Site keeps tabs on Army exercise

Division Capstone Exercise home page

The Army has established an Internet site offering updates of the Division Capstone Exercise (DCX), a massive, two-week training exercise for the First Digitized Division.

The Web site, www.monroe.army.mil/pao/dcx/dcxindex.html, offers near-real-time coverage of the mock battle featuring the 4th Infantry Division — the Fort Hood, Texas, force known as the first digitized division. Its sparring partner is the highly respected Opposing Force from Fort Irwin, Calif.

The site also provides information about the weapons systems being used in the exercise, a photo gallery and video feeds, DCX goals and information links.

"What's exciting is the opportunity to witness key DCX events in near-real time and from just about anywhere in the world," said Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Buffet, Web site administrator for the Army's Training and Doctrine Command's public affairs office. "This is also an indication of things to come in the Army public affairs circles. Using the power of multimedia and the Internet, we can do an even better job of keeping base communities and their neighbors informed of activities involving deployed troops from their area."

Army officials expect to post new stories every 12 hours to 24 hours.

The DCX is the culmination of a decade of work toward Army digitization, a multibillion-dollar effort to arm the 4th Infantry Division — and eventually the entire Army — with cutting-edge information technologies. The digitization effort really took off following a similar exercise in 1997.

That earlier exercise was an experiment with prototypical IT that sometimes was strapped haphazardly in to vehicles. DCX is a demonstration of the improvements made to the technology and of the changing warfighting doctrine that technology allows. Once the exercise is over, Army officials expect to list the 4th Infantry Division as combat-ready — not as an experimental force, which is the label the division carried since 1997.