News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci
(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Re: DPMO Recovery Update

Date: June 18, 1998

From the Pentagon. Interesting reading.

Defense Personnel Recovery Update

April 1998, Issue 2

Members of the Personnel Recovery Community:

The first issue of the DPMO Defense Personnel Recovery Update was well received. Feedback indicated that the topics covered within the inaugural edition are important to both the decision-maker and the operator in all venues. We will continue to publish this document every other month to exchange ideas, concerns, and policies, and to highlight technical advances. This month, we feature an article from Lt Col Bob Donnelly, of the Joint Combat Search and Rescue Agency (JCRA), outlining a proposal by the Commander, Air Combat Command, for how the Department, and the Air Force in particular, might reorganize its staff support to personnel recovery. We hope to receive more articles from "the field" so that this newsletter can truly represent the entire personnel recovery community.

The personnel recovery community will soon lose one of its strongest advocates. Colonel John Chapman, Commander of the Joint Services S.E.R.E. Agency (JSSA) retires on June 30, 1998, after 30 years of dedicated service to his nation and the Air Force in both peace and war. The motto of JSSA is "To Return With Honor." JohnÕs unselfish and dedicated service has enabled many of "GodÕs Noblest People" to do just that. Under JohnÕs leadership, JSSA has undertaken numerous tasks which will most certainly enhance the possibilities of survival for the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who might become isolated in harmÕs way. John has been instrumental in helping DPMO define its role as it undertook its new responsibilities in the personnel recovery realm, just as I know he has assisted organizations throughout the Department enhance their personnel recovery capabilities. We are especially appreciative of his assistance. DPMO, on behalf of the entire personnel recovery community, would like to wish John, his wife Judy, and his daughters the best of luck in the future and GodÕs speed.

Colonel Mel Richmond, U.S. Army

Director of Operations

Defense POW/Missing Personnel Affairs Office

Progress Since the DoD Personnel Recovery Conference

We have made significant progress on several issues identified during the inaugural DoD Personnel Recovery Conference in October 1997.

The Defense Planning Guidance (DPG), issued by the Secretary of Defense, details policy, articulates strategic objectives, and reflects the national military strategy. It includes the Secretary of DefenseÕs force and resource POM guidance to the military departments, other combat support agencies, and the unified commands (AFSC Pub 1, pg 5-20). As a result of DPMOÕs recommen-dations, personnel recovery-related guidance was inserted into the DPG, Fiscal Years 2000-2005, in several locations. The most significant statement in the DPG, which should ensure personnel recovery remains a key element in Defense planning, reads:

A robust personnel recovery capability contributes directly to protecting U.S. forces. DoD should continue to develop a fully integrated personnel recovery architecture. To ensure that the Department meets this goal, emphasis on personnel recovery must continue to increase throughout the force. DoD must broaden coordination among its components, and establish and enhance cooperative ties with the interagency community on personnel recovery matters. The Services must provide the CINCs sufficient equipment and trained personnel to conduct personnel recovery operations effectively. The CINCs must include personnel recovery in their operational planning and joint training program, and ensure adequate personnel recovery-capable personnel and equipment are available to support contingency plans.

Likewise, the 1997 Contingency Planning Guidance (CPG) directs the combatant commanders to "Include personnel recovery planning in all operations and contingency plans." The CPG provides the SecretaryÕs written policy guidance to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for contingency planning. It focuses the guidance given in the National Security Strategy and DPG, and is the principal source document for the Joint Strategic Capabilities Plan (JSCP).

Coverage of the personnel recovery function in the CPG ensured its incorporation into the JSCP. CJCSI 3110.01C, dated July 1, 1998 (DRAFT), directs the combatant commanders to:

Establish a theater escape, evasion, and recovery system, including Search and Rescue and Combat Search and Rescue for the support of captive and isolated U.S. personnel and materiel in conflict and peace. Include provisions for coordinating the capabilities of available theater service and allied resources.

As we discussed in last month's newsletter, DPMO was also successful in ensuring that the latest Strategic Intelligence Review for Support to Military Operations (SIRSMO) directly addresses requirements for personnel recovery. The SIRSMO, which establishes core intelligence priorities, needs, and gaps, provides a common framework and substantive guidance for allocating collection and production resources. Inclusion of personnel recovery in this document assures DoD that the Intelligence Community will resource personnel recovery with a high priority.

Addressing personnel recovery in these three documents bolsters our efforts to develop and staff a DoD "vision" for personnel recovery, and provides justification to combatant command efforts to, "ensure sufficient personnel recovery-dedicated and capable assets are present in theater, or immediately available, to accomplish required personnel recovery."

During the DoD Personnel Recovery Conference many participants also raised the need to "establish an 'additional skill identifier (ASI)' for personnel who have received formal Joint Search and Rescue Center (JSRC) training." DPMO, in coordination with JSSA, the Joint Combat Search and Rescue Agency (JCRA), and the Joint Combat Search and Rescue Joint Test and Evaluation (JCSAR JT), established a set of criteria for awarding a personnel recovery additional skill identifier. We feel that if the Services adopt our proposal, the combatant commands will be better able to identify personnel requirements to the Services, and to man their Joint Search and Rescue Centers and Rescue Coordination Centers with qualified and experienced personnel. It will also enhance the ServicesÕ ability to select qualified individuals to fill those critical billets. In late March, we sent letters to each of the combatant command J-3Õs requesting information on their position for the need to establish such an ASI, and seeking their comments on our proposed criteria. Once we receive their responses, DPMO will determine how to approach the Services most effectively so as to meet the needs of the combatant commands.

DPMO ADDS TRAINING AND OVERSIGHT RESPONSIBILITIES

On March 19, 1998, the Deputy Secretary of Defense reassigned proponency for Department of Defense Directive (DoDD) 1300.7, Training and Education Measures Necessary to Support the Code of Conduct, from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. DPMO is now the office of primary responsibility for ASD/ISA for this directive.

The Code of Conduct provides standards of behavior for the American military during combat or captivity. DoDD 1300.7 establishes policies and procedures, and provides guidance for the development and execution of training Americans in the Code of Conduct before they become prisoners of war.

DPMO will seek to work closely with the combatant commands, Services and JSSA to ensure the policies proscribed in DoD 1300.7 support operational necessities and reflect the many challenges our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and DoD civilians face in the myriad operational environments in which our forces deploy. DPMO, in coordination with JSSA, the combatant commands and the Services, will soon undertake a study of how we identify and train DoD high-risk-of-capture personnel.

COMMANDER, AIR COMBAT COMMANDÕS DoD PERSONNEL RECOVERY REALIGNMENT
INITIATIVE GAINING MOMENTUM

By Lt Col Bob Donnelly,

Joint Combat Rescue Agency (JCRA)

When JCRA first undertook this project back in May 1997, little did we realize how quickly it would gain interest among the personnel recovery community. At that time, the Commander, Air Combat Command (COMACC), tasked us to review DoDÕs personnel recovery program at the Service, Joint, and DoD levels and make specific recommendations to him for improvement. COMACCÕs primary concern was the lack of a normal staff process for personnel recovery. From his viewpoint, the void in dedicated personnel recovery staff expertise at various levels within DoD is the single most critical barrier to correcting most of todayÕs personnel recovery deficiencies. He believes that the lack of clear information and decision flow lines may hinder operational execution. Moreover, personnel recovery has grown beyond the scope of any one ServiceÕs capabilities. Numerous contingency operations are straining current Combat Air Forces combat search and rescue (CSAR) total force structure, designed to support two major theater wars. Recovering individuals placed in harmÕs way while defending our NationÕs interest must become a joint community issue.

It is COMACCÕs position that existing personnel recovery staff organizations are inadequate to meet the needs of the warfighter, because they lack the dedicated functional and technical expertise required to handle the full range of potential personnel recovery issues. Very often, the lack of a normal staff process makes it difficult to discern the responsible office for many personnel recovery related issues. The current personnel recovery staff organization structure is depicted in Figure 1.

DoD Directive 2310.2, Personnel Recovery, June 30, 1997, assigns executive agent responsibilities for personnel recovery to the Secretary of the Air Force. Within the Air Force, two Field Operating Agencies (FOAs) are responsible for working "joint" personnel recovery issues. JCRA, aligned under the Air Combat Command, Director of Air and Space Operations, is the action agent for joint combat search and rescue (CSAR). In January 1996, then Secretary of Defense William Perry defined CSAR as a central component of DoDÕs personnel recovery program. Secondly, JSSA, aligned under the Director of Operations and Training at the Air Staff, is the action agent for S.E.R.E. and Code of Conduct training. Significantly, these two organiza-tions are joint in name only as neither is staffed with the proper mix of joint or multi-service billets to perform their joint respon-sibilities effectively. Currently, the Air Force provides all military and civilian billets for both FOAs. In addition, neither FOA has a sponsor on the Joint Staff. These facts create the incorrect perception that personnel recovery is primarily an Air Force only issue.

In an effort to overcome this deficiency, the JCRA recommended to COMACC the establishment of a normal staff process for personnel recovery. This would entail realigning some functions and positions to create organizations at the proper echelons. The proposed organization is depicted in Figure 2.

This new structure establishes clear, direct, and expeditious lines of communication between all personnel recovery staffs and creates a normal staff process for personnel recovery. It clearly delineates personnel recovery responsibilities at all echelons:

* DPMO for policy
* Joint Staff for doctrine
* CinCs for plan development and execution
* Services for budget and training
This proposal creates dedicated combatant command, Joint Staff, and Service staff proponents to ensure personnel recovery requirements and deficiencies are identified to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff via the Joint Monthly Readiness Review and Joint Warfighting Capabilities Assessment processes. It calls into question the continued need for an Executive Agent for personnel recovery, and establishes offices at every echelon dedicated to personnel recovery matters, rather than continued reliance on offices which work these critical issues only on a part-time basis. Finally, it provides a mechanism to maximize existing personnel recovery expertise already in place throughout the different echelons, but performing functions other than personnel recovery.

COMACC submitted his "DoD Personnel Recovery Realignment Initiative" to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF) on December 3, 1997, along with a recommen-dation to convene an Air Force Review to address the current Air Force and DoD approaches to personnel recovery. The Chief favorably received the initiative and chartered the review which convened January 21-22, 1998. The goals of the review were to determine the best Air Force organizational staff structure and recommend to the other Services, Joint Staff, and OSD proposals regarding their implementation of DoD Directive 2310.2.

The Air Force is now examining the creation of an Air Staff division dedicated exclusively to work personnel recovery issues. A separate CJCS panel supporting the Defense Reform Initiative Directive (DRID) is now evaluating support organizations with joint responsibilities but not directly under the ChairmanÕs control. The intent is to look at organizations, such as JCRA and JSSA, and eliminate duplication of effort, save money, and make better use of DoD personnel. This will be accomplished through realignment, merging, or elimination. This lines up perfectly with the Air Force Review to consolidate the support functions of JCRA and JSSA into a new Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA). In light of the ChairmanÕs efforts to strengthen USACOMÕs joint warfighting and training capabilities, COMACC sees USACOM as the perfect bed-down location for the new JPRA. The DRID panel received well our initial presentation of this concept in March 1998. Recommen-dations from this panel will determine the level of effort required by the Joint Staff.

COMACC believes this DoD Personnel Recovery Realignment Initiative is needed and timely in light of ongoing, related initiatives by OSD, the Joint Staff, and COMACC. The Air Force is on track and leading the effort to establish a dedicated personnel recovery office on the Air Staff. However, in order for personnel recovery to become truly joint, the other Services must address many of the functions the Air Force now performs. Personnel recovery must be addressed jointly. This would be accomplished by creating a Joint Staff personnel recovery office to focus on policy implementation; and by realigning the two Air Force FOAs into a JPRA; complete with joint billets and assigned to a joint organization (USACOM). Establishment of combatant command personnel recovery offices will complete the realignment process. Once complete, this initiative will achieve the normal staff process COMACC believes the personnel recovery mission so desperately needs. It will exceed both SecDef guidance and congressional intent to improve personnel recovery. Equally important, it will provide the mechanism to accomplish what the American people expect and deserve.

INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON SEARCH AND RESCUE

On March 1, 1998, DPMO assumed responsibilities as the DoD representative to the Interagency Committee on Search and Rescue. The ICSAR, chaired by the United States Coast Guard, is a policy, procedures, and equipment coordinating body, with representatives from the Departments of Defense, Transportation, Interior, and Commerce; the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The ICSAR is responsible for the National Search and Rescue plan, coordination of interagency policies and positions concerning search and rescue matters, interfacing with other national agencies concerning emergency services, and for providing a forum for improving search and rescue effectiveness and standardization.

Since the ICSARÕs inception, the U.S. Air Force has been the primary representative of the Department of Defense to the ICSAR. In the past, the Air Force office of National Security Emergency Preparedness has represented the Air Force in this role. However, the recently published DoD Directive 2310.2, "Personnel Recovery," directed ASD/ISA to represent the Department on all personnel recovery-related interagency fora. In light of that directive, and ICSARÕs expanding role in the search and rescue policy arena, DPMO, the Air Force, and the ICSAR agreed that DPMO should assume responsi-bility as the primary DoD representative. The Air Force has agreed to continue sending a representative from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center to the ICSAR meetings as subject matter expert and operational advisor to the DPMO representative. This arrange-ment allows ASD(ISA) to represent the broad policy interests of the Department of Defense, while the Air Force provides an operational perspective for consideration.

In light of its responsibility as the DoD representative to the ICSAR, DPMO formed a Search and Rescue Working Group to develop coordinated DoD positions for ICSAR issues. DPMO hosted the first meeting of the group on April 7, 1998. The working group includes representatives from DPMO, the Services, the Joint Staff, the Offices of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, and the DoD General Counsel. The first issue the working group will tackle is DoD coordina-tion of the new National Search and Rescue Plan which guides all U.S., state, and local government involvement in civil search and rescue, disaster response, personnel recovery, and similar emergency services. DPMO has taken the lead in coordinating the personnel recovery and civil search and rescue aspects of the plan for DoD.

INTERAGENCY EXECUTIVE STEERING GROUP FORMED

The DoD Personnel Recovery Conference successfully brought together numerous senior leaders from throughout DoD and the inter-agency community to address policy-level issues concerning personnel recovery. One of the highlights of the conference was the "VIP" luncheon hosted by Mr. Fred Smith, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. The luncheon provided an informal environment for senior participants to exchange ideas candidly.

The luncheon was so successful that DPMO wanted to build on this forum to regularly afford an opportunity for key DoD and interagency community decision-makers to assess progress and identify upcoming challenges in the personnel recovery arena. Therefore, DPMO recently instituted an Interagency Executive Steering Group on Personnel Recovery which will meet for the first time in late-May, early-June. The steering group includes senior leaders from ASD/ISA, DPMO, ASD(SO/LIC), USD(A&T), ASD(C3I), OSD General Counsel, the Joint Staff, the Air Staff, DIA, NIMA, CIA, USCG, and the Department of State.

PERSONNEL RECOVERY RESPONSE CELL EXERCISE PROGRAM INSTITUTED

In accordance with DoD Directive 2310.2, the USD(P) approved DoD Instruction 2310.3 on June 6, 1997 to provide procedures for the OSD Personnel Recovery Response Cell (PRRC). During a personnel recovery incident, the PRRC will provide expeditious, coordinated policy options to the Secretary of Defense. DoD Instruction 2310.3 tasks ASD/ISA with the following: 1) "Direct DASD(POW/Missing Personnel Affairs) to activate and provide leadership to the PRRC," and 2) "Exercise the Personnel Recovery Response Cell (PRRC) periodically to ensure procedures are current and coordination channels are functional."

In an effort to fulfill these responsibilities, DPMO has contracted with Veridian, Inc. to develop an annual program that includes three PRRC exercises. Each will use scenarios replicating real-world threats, an intelligence build-up, and a personnel recovery incident that embraces policy-level issues. The initial exercise will be a classified scenario based on a personnel recovery incident in Southwest Asia. It will be a tabletop exercise that includes all participants of the PRRC. Its primary purpose is to determine functions, responsibilities, and procedures of the PRRC so that when DPMO undertakes subsequent exercises the focus can center on substantive rather than procedural issues.

The second and third exercises will be "command post" exercises using a similar scenario as was developed for the first exercise. We will execute these iterations in the PentagonÕs Executive Support Center (ESC) at the computer terminals the PRRC would use during an actual incident. They will include "trusted agents" at various locations in DoD and the interagency community who will "feed" information to the PRRC as appropriate or as requested. By the third exercise, we will invite the USD(P) to receive the final back brief of the PRRCÕs deliberations so we can certify the PRRC meets his needs.

We expect to continue this as an annual program to enable the PRRC to build on lessons-learned and to mitigate the effects of personnel turnover on the OSD staff. We envision having at least two exercises each year. Once we have massaged this process, we intend to approach the combatant commands to offer inclusion of the PRRC in their exercise programs as well.

INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT TO PERSONNEL RECOVERY

Recognizing that successful personnel recovery is dependent upon intelligence support, DIA is coordinating a National Personnel Recovery Concept of Operations (CONOPS) to ensure national intelligence assets are adequately postured to respond to incidents. Lessons learned show that the chances for successful recovery diminish over time. Consequently, intelligence assets must be postured correctly to respond to such incidents. The Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) CONOPS, the result of a combined effort between the National Security Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office, is a step in this direction. It is designed as a single source to simplify the process of getting national SIGINT systems involved in the location and identification of the isolated individual. The CONOPS assists theater collection managers, Joint Intelligence Center Chiefs, and the Directors of combatant command Rescue Coordination Centers to take advantage of national systems to complement theater intelligence assets. The SIGINT CONOPS contains checklists that are specific enough to provide a starting point in the recovery process, generic enough to allow individual theaters to modify them for their specific needs, and broad enough to be used for exercise support.

We believe the SIGINT CONOPS can serve as the model for the National Personnel Recovery CONOPS. The National CONOPS will provide the framework for how the Intelligence Community will respond to personnel recovery incidents, serve as a guide for operators in the field, and will be a mechanism to educate and inform combatant commands and components on potential uses of collection systems for personnel recovery. The CONOPS will streamline procedures required to focus intelligence assets toward incident resolution. DIAÕs Director for Policy Support is consolidating this document within the Intelligence Community and DPMO is providing input.

Subsequent to gaining ASD/C3I approval, DIA, in concert with DPMO (as its advocate), intends to present the CONOPS as an informational brief to the Military Intelligence Board (MIB) to gain support and participation from the Commands and Services.

COMBAT SURVIVOR EVADER LOCATOR SYSTEM UPDATE

Soon the operational communities in all the Services will field the Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) System (AN/PRQ-7). Limited production of the CSEL radio is scheduled to begin this year, with full-up radio deliveries beginning in early calendar year 1999.

The Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center is prepared to begin Operational Assessment of the system very soon, using a small number of test radios. The operational assessment will exercise the entire CSEL system. This includes the hand-held radio, satellite base stations, Joint Search and Rescue Center software, radio data loading devices, and associated software.

CSEL is a state-of-the-art communication, location, and navigation device to fit in the air crew survival vest and other survival kits. Its unique, over-the-horizon, two way, secure data communications capability makes it possible for an isolated person to access the recovery system almost instantaneously from almost anywhere in the world. It will enable the combatant commandsÕ Joint Search and Rescue Centers (JSRC) to locate and authenticate the isolated person before committing rescue forces. This effectively eliminates the need for rescue crews to both find and authenticate the isolated person and greatly reduces the risk to rescue crews, thus helping to take the search out of search and rescue. It also enables the JSRC to pass instructions to the isolated person to help direct any actions required prior to the recovery. Another key feature of the basic CSEL hand-held radio is its ability to communicate directly with recovery forces via line-of-sight UHF/VHF, just as todayÕs radios do. The battery pack being designed for the hand-held radio is a lithium chemistry design capable of powering the radio for approximately 21 days under normal operating conditions.

Of special interest to the combatant commands is the CSELÕs ability to operate on U.S. UHF SATCOM channels without interfering with other users. CSEL is the first hand-held radio to incorporate this Demand Assigned Multiple Access (DAMA)-compatible technology allowing it to share a channel with other users.

Interoperability among all the Services will be assured by including Defense Information Infrastructure Common Operating Environment (DII COE) compliant software. This will permit the JSRC software to be operated on all ServicesÕ command and control systems.

JSSA is coordinating the CSEL concept of operations and will soon finalize it. Near instantaneous notification, authentication, and location of isolated persons and two-way communications will greatly enhance the report, locate, support, and recovery portions of the personnel recovery cycle throughout the full spectrum of conflict. Timely knowledge of where isolated personnel are, and what their condition is, will facilitate the decision making process necessary for safe recovery.

HAVE CSAR PHASE II - SUCCESSFUL DEMONSTRATION

On December 19, 1997 the U.S. Air Force Space Warfare Center (SWC) successfully demonstrated phase II of the HAVE Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) system with hardware and software flown on an HH-60 from the 305th Rescue Squadron (Air Force Reserves).

Part of the overall Air Force Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities program, HAVE CSAR is a SWC program to demonstrate the technology to provide CSAR helicopters with the location and status of downed aircrew members from over the horizon. The HAVE CSAR equipment provides the means to receive and decrypt HOOK-112 and CSEL information and display in the cockpit, the following:

1) the downed crew memberÕs location, 2) the helicopterÕs position, and 3) the enemy threats in the area. Members of the Air ForceÕs Aeronautical Systems Center attended the demonstration and have decided to include the HAVE CSAR capability into the HH-60 avionics upgrade program to meet the users requirements for CSEL functionality.