United States Army Analysis and Control Element (ACE) Block II, Distributed Common Ground System – Army (DCGS-A)

Overview

The United States Army’s Analysis and Control Element (ACE) Block II group within the Distributed Common Ground System – Army (DCGS-A) family of systems connects tactical, operational, and theater-level commanders and their staffs to hundreds of intelligence and intelligence-related data sources at all classification levels.

Challenge

Army commanders require rapid receipt and movement of intelligence information where they need it, when they need it, to plan and conduct full-spectrum operations in counterinsurgency environments and across the full range of military operations.

Solution

As one of Forcepoint™ longest standing customers, the Army ACE Block II environment has used the company’s transfer solutions from their earliest availability. ACE Block II is replacing the existing Trusted Solaris™-based transfer mechanisms: Trusted Releaser™ and Trusted Gateway System™ with the faster and more flexible Linux-based Trusted Gateway System™ .

The primary function of Trusted Gateway System within ACE Block II is to protect information and data created on a high-side network that needs to be securely transferred to a lower domain for use by another agency or organization and vice versa. Trusted Gateway System is also optimized to move large quantities of data or information from a lower-level network to a higher-level network without human interaction. Trusted Gateway System assists ACE Block II analysts with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tasking of sensors, and posting data that is used to facilitate rapid planning and execution of all warfighting functions. The bi-directional nature of Trusted Gateway System allows for the transfer of intelligence-related data rapidly between commanders, analysts, and warfighters operating at multiple network levels.

Results

Trusted Gateway System, a Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) application, provides transfer capabilities from multiple secure networks and between varying classification levels for a complete cross-domain solution (CDS). Trusted Gateway System provides ACE Block II access to different databases; for example, JWICS, which provides tunneling packages to high-end sensitive compartmented information at the battalion level. By providing this information, Trusted Gateway System ensures that data is available and capable of being operationally integrated, which reduces analytical production time. Trusted Gateway System also provides ACE Block II analysts the ability to maintain situational awareness and the ability to disseminate intelligence across the enterprise. Trusted Gateway System integrates Web-based intelligence architecture with data access and the capability to enable analytic centers to provide operational information to and from deployed forces.

Summary

The ACE Block II group was responsible for the primary certification and accreditation test events of Trusted Gateway System at the Top Secret and Below Interoperability (TSABI) level, which led to the initial evidence creation and ultimately to the product being included on the Unified Cross Domain Management Office (UCDMO) Baseline list.

By including the Trusted Gateway System transfer mechanism in the operational environment, U.S. Army analysts are able to facilitate the DCGS-A mission to connect tactical, operational, and theater-level commanders to hundreds of intelligence and intelligence-related data sources at all classification levels to better understand norms, detect change, discern linkages, appreciate significance, cue collection, and identify, track, and target hostile forces in a timely and effective manner.