Marine Corps News Release Release #: H39196
Division of Public Affairs, Headquarters, United States Marine Corps, Washington, DC 20380-1775 Commercial: (703) 614-7678/9 DSN: 224-7678/9 FAX: (703)697-5362
Date: 09/03/96 Story by Lance Cpl. Bryan Lieske
NEW IMAGERY ANALYSIS TECHNOLOGY TESTED AT CHERRY POINT
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION, Cherry Point, N.C. -- Cherry Point's 2d Force Imagery Interpretation Unit recently began testing some new equipment that could launch them into the 21st century of imagery analysis and distribution.
The equipment is packaged together as a system, known as the Tactical Exploitation Group, or TEG. The TEG is a prototype that the 2d FIIU received July 23 and will be evaluating for the rest of this year.
According to 1st Lt. Brian Spiegel, officer-in-charge of 2d FIIU, if the TEG performs as well as expected, it will completely transform the way in which imagery intelligence is provided.
"The old equipment we took to the field was sort of a hodgepodge thing thrown together just so we would have deployable capabilities," Spiegel explained.
The TEG, on the other hand, is a mobile imagery ground station, giving it several advantages over the old equipment. A good example is Exercise Roving Sands, where 2d FIIU deployed its old equipment in vans built for the Army's Pershing missiles. The equipment was bulky and extremely difficult to move.
The TEG can be transported in three heavy HMMWVs with trailers, which connect to a field tent, creating one integrated workstation. Gunnery Sgt. Joan Straub, TEG integration officer, said the entire facility can be constructed in about three hours.
"The TEG will allow imagery interpreters to move with a commander on a more dynamic battlefield," Straub said.
The equipment is definitely more mobile; but, in addition to moving physical equipment more efficiently, its greatest advantages lie in its ability to receive, process and send information to the right place at the right time, Spiegel said.
"This is a very flexible system," Spiegel continued. "It allows us to use a wide variety of video sources to gather intelligence imagery." These include reconnaissance satellites; aerial photography from the U-2, SR-71 Blackbird, and Pioneer unmanned aerial vehicles, a pilot's heads-up display; and tactical ground photography.
Along with the TEG, a parallel project is in the works at Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Md., which will allow a digital camera mounted in the nose gun of an F/A-18D Hornet to transmit visual images from the air to the TEG.
Once the Marines on the ground receive the images, the TEG allows them to analyze targets for information, such as troop strength, number of aircraft, and presence of ordnance. From this they can create intelligence reports of enemy activity.
"The TEG will allow us to get information, analyze it and get it out quickly," Straub explained.
The TEG can then transmit these reports via several different communication lines, Spiegel said. Through satellite communication, called Trojan Spirit, the deployed TEG could send intelligence reports back to a national center in Camp Pendleton, Calif. The TEG can also use hard-wired land lines and encryption devices for secure local communication to other commanders in a theater.
"This equipment employs the latest and the greatest computer hardware and software on the street today," Spiegel said. "Fortunately, my Marines here at 2d FIIU are the most system-savvy Marines on the East Coast, and they've met the challenge."
In addition to being computer specialists, the TEG has forced the Marines of 2d FIIU to expand their talents to other areas. "These Marines are wearing multiple hats," Spiegel said. "They've had to take on additional duties while maintaining their current workload; but, these Marines are motivated and excited to train like they're going to fight."
