Army ponders bandwidth priorities

The Army next week may decide which service sites it will designate bandwidth flagship installations.

Lt. Gen. Steve Boutelle, the Army's chief information officer, will brief Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the service's chief of staff, on his recommendations, Boutelle said, speaking today at a luncheon briefing of the AFCEA, a lobby group in Falls Church, Va.

Schoomaker cited improving bandwidth at Army installations as one of his 15 areas of immediate focus when he spoke earlier this week during the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army, a lobby group in Arlington, Va.

"We define excellent installations as having first-rate facilities, and this will include not just traditional components, such as an efficient railhead and access to modern airfields, but also a robust information infrastructure, which will include sufficient bandwidth to enable true reach-back capabilities," Schoomaker said.

Improving bandwidth at Army installations ranks fourth on Schoomaker's list, Boutelle said. The service needs more bandwidth at domestic installations because soldiers increasingly access networks there from the battlefield, he said.

The most likely sites for bandwidth flagship installations include Fort Hood, Texas, the home of III Corps, the Army's go-to-war force; Fort Bragg, N.C., the location of XVIII Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division, the service's legendary paratroop force; and Fort Campbell, Ky., the place of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).