Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Sat 05/31/2025 View Fri 05/30/2025 View Thu 05/29/2025 View Wed 05/28/2025 View Tue 05/27/2025 View Mon 05/26/2025 View Sun 05/25/2025
2011-07-05 Iraq
US Army spent $2.7 billion on a battlefield computer that doesn’t work
It has emerged that the multi-billion-dollar DCGS-A military computer system that was designed to help the US Army in Iraq and Afghanistan simply doesn’t work.

DCGS-A is meant to accrue intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, and provide real-time battlefield analysis and the current location of high-value targets. According to two former intelligence officers that have worked with the system, however, it has hindered the war effort rather than helped.

This story has developed over the last year, beginning with a memo sent by Major General Michael Flynn, the Army’s top intelligence officer stationed in Afghanistan. In the memo, Flynn damns the apparent ineffectiveness of DCGS-A: “Analysts cannot provide their commanders a full understanding of the operational environment. Without the full understanding of the enemy and human terrain, our operations are not as successful as they could be. This shortfall translates into operational opportunities missed and lives lost.”

The memo reached the ears of several Representatives on July 19 2010, who then asked the US Army to consider switching to another, proven system that the FBI and CIA use: Palantir.

The Army refused, and instead rolled out a software update that was meant to fix any issues. Unfortunately, according to the former intelligence officers, the system is still unusable. “You couldn’t share the data,” says one of the former officers, and they both agree that the system is “prone to crashes and frequently going off-line.”

“Almost any commercial solution out there would be better,” said one. “It doesn’t work. It’s not providing the capabilities that they need,” said the other.

This isn’t the first time that the US Army — or indeed any sovereign armed force — has spent a lot of money on a system that doesn’t work. With such huge budgets, and massive systems and weapons with additional expenditure that can’t possibly be accounted for ahead of time, military spending nearly always turns into case of throwing good money after bad.
Posted by Anonymoose 2011-07-05 17:59|| || Front Page|| [11135 views ]  Top

#1 More detail here:

http://www.gdc4s.com/content/detail.cfm?item=004279f8-a9a9-4c18-8051-f9e1acb643ee

FOUO on Google...
http://info.publicintelligence.net/commanders_handbook.pdf
Posted by Skidmark 2011-07-05 20:37||   2011-07-05 20:37|| Front Page Top

#2 If true, this is just sad.
Posted by Scooter McGruder 2011-07-05 21:34||   2011-07-05 21:34|| Front Page Top

#3 And let us not forget the USN's "$5 Billion Misunderstanding," AKA the A-12 Avenger II debacle.
Posted by USN,Ret. 2011-07-05 21:38||   2011-07-05 21:38|| Front Page Top

#4 Not sad; the cost of war. Perhaps it should have been killed sooner, but other projects paid off well before anyone ever thought they would. You have to pay for them all. Find the senior officers who let it go on too long and end their careers. Find out if the juniors learned anything and forget it for them if they learned.

We're still human. We'll keep making the same mistakes in new flavors.
Posted by Nimble Spemble 2011-07-05 21:41||   2011-07-05 21:41|| Front Page Top

#5 DCGS-A is a big turd, but spending buckets of money on proprietary solution like Palantir is not the solution. This article has all the hall marks of being a planted story by someone who is angry the Army didn't buy Palantir.
Posted by Bigfoot Thud6124 2011-07-05 22:18||   2011-07-05 22:18|| Front Page Top

#6 This article is total bullshit. DSGS-A is a good tool designed to do a hard job. Is it perfect? Probably not. Is it fair to say it doesn't work? No.

I am sick and tired of these news-people relaying some backroom gabble about how something that is good should have been great, and it would have been if only this or that company were fully funded.

It is meritorious to just put together stuff that works. Just like you, DSGS-A can be better. Let's repent on Sunday and work harder on Monday to make this system serve our soldiers.
Posted by rammer 2011-07-05 22:36||   2011-07-05 22:36|| Front Page Top

#7   This article is total bullshit. DSGS-A is a good tool designed to do a hard job. Is it perfect? Probably not. Is it fair to say it doesn't work? No.

Woo hoo! Now that, my friends, is a a righteous rant. :-)
Posted by trailing wife  2011-07-05 23:51||   2011-07-05 23:51|| Front Page Top

14:09 Grom the Affective
14:04 Super Hose
14:02 Super Hose
13:37 Procopius2k
13:35 Grom the Affective
13:34 Procopius2k
13:27 Grom the Affective
13:21 NN2N1
13:18 Grom the Affective
12:50 Remoteman
12:45 Secret Master
12:24 Matt
12:07 Abu Uluque
12:03 Grom the Affective
11:59 Grom the Affective
11:35 Super Hose
11:33 Super Hose
11:29 Besoeker
11:28 Besoeker
11:28 Super Hose
11:27 Besoeker
11:23 Besoeker
11:22 Grom the Affective
11:20 Super Hose









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com