the web-based situational awareness (SA) viewer, where they can
see friendly and enemy positions. The SA viewer was created using the operations
dashboard template from ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations. Technicians
connect the intelligence feeds to the server, such as FMV from a UAS, weather, blue
force tracking (BFT), and seismic sensors.

Reviewing the Higher HQ delivers the latest briefing. The Hornets staff quickly go through the
Operations Order operations order (OPORD) looking for information pertaining to their AO. The Hornets
need to increase the frequency of patrols covering their AO while looking for hidden
weapons caches. Along with the OPORD, HQ has provided an Excel spreadsheet
containing military grid reference system (MGRS) point coordinates of past weapons
caches and areas where other weapons caches might be concealed. Using ArcGIS for
Desktop, an analyst can drag and drop the spreadsheet to quickly view the point
information. Other information in the OPORD includes intelligence map products of
locations of where unexploded IEDs were found, where IEDs exploded, and where
enemy ambushes occurred over the past three months.

Gathering Personnel gather more information with a geospatial reference, including the most current
Intelligence imagery, the latest FMVs, recent SITREPS, and other intelligence. Since all the
information contains a geospatial reference, it can be easily cataloged for use within
ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations Server and the desktops. The common
information model, the ArcGIS geodatabase, ties geography-based information, such as
FMV, imagery, and SITREPs, together. The geodatabase is the common data storage and
management framework for ArcGIS. It is a central data repository for spatial data storage
and management. ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations is optimized to work with
the geodatabase. This ensures consistency and speed of use within the system.

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Analyzing Past and The Hornets' image, all-source, and geospatial analysts, along with the US Air Force
Present Situations (USAF) Combat Weatherman attached to the BCT, get to work planning security
assistance missions including sending patrols out to look for weapons caches.

Image analysts add new imagery to the existing mosaic datasets and prepare FMVs to
brief the commanders. All-source analysts add MGRS point information, such as recent
enemy activities, derived from SITREPS reported by troops in the field. Analysts use this
data to quickly generate geodatabases. Information stored in Excel spreadsheets,
containing locations of weapons caches that were previously found, are dropped directly
into ArcGIS for Desktop. They quickly symbolize the information and make the data
available for the entire staff to use. To plan a patrol mission to find new weapons caches,
geospatial analysts create buffers around past patrol routes, areas deemed dangerous, and
ambush sites. The USAF Combat Weatherman uses the military aspects of weather
operational map template to create the weather forecast maps used to help plan patrols,
ensuring the Hornets are properly clothed and that they carry the proper equipment to
accomplish the mission. The mission planners are notified when analysis products are
completed.

Planning the Mission Planning follows the military decision-making process (MDMP). Using the ArcGIS for
the Military—Land Operations operational map and application templates reduces
mission planning time. These predefined and built templates capture and simplify
complex intelligence, planning, and operational geospatial workflows. The analyst no
longer needs to re-create a common workflow from scratch.

The operational map templates have captured the intelligence workflows, speeding up
input into the MDMP. Templates include the patrol data capture template and the hostile
operations template. They help planners create intelligence and map products for mission
planning and other operations such as base security.

The Hornets keep track of friendly and enemy movement within the AO using the SA
viewer, an application template. They view current intelligence information, including
the locations of incidents being reported from the field, as well as create density maps
showing patterns and trends of attacks. Historical patrol routes and patrol reports are
overlaid on basemaps. The Hornets staff complete additional analysis to identify areas
that have been patrolled frequently or where units have spent long periods of time. All
this information is used to create maps for planning optimized patrol routes. These maps
are printed, and the digital map is shared directly to the Android mobile devices and
embedded system in vehicles taken on patrol.

Searching for the The Hornets patrol gathers at the initial rally point inside the FOB for communications
Weapons Caches and equipment checks of the radios and the mobile devices such as Android tablets,
preloaded with the ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations Squad Leader application
template and the ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations Vehicle Commander
application template for Linux-based systems in vehicles. The Patrol Leader (PL) uses
both printed maps and those on his tablet that the Hornets staff created to review the
routes and the locations of the suspected weapons caches. After the PL counts the troops
and pieces of equipment, the patrol members move out in their vehicles. Their progress is
monitored in the Hornets' HQ. The commanders and staff there are using the SA viewer,
configured for different roles such as the logistics staff officer. For example, the logistics
officer uses the viewer on his workstation to monitor fuel levels in the vehicles and other

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readiness information, while the operations officer reviews the current alerts and
SITREPS from adjacent units patrolling near the Hornets' AO. About 30 minutes after
leaving the FOB, the patrol vehicles stop. The operations staff already knows they are
close to stopping due to the geotriggered alert on the SA viewer marking where a
suspected weapons cache may be. To avoid being detected by the enemy because of the
noise produced by the patrol vehicles, the foot patrol begins.

The PL uses both a paper map and digital map on his tablet to ensure the patrol sticks to
its preplanned route. Soon, the PL receives an alert on the tablet, a red electronic
ChemLight appearing on the screen. An analyst reviewing ongoing FMV from a UAS has
detected suspicious activity near the patrol route. A red ChemLight is used to alert all in
the area that danger is near. The ChemLight also appears on the SA viewer in the HQ.
The PL, after communicating via chat on the tablet and on the radio with the operations
staff, receives an updated route to observe and report on the activity. The soldiers left
with the vehicles also see the ChemLight alert and the new route on their ArcGIS for the
Military—Land Operations Vehicle Commander application.

As the patrol approaches the new target to observe, the PL drops or marks the tablet with
a yellow ChemLight on the tablet, marking areas that may be prone to ambushes, for
future reference. Shortly thereafter, he submits a SITREP, using his tablet, detailing what
was observed: he marks on a map where a group of suspicious men are carrying boxes
into an adjacent unit's AO. After collaborating with the adjacent unit, soldiers in the other
unit take over, observing and following the suspicious men. The Hornets go on their way,
after the PL drops a green ChemLight on his tablet to declare the area clear. While on
patrol, the PL, using his tablet, preloaded with the Squad Leader application, drops
ChemLights and submits SITREPS detailing what he and his men saw. The SITREPS
included MGRS coordinates and geotagged pictures of bridges, choke points, and
possible ambush sites.

The Hornets patrol continues on its mission to find weapons caches. As it enters the
village where previously derived intelligence indicated weapons are hidden, the PL, using
his tablet, drops a red ChemLight and writes that everyone needs to be on alert.
According to the Hornets staff, a weapons cache is in one of the four permanent buildings
in the village.

The PL instructs the first and second squads to take up security positions around the
village. He then orders the third and fourth squads to sweep the permanent structures. The
third squad finds a weapons cache hidden in a pit covered by wooden planks and a rug.
The PL immediately drops a green ChemLight and writes on his tablet that a weapons
cache has been found. The Hornets staff back at the FOB see it immediately. While the
fourth squad continues its search, the PL takes pictures of the cache and of the village,
which are automatically geotagged. The fourth squad does not find additional weapons.
After the PL submits his SITREP using his tablet, the patrol destroys the weapons using
white phosphorus incendiary devices that melt the weapons so they cannot be used again.
After melting the weapons, they move out to the rally point (RP) where they will meet
the trucks that will bring them back to the FOB.

Esri White Paper 15

How ArcGIS for the Military Supports Land Operations

J10176

Meanwhile, the soldiers guarding the trucks see an alert appear on their Vehicle
Commander application warning them that a large group of enemy forces is nearing the
RP the Hornets' truck drivers are heading toward. Alternate routes were preloaded into
the Android and in-vehicle systems. This was done as part of the mission planning
process. The soldiers on patrol and the soldiers in the trucks switch to the routes they
each need to take to get to the alternate rally point. The patrol meets up with its
transportation home and proceeds back to the Hornets' base.

Creating an After After the troops and vehicles safely return to the Hornets' Nest, the mission continues.
Action Brief for the The PL connects the tablet to the BCT network. This is when the actual route the patrol
Commander took, the SITREPs, geotagged pictures of the weapons cache and village, and other
intelligence that was gathered is transferred to ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations
Server. Analysts quickly validate and help the PL prepare an AAR brief for the BCT
commander and staff. The PL uses Esri's ArcGIS Explorer Desktop to create a
geospatially enabled presentation. When the commander has questions, the PL can zoom
in on the maps to show greater detail and provide the answers. The patrol's mission was a
success; the soldiers found and destroyed a weapons cache. The operation to plan,
conduct, and document the mission and the sting of destroying a cache of weapons was
made easier using ArcGIS for the Military—Land Operations technology.

March 2013 16
Esri inspires and enables people to positively impact their
future through a deeper, geographic understanding of the
changing world around them.

Governments, industry leaders, academics, and nongovernmental

organizations trust us to connect them with the analytic knowledge
they need to make the critical decisions that shape the planet. For
more than 40 years, Esri has cultivated collaborative relationships
with partners who share our commitment to solving earth’s most
pressing challenges with geographic expertise and rational resolve.
Today, we believe that geography is at the heart of a more resilient
and sustainable future. Creating responsible products and solutions
drives our passion for improving quality of life everywhere.

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