[FedCom] Fw: [MilCom] Theater Frequency Management

[Don]

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From: "Oceana Radio" <223bthp@cox.net>
To: "Milcom" <milcom@mailman.qth.net>
Cc: "WUN" <WUN@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2003 8:09 AM
Subject: [MilCom] Theater Frequency Management


> http://www.af.mil/news/Apr2003/4160330.shtml
>
> Theater frequency management organizes airwaves
> by Bob Jensen
> Combined Forces Air Component Public Affairs
> 04/16/03 - OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM (AFPN) -- Along with the thousands of
> planes filling the sky over Iraq are more than 5,000 different electronic
> frequencies used for critical communications between the systems and
> people who make those flights possible.
>
> With numbers like these, there are plenty of chances for something to
> become a problem. Keeping those systems and people from "stepping on" each
> other's frequencies is Master Sgt. John C. Zimmermann, the theater
> frequency manager for the Combined Forces Air Component commander.
>
> "Frequency management is a process to ensure all equipment emitting radio
> frequency energy work harmoniously within the electromagnetic
> battlespace," said Zimmermann, speaking from the Combined Air Operations
> Center at a desert air base in Southwest Asia.
>
> "That battlespace includes basically everything that supports the fighting
> mission," Zimmermann said. "For instance, each of the satellites we use
> has their own frequencies. Each of the various radars operate in different
> bands and within those bands they're assigned their own frequencies.
>
> "Every aircraft also has its own frequencies to work with their specific
> radios," Zimmermann said. "So to give you an example,...I'm trying to make
> sure the satellite we're using to control (an unmanned aerial vehicle)
> with isn't going to interfere with the (Navy fighter pilot) the (airborne
> warning and control system) crews are talking to."
>
> Zimmermann is deployed from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where he is the
> noncommissioned officer in charge of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe
> frequency management office. His current job deals with juggling
> electronic frequencies for everything from handheld radios to the big
> satellite links that bring in the military computer network connections --
> SIPRNET and NIPRNET.
>
> He and his nightshift counterpart, Staff Sgt. Jermaine Jones, nominate and
> assign frequencies that support missions for operations Iraqi Freedom and
> Enduring Freedom. They manage electronic emissions in an area that spans
> from Turkey to Afghanistan.
>
> When assigning frequencies, Zimmermann analyzes a user's request, reviews
> the requirements, and then looks at frequencies that have already been
> issued or assigned to other users. He tries to find an unused frequency or
> one being used in a geographically separated area.
>
> Finding the right frequency is not necessarily an easy task. For Operation
> Iraqi Freedom alone there are about 21,000 individual frequencies
> assigned, Zimmermann said. About 5,000 of those are for the components
> supporting the air campaign, the domain Zimmermann manages.
>
> More than 1,500 frequency requests to support Operation Iraqi Freedom have
> been processed by Zimmermann's office since December, he said.
>
> Complicating the task further, the electromagnetic spectrum is actually a
> sovereign resource and each country manages it the way they deem fit,
> Zimmermann said.
>
> "It's a lucrative business," said Zimmermann. "So, when we deploy to
> places like Southwest Asia we have to coordinate all the frequencies we
> use with the host nation. This is to ensure something we use is not going
> to interfere with a frequency the host nation may be using for cell
> phones. And that's actually a case that happened over here."
>
> Each component has its own frequency manager and Zimmermann said he is in
> contact with them daily. Conflicts between frequencies used by the various
> components are very rare because of the coordination process and the
> different kinds of equipment used, he said.
>
> If a conflict does pop up, the component frequency managers usually solve
> it among themselves, Zimmermann said. For the few times the managers
> cannot resolve the conflict, the problem is forwarded to U.S. Central
> Command to decide which mission has the priority.
>
> "Without any frequency management we'd have something we call 'frequency
> fratricide,'" said Zimmermann. "Everyone would be 'stepping on' each
> other. There needs to be a clear, relatively clean signal between two
> links and if someone nearby is using the same frequency for another
> communication link, there would be frequency fratricide."
>
> "Providing interference-free communications that allows for uninterrupted
> command and control of air assets to successfully run the air war," is the
> biggest benefit his function brings to the fight, Zimmermann said. "This
> is an extremely important aspect of the air campaign that most operators
> don't think about.
>
> "If it's working right, it's usually an afterthought," Zimmermann said.
> "If it's not done right we'll hear about it. This is one of those jobs
> that isn't usually noticed until there's a problem.
>
> "The operators don't care what frequencies they're using," Zimmermann
> said. "They just want to be able to key their microphone and have someone
> respond to them from the other side every time. They don't care how it
> happens, they don't care if it takes five days to find a frequency that
> doesn't interfere, they just need to know what it's going to be and that
> it works."
>
> --
> Jack Painter mailto:223bthp@cox.net
> Virginia Beach, Va 36.55N 076.07W
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