Force Projection Information Center

by David G. Graham

A new repository provides authoritative information on all aspects of force projection and deployment.

On 11 September 2002, the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, and the Chief of Transportation launched the Force Projection Information Center on Army Knowledge Online-The Army Portal. Known by the acronym "FPIC," this dynamic repository provides Web users easy access to unclassified information on force projection and unit deployment. It offers joint and service deployment planners, as well as combat and materiel developers, centralized access to authoritative sources of information on doctrine, operational guidance, training, military and commercial transportation references, and emerging technology initiatives.

The FPIC evolved from a longstanding teaming relationship between the cochair organizations: the office of the Project Manager, Force Projection, which is assigned to the Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support, under the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology; and the Science and Technology Branch of the Deployment Process Modernization Office at the Army Transportation Center and School at Fort Eustis, Virginia. The Chief of the G-4 Strategic Mobility Division exercises Army Staff oversight of the FPIC as a supporting deployment-automation tool. The core personnel and equipment assets for maintaining the information repository are stationed at the Deployment Process Modernization Office at Fort Eustis.

Where Does the FPIC Fit?

The FPIC supports the activities of the G-3/G-4 Power Projection Council of Colonels. The council provides recommendations to, and executes guidance from, a general officer steering committee to pursue significant improvements in the rapid projection of transforming forces and equipment around the world.

Army-specific information contained in the FPIC repository directly supports operations and technology goals outlined in the Army Transformation Campaign Plan Line of Operation 9, "Deploying and Sustaining the Force." [This is one of 14 lines of operation that constitute the Army Transformation Campaign Plan.] The main effort of the "Deploying" axis is the Army Power Projection Program, known as AP3. This new power projection strategy, centered on joint operations, was documented in the Master Plan approved in July 2002; it replaces the Army Strategic Mobility Program.

What Types of Information Are Available?

The FPIC repository architecture displays the authoritative information products of a diverse consortium of warfighters, service and joint staff elements, battle labs, combat and materiel developers, and research and development agencies. A partial list of primary sources include DefenseLINK, the Department of the Army Home Page, the Army Training and Doctrine Command, the Project Manager Force Projection, the U.S. Transportation Command (including the Military Traffic Management Command Transportation Engineering Agency, the Air Mobility Command, and the Military Sealift Command), the Army Forces Command, the G_4 Distribution Knowledge Center, the Joint Deployment Training Center, the Joint Deployment Process Owner Division of the U.S. Joint Forces Command, and the Deployment Process Modernization Office.

The online repository provides general and specific subject-matter information and selected organization and agency Web links. The key functional modules include—

• A consolidated calendar of force projection-related meeting forums and major events.
• The Power Projection Council of Colonels' priority focus, briefings, and meeting minutes archive.
• The FPIC Summit briefings and minutes archive.
• Joint and Army transportation doctrine publications.
• U.S. Transportation Command infrastructure and policies.
• An airlift, sealift, and pre-positioned stocks "Deployment Toolkit."
• Hazardous materials policies and procedures.
• A "Mobility Officers [military occupational specialty 882A] Support Site."
• The Army Transportation School's Deployment Exercise Facility.
• Family, soldier, and unit "Readiness and Mobilization."
• Information pertaining to deployment automation tools (such as the Global Transportation Network, the Transportation Coordinators Automated Information for Movements System II, and the Intelligent Road/Rail Information Server) and Army Transformation.
• A "Message Center/Bulletin Board."

Additional modules being refined for release in 2003 are a dedicated Army Power Projection Program section, a "Studies and Analyses Database" with search engine, and a "Technology Center" that will include experimentation information.

An open data call for additional material for the FPIC repository currently is underway. Warfighters and combat and materiel developers are requested to provide information for both new and existing modules through the online "Content Submission Form" located in the FPIC repository's "Admin & Utilities" section.

How Do I Access the Repository?

Army military and civilian personnel may directly access the FPIC repository at https://fpic.eustis.army.mil and log on using their existing Army Knowledge Online full account user ID and password. Joint users must follow standard Army Knowledge Online protocols to register and request a guest account by selecting "I'm a new user" at the Army Knowledge Online main Web site (www.us.army.mil). Guest accounts are valid for 1 year and require sponsorship by an existing Army full account holder. The sponsor may authenticate and extend the guest account annually without formal reapplication.

As an adjunct to the ongoing program efforts of the Power Projection Council of Colonels and the Project Manager, Force Projection, the FPIC is a valuable aid to the warfighter and the entire force projection community. By providing centralized availability of a growing, integrated repository of tailored force-projection information, such an innovative, Web-enabled tool directly supports deployment professionals in the critical early stages of training, planning, and initial movements by providing access to doctrinal references, maps, handbooks, and regulations. It also will be a practical way for materiel developers to inform decision-makers of potential high-payoff technology enablers that can achieve joint capabilities needed to overcome strategic mobility challenges.

These characteristics of FPIC are central to the support and execution of the Army Power Projection Program throughout the bold transformation to the Army's Objective Force and the other services' goals. The vision for this innovative and dynamic repository includes continued development beyond the baseline version, primarily targeted toward deploying Army forces, to increasingly provide support across the Department of Defense in a joint context. This critical evolution will be achieved through G-3/G-4 Power Projection Council of Colonels' guidance and coordination with joint and service staffs and mobility organizations.

Uniformed warfighters and civil service professionals alike are strongly encouraged to contribute ideas, lessons learned, deployment checklists, standing operating procedures, local references, calendar events, and other unclassified materials to this dynamic repository. For additional information on the repository, or to participate in the ongoing data call for force projection-related material, send an email to fpicweb@eustis.army.mil.  ALOG

David G. Graham is a retired Army Acquisition and Infantry officer. He is a senior military analyst, employed with Alion Science and Technology, providing contractor support to the Science and Technology Branch of the Deployment Process Modernization Office at the Army Transportation Center and School at Fort Eustis, Virginia.