Army to deploy web-based intelligence network.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The Army is creating a database for U.S. commanders in Iraq to archive and distribute intelligence on suspected insurgents.

The absence of a consolidated database of information on alleged insurgents--such as their biometrics and personal backgrounds--has hampered efforts to accurately identify and arrest terrorist suspects, officials said.

"We need to enhance our intelligence capabilities," said Lynn Schnurr, technical advisor to the Army deputy chief of staff for intelligence.

In January, the Army will begin deploying a "joint intelligence operations capability" in Iraq, Schnurr said. The JIOC will consist of a web-based catalog of information that soldiers at the battalion level can access from high-speed workstations.

One reason why U.S. troops have not been able to substantially weaken the insurgency in Iraq is that they don't have a good grasp of the identity of the individuals they capture, Schnurr said in an interview.

"This fight we are in is really about individuals ... knowing who these individuals are ... tying them to events and to whom they are associated," she added. U.S. soldiers in Iraq are fighting a war, but are also doing police work. "Intelligence work in Iraq is about conducting criminal investigations."

Schnurr is leading a project dubbed "Every Soldier a Sensor," which focuses on making soldiers more aware of the value of the information they collect in daily raids and patrols, and the need to feed that information into a central database. "Today, we have a lot of good data, but it's echelon focused--not shared."

To facilitate the flow of information into the database, the Army will supply intelligence units and tactical commanders in Iraq with handheld computers. Up to 500 Tacticomp personal digital assistants will be shipped this fall, said Schnurr. Soldiers will be able to send text, voice and video directly into the JIOC database, where the information will be analyzed and disseminated throughout the theater of operations. The Army plans to buy as many as 1,000 handhelds, which cost about $11,000 each.

The PDA will have a "bio-cam" plug-in device so when a soldier comes across a suspect, he can take a picture of his face, fingerprint him and send the information to the JIOC database via satellite, said Schnurr. "It's critical to have biometrics on these individuals." Visual identification is unreliable because suspects often change their appearance dramatically, as well as their names, she said. "If you look at...