1. Background

GIS in an Armed Forces organisation is not

• a matter of choice of a certain software product
• a matter or a choice of a specific platform

but is a systematic way of working with a number of new tools to handle the geographic information as one of the basic factors in the assessment and decision process in a HQ, and it does not matter if we talk about a battalion HQ or an Armed Forces HQ.

This means that the use of GIS, necessarily, will affect both HQ organisations and their way of working. This awareness has grown in the Swedish Armed Forces since the end of the 80s. This has also led to our way of trying to consider all aspects on the development and implementation of GIS which we want to try to describe during this conference. Let’s return to 1989.

At that time we had more brigades in the Army, more combat vessels in the Navy, more fighter squadrons in the Air Force than today. We had a rather static planning resulting in training of our units again and again in the same geographic area (the area in case of a war) and through this training they got an extensive geographic knowledge - about the area where they were supposed to execute combat, but nowhere else. At the same time digital geographic data began to be available and the software packages as well to reasonable prices. A number of computer enthusiasts started to develope simple GIS applications.

In 1990 the Armed Forces and the National Land Survey signed an agreement concerning a shared GIS-centre, with people from the Land Survey organisation as well as with, initially, one officer from the Armed Forces. At the same time we tried to get an idea about what was going on in several places and we tried to get all these development activities to face a common objective.

In 1991 we had our first tests on GIS-applications during a divisional exercise in the northern part of Sweden. We also had our first agreements with the civilian producers of digital geographic data about availability for the Armed Forces.

In order to establish some sort of umbrella organisations for the GIS efforts, the Armed Forces GIS Steering Committee was established with mandate

• to give entitlement to start new development activities
• to co-ordinate GIS development efforts
• to allocate the resources at the GIS-centre
• to allocate other resources for GIS development as SW, data sets, test facilities etc.
• to encourage the initiation of new GIS efforts

In 1993 we started developing our present GIS strategy which was signed by our Supreme Commander in 1995.

Thus it has continued, more and more rapidly.

2.The GIS Strategy

One of the most important tools for establishing a consistent GIS development and implementation in a large organisation, independent of which type of organisation it is, is the presence of a strong GIS strategy. It is not enough to have the strategy developed, signed, distributed and read. A strategy always consists of a number of outer frames for what is accepted and what is not accepted. This is often considered limitations for the developer but is absolutely necessary in order to achieve the desired co-ordination with the overall context for a C3I-system.

If that strategy, with its limitations, is to be complied with, it has to offer something very benefitious for the individual who has been given the task to develop a GIS application. Our GIS-strategy offers

• GIS consulting resources
• geographic data
• software recommendations
• hardware recommendations
• development equipment
• application test facilities
• project manager training

and a couple of other facilities without costs for the responsible project manager or his commanding officer. These assets are funded centrally in the Armed Forces. In this way the strategy will become close to loved.

One core issue in the strategy is the mandatory development process, with a limited local prototype phase initially, where the main responsibility is with the project manager, who always has to be an end user of the application under development. And this emphasis on the end user will be a central part of the entire development process until the implementation of the application. After the local prototype phase, where real ‘trial and error’ is allowed we have a co-ordinated project phase aiming to the implementation. During this phase you widen the project organisation, involve reference groups and external test groups and start preparing the training of future users.

Another core issue is the careful separation of common GIS tools as

• projection handling
• positioning
• best map functions

etc.

which are requested of every, or close to every, user from the activity related applications which are requested by representatives for a specific branch, service or function.

Such activity related applications can be

• artillery sites
• radio link communication establishment
• bridging
• low-flying paths for attack helicopters

and so on.

The responsibility for development of those common functions is a matter for a central project organisation. On the other hand is the responsibility for the development of activity-related application a specific issue for those who are in the middle of the specific activity, with both feet in the mud. Those persons are the only individuals able to describe the specific activity careful and systematic enough to become subject to an activity-modelling process subsequently followed by a data modelling process. And here it is vital to be extremely careful. Otherwise You will not get the wanted result.

3.The development process

In my description of the development process I intend to emphasise on the development of the activity-related applications. The development of the common functions is not that interesting and the development of such functions can be carried out by a classical project organisation on a centralised level in the organisation.

The development of an activity-related application always starts with an application idea. ‘It would be possible to do that and that when we can do this and this’. Already here You must be careful.

Who is the individual to be responsible for the development. This person has to be picked out with the following criterias

• need to be very skilled in the activity which is supposed to be supported by GIS
• need to be interested in facing that sort of responsibility
• need to have fairly good knowledge on computers
• need to be a good team worker
• need to get support from his commanders

If not all this, You will choose the wrong person!

When selected, there are a number of initial activities which have to be taken, as

• creating a small project group
• getting extensive support form commanding officers concerned
• initiating project manager training
• sending the entire project group for activity modelling education
• starting the thorough activity description, followed by an activity modelling process and a data modelling process
• giving the commanding officers briefing about the progress of the project

and

• trying to find out, or request information about other GIS development project which might affect in some way Your own project in order to establish full co-operation as quickly as possible.

The wheel is already invented, and too many times. Avery time it tends to become circular.

And as commanding officer You have to request to become briefed.

Don’t worry about computers, SW-packages and geographic data at this stage of the project. it will pop up in due coarse.

With this start for the project, You have already avoided at least one dozen of initial errors.

A proper project plan also has to be initiated. Don’t try to produce a complete plan from the beginning. You need a proper structure for the plan and during the project You add parts to the plan in connection with the progress of Your project. And, please, do not forget the documentation of Your project. Start with some sort of project log from the very first day. It will be one of the main requirements when You feel You are ready to transfer from the local prototype phase to a co-ordinated project phase.

4.The integration process in superior C3I-technology

GIS is not anything on its own. As GIS is an integral part of a staff support or a commander’s support it, normally has to be an integral part of a superior C3I-system.

A basic architecture for such a C3I-system could consist of

• a technical platform with an OS, in Sweden normally Pentium PCs with Widows NT for the client in a staff network or as stand alone PCs
• a feasible office support software package
• a GIS software tool box (namely GeoPres)
• communications functionality, both internal and external with well defined interfaces
• functions for structured handling of orders, reports and messages

ant that’s it. An architecture like this would probably fulfil at least 70% of the requirements on a good C3I-system.

Above this basic structure You add modules for resources management and activities-related modules consisting of a number of well defined submodules, all based on proper activity-descriptions followed by adequate activity-modelling processes.

If You can achieve this, You might have a break-through in Your command and control structure.

This objectives are described in our GIS strategy

5. GeoPres

In 1995, we had proceeded that far that we were convinced about the need for an enterprisewide GIS solution for the entire Armed Forces. Not to meet all, I mean 100% of our requirements, but hopefully 75-80 %. For the rest of the requirements, those high-prestanda systems, we have to find GIS solutions compatible with GeoPres.

In June 1996, we were convinced that a combination of Arc View and Map Objects could meet our requirements better than other SW-combinations supporting Windows NT, which was an absolute requirement. The project organisation was created already early 1995, with a developer team involved, because we had found that a lot of development effort of our own was waiting for us.

On April 1st, 1997, the first version of GeoPres was delivered to the Armed Forces. On February 1st, 1998, version 1.2 was releasable and it is now installed on approximately 1000 PCs for a divisional and brigade HQ staff exercise which was executed in May this year. And our experiences are very good.

Concerning GeoPres You will get more briefings during this conference.

5.The data provision

To describe the needs for geographic data is a complex process. It has to be a result of the activity descriptions and when You intend to describe the needs You have to comply with a specific method in order to achieve the correct requirements.

In order to create this method we initiated, two years ago, our Geo Data Study, with the following objectives

• create a method for systematically describing the needs for geographic data for different systems
• implement the method in the Armed Forces
• execute the description in a number of activities in our C3I-systems under development
• propose an technical concept and an organisation for data provision to the Armed Forces in co-operation with the producers of geographic data
• create a number of basic geographic data sets, which fulfil the main requirements from a large number of units

This Geo Data Study is subject for a specific paper presentation during the conference.

What might be interesting is that our data provision organisation will use Spatial Data Base Engine together with Feature Manipulation Engine, which is the same SW- set which will be used by the National Land Survey, the Geological Survey, the Hydrographic Office and the Swedish Space Co-operation, which are the main producers of data for us. You can imagine the benefits of this.

6.The information and training

Information and training has to be a major effort in the implementation process for GIS in the Armed Forces. Information and training is not only a matter for the users. One of the main target groups for information is the commanding officers, ranked colonel and higher.

For those we have had 10 seminars, from lunch one day to lunch the next day, in order to inform about

• what GIS is
• how it could be used in the Armed Forces
• how we work with the GIS development
• the integration of GIS in the superior C3I-systems
• geographic data provision
• what our objectives are

and additional to this we have shown a number of really flashing application demonstrations, not just demos, but mostly, applications up and running.

We have met close to 70% of the individuals in the target group, and we have experienced a, sometimes dramatically, changed attitude to this new technology. I can, later on, explain closer what we have done.

Training of masters and instructors and users will be subject to a specific presentation later during the conference.

7.Concluding remarks

Implementing new technology is not an easy process in a conservative organisation like an Armed Forces organisation. It takes time, takes a lot of efforts, needs enthusiasts and people are demanding results.

You can not, with a lot of creditability, just show flashing demos. Nor can You put all efforts just on developing applications.

You have to

• consider all aspects on the GIS grounded on a consistent theory
• establish a strong strategy and instruments for co-ordination of development activities
• get heavy support from the senior officials in Your organisation as well as from the informal leaders and the opinion creators in the organisation
• get people understand that this is a process covering a number of fiscal years, and with results presumably first by the end of the second year
• through a well established method try to avoid development in duplicate or triplicate which is frequent in large and widespread organisations
• show results

Our efforts have been successful so far. We have developed GeoPres, and other GIS concepts, primarily for our own purposes. We have recognised the national, inside Sweden, and international interest for what we have done so far. If our GIS can contribute to international interoperability between nations forces, we will become more than happy.