Title: Naval Postgraduate School
1Naval Postgraduate School
Joint Task Force Katrina Relief Effort
Unclassified Information Brief
2Purpose/Objective
- Purpose To provide NCOIC with a sketch of NPSs
Hastily Formed Networks deployed in support of
the emergency response to Hurricane Katrina. - Objective To show relevance of Hastily Formed
Networks and NPSs Humanitarian
Assistance/Disaster Relief work to the global
humanitarian assistance community.
3HFN Defined..
- Skills to Learn
- Interagency / coalition ops (civ-mil boundary)
- Collaborative coordination tool set
- Capacity to Improvise
- Leadership in a network
HFN Concept by Dr Peter Denning, NPS Cebrowski
Institute Executive Director
4Conversation Space..
- Medium in which all communications take place
- A set of interaction rules for effective
coordination among all participants
5Aspects of Conversation Space
- Physical
- communication systems
- meeting places
- distribution systems
- Community
- players and organizations
- Practices
- rules of interaction and coordination
6Physical Aspects..
- mobile networks
- telephony
- Internet
- satellite
- power
- fast configurability
- meeting places
- pre-positioning essential equipment
- distribution systems
7Community Aspects..
- including all players
- transcending turf issues
- civil-military boundaries
- sharing information
- situation awareness
- planning
- coordinating (action, OODA loops)
- building trust
8Practices Aspects..
- rules of engagement for multiple, autonomous
organizations - must be embodied -- not a step-by-step process
- getting buy-in on the rules
- decentralized control and decision making
- collaboration without hierarchy
9Instructive Examples..
- NYC after 9/11
- open, included all NY conditioned tendency to
stovepipe - SE Asian Tsunami Dec 26 04
- collaboration w/out hierarchy, ad hoc, no common
conversation space - US Gulf Coast after Katrina Aug 29 05
- partitioned, protecting turf, finger pointing,
red tape, citizens initially not included
10Claim
- Doing HFN well means mastery of conversation
space - What are the rules of the most productive
game? - What are the skills for successful play?
- Where does technology fit in (HFN is the key to
the kingdom)?
11Hastily Formed Networks
NPSs Katrina Relief Effort
12The Storm Surge..
13Areas of Operation
14Network Infrastructure
15 The Images..
16 The Images..
17 The Images
18 The Images..
19The Problem..
- No power
- No fiber/copper infrastructure
- No push-to-talk comms to speak of
- Cellular services totally jammed
- Satellite phone service totally jammed
- Not enough satellite eqpt suites available
- No Internet access (web, email, VOIP)
20THE PUZZLE..
21Surrounded by the Civil-Military Boundary. and
Improvisation
22One Viable Comms Solution..
- SATCOM Internet Reachback
- 802.11 (WiFi) and 802.16 (WiMax)
- Broadband Internet, Web, Email
- Voice Over IP (basic dial-tone)
- Skype (free internet phone)
- Groove (collaboration solution)
23Tie-in to Earlier HFN Definition..
- Skills to Learn
- Interagency / coalition ops (civ-mil boundary)
- Collaborative coordination tool set
- Capacity to Improvise
- Leadership in a network
24Employed Technologies
2 Mbps Down 512Kbps Up
Long Haul Wide Area Network Connection 54 Mbps
25The Team
- NPS Faculty Members (2)
- NPS Students (19)
- Information Warfare, Information Systems and
Technology, Joint C4I Systems, Space Systems
Operations, Space Systems Engineering - Multi-service, Multi-designator
- Others
- Naval Reservists (5)
- Naval Security Group Reserve
- OSD NII Observer
- Active Duty Commander, USN
- Corporate Partners
- Cisco, Microsoft, Redline, Tachyon, Mercury Data
Systems, Rajant Corp.
26Accomplishments
- Created and extended full scale, timely, and self
contained wide area network in an austere
environment expanded from Tsunami work - First comms capability for many
- Learned about civ-mil boundary issues CONUS vs
International from Tsunami work - Valuable student real world application of
technology (learned by doing live lab work)
27Benefits / Observations
- NPS
- TCP/IP glue that binds
- Practical value for students and faculty
- Enhanced research opportunities and theses
insights - New connections for collaboration (like with
NCOIC) - Navy
- Network Capability is a first responder necessity
- Time Matters
- Learned about adaptability in austere
environments (improvisation) - Reconfirmed applicability of wireless to disaster
relief (ship/shore comms) - Joint
- JTF Operations - collaborative environment using
Internet technologies - Comms interoperability one of biggest HA/DR
issues - Social/Political/Economic (soft science) as
challenging as technical - Civil/Military Boundary is a key with much work
to be done
28Lessons Learned
- Effect of No Common Situational Awareness
- VoIP Was HUGE Benefit
- Physical Access Was a Challenge
- PTT Radio Interoperability a Growing Concern
- Creature Comforts Youre on Your Own
- Pre-Positioning Assets and Contracts
- Cant Negotiate in the Chaos !
- Force Protection
- Active Military vs Natl Guard (or both)?
- Providing Internet Access to the Public
29Current NPS Research
- PTT Radio Interoperability
- More International HA/DR Issues
- Hastily Formed Networks that Enable..
- Noncombatant Evacuation Ops (NEO) Tracking
Systems - Patient / Victim Tracking Systems
- Ship-to-Shore Wireless for HA/DR and Hospital
Ships - Airline Luggage Capable Flyaway Kits
- Smaller Form Factor VSAT
- NCOIC CHD Case Study
- Strong Angel III (Aug 20-26 San Diego)
30Conclusion and Challenges..
- We must do better !
- Who are We ?
- How do We proceed ?
- Are We ready for the next hurricane season,
international disaster, Japans big one, Global
Avian Flu Pandemic, etc ? - Need scalable, robust, interoperable comms !!
- Intl Community, Private Sector, DoD all have
roles !! - Brian Steckler, Associate Chair for Special
Programs, - Naval Postgraduate School
- steckler_at_nps.edu 831.402.1584
- http//www.nps.navy.mil/disasterrelief
31Bottom Line No Way To Run A Railroad !!