In response to the 2009 Fort Hood shooting incident, the secretary of defense recommended that the DOD evaluate requirements for creating systems, processes, policies and tools to share near real-time unclassified information. This information must be shared among military installations in the United States to increase situational awareness and ensure disaster-resilient functions and communities. Included in this review, Finding 3.6 cited, “No force protection processes or procedures exist to share near real-time event information among DOD elements.” In addition to force protection findings, shortfalls in emergency management information sharing were noted in the after action review during the Complex Catastrophes’ National Level Exercise 2011.
Due to this lack of interoperability, U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), DOD Services and other components may not receive sufficient warning of hazards or threats in a timely manner. There is currently no automated ability to pass timely force protection information, imminent threat or emergency management information that would enable DOD and other appropriate federal agencies to deter, interdict, mitigate or defeat these threats. MATADRR provides a system architecture that allows users the ability to share near real-time data within the USNORTHCOM domestic area of responsibility.
MATADRR is a two-year, $8 million DOD project designed to enable communication between applications that previously did not interact with one another. MATADRR enables rapid access to regional and local information. This solution does not require the adoption of a new system or end-user hardware and tools. The software component of MATADRR, known as Keystone, translates unclassified messages, software application data and GIS data among disparate systems. Keystone has its roots in Unified Incident Command and Decision Support or UICDS, which was developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to address information sharing shortfalls.
Keystone is an open-source service-oriented architecture that’s being utilized to establish and enhance information sharing and collaboration to improve situational awareness (SA). Keystone promotes interoperability through the implementation of standards-based communications that share force protection, emergency management and situational awareness information including incidents, alerts, GIS information and sensor information. Keystone uses an open architecture that allows developers to easily integrate their systems into its framework. Keystone relies on the deployment of cores hosted on virtual machines that can vary in size from single users to multiple users. For example, a core could be used to represent a DOD installation or an entire region. This flexibility allows Keystone to scale easily, ensuring the system is always available and can adapt to existing software applications.
The DOD uses a number of different applications for situational awareness and emergency management. Some organizations have systems that are more geared toward situational awareness, while other organizations’ applications are more focused toward emergency management. Simply put, there is no single application that can solve all of the DOD's needs. Despite these differences, Keystone is able to translate the data and pass it from one system to another. The key DOD systems being integrated with Keystone include the Army's new Installation Protection Integration Platform (iP2), and the Navy's Command, Control, Communication, Computer and Intelligence System (C4IS). Both of these systems are Web-enabled and Web-accessible.
The Navy's C4IS is fielded at the regional level with instances of the application at the base level, and is designed and developed to allow integration of new data links and external data fusion systems. The Army's new iP2 system is an emergency response and information management system focused on the incident command post. It is currently deployed at the base level and is replacing the Decision Support System over the next few years. The Army is scheduled to field iP2 to 96 bases in the next two years.
A number of adapters have already been coded, including iP2, C4IS, Non-Classified Internet Protocol Router-Situational Awareness Geospatial Enterprise and the multi-organizational WebEOC. Building adapters creates automated relationships.
By developing a WebEOC adapter, Keystone enables DOD elements to coordinate with their civilian counterparts who currently use WebEOC. The creation of adaptors enhances interoperability within Keystone. Instead of forcing users to abandon their existing software and procedures, Keystone allows users to continue using their existing software and transfers what is truly important: the data. MATADRR completed the initial steps required to implement business rules (a.k.a. agreement services).
These rules will allow Keystone users to specify which messages get distributed and who they get distributed to. Currently Keystone translations allow services to continue using their existing COPs and relevant applications. This enables the information to be shared between all parties in near real time by proximity, impact and incident type. This approach greatly reduces the workload while significantly increasing knowledge transfer thus establishing a more efficient response.
Current rules include sending alerts to recipients within their chain of command, laterally across chains of command, and to recipients who may be within the effects zone of an incident. Based on real-world data, it is anticipated that fewer than 10 messages will traverse the reporting chain to USNORTHCOM per day. Since these messages are in the tens of kilobytes each, it is anticipated that there will be no negative impact, even on the most heavily utilized network.
Current incident management systems do not effectively share information horizontally. Information sharing is accomplished in an ad-hoc manner using a variety of systems. Horizontal sharing enables risk reduction and adds value to response operations and decision-making processes. Keystone is designed to vertically and horizontally share information in an automated process. The benefits of Keystone stretch from strategic and tactical levels.
The strategic value of Keystone has been demonstrated through numerous joint technical demonstrations. These demonstrations included cooperation among DOD elements and interagency partners. At the strategic level, the horizontal sharing of unclassified information reduces risk and adds value, while removing stovepipes. At the operational level, Keystone improves information sharing among commands, components, agencies and organizations before, during and after response operations. At the tactical level, Keystone enables timely and relevant information sharing across installation boundaries.
Keystone demonstrations have shown interdepartmental communications ability even over poor-quality networks. During the most recent demonstration, users set up work stations for iP2, C4IS and WebEOC and connected via a single hot spot device. The data flow was not hampered by the network as the data packets are typically small, even when transferring GIS information.
Of course not all scenarios fit neatly into computer code, which is why the door remains open for users to distribute alerts as they see fit. In the upcoming software release of Keystone, the rules engine will allow users to select which messages they wish to receive. The updates will allow an organization to “subscribe” to message alerts that it may not otherwise receive.
MATADRR offers a software development kit, which will allow programmers to easily interface between their application and Keystone. The kit is currently being used by several organizations including the Pacific Disaster Center and U.S. Army. For more information on the software development kit please see: http://matadrr.org
An enduring reality from the past decade of overseas contingency operations and major natural disasters is that our warriors and leaders; civil-military technicians, operators and first responders; and commanders at an incident or in combat have gained unprecedented technological experience. Most relevant is that these subject-matter experts expect future automation of capabilities, processes and procedures to provide flexible, adaptable and seamless information sharing. Seamless information sharing requires a virtual solution to integrate current and future systems that provide simple, clean unclassified information exchange. MATADRR is a solid step forward that capitalizes on repurposed capabilities and innovation for a sustainable cost-effective approach.
