Michael Hardy
A training exercise held late last year incorporated new cyber concepts into the combat scenario, seeding radio traffic meant to simulate the radio noise of a populated area with a stream of nefarious messages. The purpose was to train the Marines taking part in the exercise to identify and interpret the chatter that could help them know when the enemy planned to attack.
As reported in Marine Corps Times, the radio and cyber aspects of the exercise, Bold Alligator 14, were devised by the Office of Naval Research.
About 11,000 Marines, U.S. sailors and members of other nations' navies took part in the exercise, held in November off the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina. The scenario sends the Marines on a simulated crisis response mission in hostile territory. While they expect the enemy to attack, they don't know how, when or where. The cyber and electronic warfare specialists involved have to decipher the electronic chatter.
"We modeled a virtual criminal cell and gave them some goals," said Maj. Christian Fitzpatrick, ONR's tactical cyber special projects officer. "One of their goals during Bold Alligator was to purchase a strategic weapon system and use it to target ships off the North Carolina and Virginia coast."
The elevated importance of cyber specialists in the exercise accords with the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Cyberspace and Electronic Warfare Coordination Cell Concept, announced in Marine Administrative Message 362/14. It makes cyber a domain on a par with air, sea and ground combat.
During the exercise, ONR also tested a new heads-up display. The SIGINT Cyber Augmented Reality glasses is similar to Google Glass, but for combat troops, displaying a wide variety of data as the situation warrants.
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