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enhanced n ships ing reserve naval logist
Rainbow conducl Comma ercise as part < ists from 45 re zations partici follow-up to t
pot of gold at the end of this annual exercise was enhanced mobilization readiness. Rainbow Reach didn’t ships at sea, but it did move ships on paper, provid- reserve units of the Military Seaflit Command with aval logistics know-how.
«Javal Reserve
Rainbow Reach ’84 is the largest naval logistics exercise conceived and conducted by reservists to date. Members of the Military Sealift Command’s reserve units nationwide planned and executed the exercise as part of their mobilization training. Approximately 2,100 reservists from 45 reserve units and other Navy, Army, and Coast' Guard organizations participated in the exercise during March and April 1984. As a follow-up to the exercise, many Military Sealift Command (MSC)
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servists were mobilized overseas to gain familiarity with their mobilization sites and participate in Exercise Expanded Sea ’84.
Not only did Rainbow Reach ’84 provide realistic training to MSC and other reservists, but also active-duty military and civilian personnel of the command received valuable mobilization and contingency training. The active-duty staff of the Military Sealift Command could not have manned all the billets in the exercise, and it did not have the resources to plan for the exercise, execute the controls or distaff function, and evaluate the exercise’s results. These tasks were performed by specialists in blue suits, the MSC reserve players, planners, and controllers. With the expanding role of the Military Sealift Command, Vice Admiral William H. Rowden, Commander, Military Sealift Command (COMSC), has tasked his supporting reserve units to be ready to augment the active-duty MSC staff. Thus, he directed the MSC reserve community to conduct Rainbow Reach ’84. This community is headed by Rear Admiral Russell W. Gorman, MSC Reserve Exercise Director, who many consider the father of the Miniature Logistic (MiniLogEx) and Rainbow Reach series of exercises. He is assisted by four flag officers who, after mobilization, serve as commanders of the MSC area commands—Atlantic, Pacific, Europe, and Far East. Exercise planning and preparation were accomplished by the officer conducting the exercise (OCE), who appointed deputy OCEs for COMSC, for the four MSC area commands, and for Southwest Asia.
The OCE had two roles: develop the exercise planning documents, which gave guidance to the headquarters and area command staff, and direct the headquarters players organization. The OCE’s staff, which was duplicated at the area command level, included a deputy/plans coordinator and coordinators for control, operations, the mobilization phase, evaluation, and communications.
The objectives of Rainbow Reach ’84 were to:
► Provide meaningful training to reservists to enhance their mobilization readiness
► Provide a realistic environment in which to practice learned technical skills
► Test and evaluate the capability of MSC naval reservists to reach mobilization sites and establish an MSC office
► Determine areas of training that require increased emphasis and establish future training goals
► Provide joint training with other military units responsible for logistics operations upon mobilization
The MSC reserve units participated in exercise planning and conduct according to their mobilization assignments. The units programmed to augment the area commands furnished personnel for the deputy OCE’s area command
Participating in Rainbow Reach besides MSC reserve forces, which are headed by Rear Admiral Russell Gorman, right— considered the father of this series of exercises—were Coast Guard and Army personnel such as the reserve captain opposite page who manned one of more than ten Army military transportation management units used in the exercise.
staffs. MSC office units conducted planning at their lev and were represented at the area command planning c, ferences. Emphasis was placed in exercise preparation a on providing a significant amount of activity for all Part ipating units, offices, area commands, and headquart ^ Planning for Rainbow Reach ’84 began at the c*oSiLe the critique for Rainbow Reach ’83 in April 1983- OCE and his deputies were appointed and a letter o ^ struction outlining the exercise was issued in June- letter of instruction provided the geographic limits an ^ scenario of the exercise. Commander, Naval Surface ^ serve Force, was requested to identify appropriate na readiness commands as lead readiness commands (*\ Corns) to provide support in the planning and exer phases of the exercise. RedCom support included end away training (WET) orders for personnel atten planning conferences and for transportation to exer sites, active duty for training (AcDuTra) requests foj. mobilization phase, and coordinating use of local fact*1 and transportation. Exercise play took place on the vve ends of 10-11 and 24-25 March, and the
mi rrARY SEAL**
Dated 1 Cp UrTet^ ^rom 9-20 April 1984. M-Day was desig- °nd we , ebruary 1984. WETs were scheduled on the sec- Particj 6 ^0r tbe hea<lquarters units and for office units
Dondr;na!ln£ at actlve MSC facilities or appropriate f{nu locations.
detach^^Uarters staffs were constituted from augmenting
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e3ct| 0/a” controller and attended by control staffs from Cq "e area command player organizations, generated vkleri ,ur°”er plan and the master event sequence list, pro-
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horn ents, some of which traveled significant distances C°MSr h reSular drill sites to the exercise site. The quartg “^quarters staff was located at the actual head- COiUm S In Washington, D.C. The Atlantic and Pacific tions atnRStaffs played at actual MSC area command loca- The gu “ay°nne, New Jersey, and Oakland, California. Played r°^-e’ bar East, an(l Southwest Asia commands nia, and^T*168 *n Washington, D.C., San Diego, Califor- Twe d'amPa, Florida, respectively.
C°uatrv ^'tW° °^rice units from the eastern part of the C°asts • manned simulated ports on the East and Gulf Iri°biii’2.In.^uroPe’ and the Mediterranean. Personnel in the Hur0p atl0n phase proceeded to their mobilization sites in Westg and the Mediterranean. The office units from the West r ^3rt tbe United States manned ports on the f>cean °ast’ in the Pacific, the Far East, and the Indian
Atter^0n’erence for each area command was scheduled. for theCeS included the MSC Naval Reserve flag officer Itis rgDresPective area, the active-duty area commander or ^ayaj eser>tative, and the representative for Commander, ^Dtpbei111^306 ^eserve Force. The OCE or his deputy and eDces ,S °f his staff attended all area command confer- 18 [\(0vc°ntrollers’ conference was scheduled during 7— Caliber at COMSC Pacific headquarters at Oakland,
s>Qna]j 6 ’asking, and determined the quantity and profes- 111 of exercise play for all participating units.
Communications conferences were held concurrently with area command conferences. Deputy OCEs held conferences for their staffs and area command players at least once during the exercise planning period. Finally, a critique and flag conference was held subsequent to the conduct of the exercise.
Foremost among the activities in the summer of 1983 was the publication of the exercise plan. Building on the comprehensive document prepared for the previous Rainbow Reach, the basic document was distributed on 1 September 1983. This distribution provided area commanders and office unit commanding officers sufficient time to prepare the agenda for the area command planning conferences in the fall. To coordinate this activity, the exercise planning staff and the area command staffs met at least one additional evening per month, at which time flag officers and area command requirements were incorporated in the exercise plan. These meetings provided a means of resolving problems and developing solutions outside of the normal unit drills. This extra time was mandatory because the members of the OCE staff also held responsible positions, such as commanding, executive, and administrative officer, in MSC reserve units. The Director, Naval Reserve Division, of MSC attended these meetings at the Washington, D.C., level and provided invaluable input and guidance.
The exercise plan included annexes covering task organization and assignment of forces, intelligence, operations, exercise logistics, public affairs, exercise evaluations, communications, the mobilization phase, and control. Each member of the staff was responsible for one or more of the annexes.
The task organization played in the exercise mirrored the actual MSC command organization and tested the relationship of area commands, subarea commands, and office units. Not only were intra-MSC relationships tested, but also coordination of MSC units at all levels with other Navy commands and Army, Coast Guard, Department of Defense, and civilian agencies were evaluated. Continental United States (ConUS), out-ConUS, and in-theater commands were included in the exercise. The intelligence annex provided a realistic scenario for the play, including appropriate geographic information to necessitate the deployment of forces, their resupply, noncombatant evacuation, and establishment of MSC theatre and subarea commands. The operations annex supported the worldwide scope and the level of hostilities.
*n8s / October
1984
105
The ability of the mobilization strength of the MSC to move the “beans, bombs, and bullets” required in theater as well as other Department of Defense cargoes was tested and refined in Rainbow Reach ’84. The scenario called for logistics support in the form of unit moves as opposed to normal peacetime lifts. The time-phased force deployment data base, a “script” of cargo movements, was developed for prior Rainbow Reach exercises by West Coast MSC units and was updated and loaded in MSC’s main computer in the Washington, D.C., area for Rainbow Reach ’84. The computerized data were readily available in the form of listings sequenced by port of loading, date of arrival at port, required date at discharge port, and other
important factors. Each series of listings included cargo requirements for the three plans that were being played in the exercise.
The amount of detail in the listings, such as weight and dimensions of the cargoes, permitted assignment of cargoes to the appropriate ships, taking into consideration the dimensions of hatches, lifting capabilities of booms, and other characteristics. This task, normally performed by personnel of the Military Traffic Management Command, was accomplished by players at the cargo desks of the area commands and provided them an excellent opportunity to become familiar with ship stowage problems.
The ship list included the itineraries of more than 400 U. S.- and foreign-flag vessels that were deemed available to load the required cargoes and assigned them to area commands. The sailing schedules permitted the area commands to identify those assets that would be in position to load in order to meet required discharge dates. The smooth flow of supplies and materials from both ConUS and out- ConUS ports to theatre distribution was thus facilitated.
A significant coordination problem between the Atlantic and Europe area command staffs was resolved at an area command conference. A large number of vessels destined for European ports from U. S. East Coast ports would have to be loaded and deployed at least a week prior to the exercise in order for those ships to arrive during the first exercise weekend. A similar situation existed for the Pacific and Far East commands.
To ensure the cargoes and vessels would be under way from load ports prior to the start of the exercise (StartEx) on 10 March, Atlantic and Pacific area command staffs made cargo assignments during February drills and communicated these books to the receiving area commands. This pre-StartEx activity was made possible because the computerized cargo requirements and the ship list were transmitted by the exercise staff to the area commands in January.
“Sending” area commands informed “receiving” area commands of arriving vessels and their cargoes by situation report message. Because of the volume of listings and the compressed weekend format for play, computer assistance was mandatory to collate the situation report information. Microcomputers located at Atlantic and Pacific headquarters were loaded with the vessels assigned to those area commands in the ship list. The pre-StartEx cargo assignments were also placed on diskettes in these computers. These diskettes were then transmitted to COMSC headquarters in Washington, D.C., so that a consolidated sailing schedule could be produced. This sailing schedule was also transmitted to the Europe and Far East commands so they would know what cargoes to expect at what ports. All of the codes identifying types of vessels, flags of registry, and ports, which facilitated computer entry, were provided in the operations annex.
Computers were used for communication also. This communication took two forms: up-loading of cargo database records from area command headquarters equipped with microcomputers to the COMSC headquarters, microcomputer, and transmission of exercise message traffic. The efficient operation of MSC microcomputers was a resuit of the cooperation of the active staff, the training on the equipment prior to the exercise, an comprehensive guidelines included in the exercise P
In the planning for previous Rainbow Reach exercis - it was realized that the weekend, as opposed to the ^ week, format for the exercise required that mass amounts of message traffic be transmitted in a short Perl of time. Lieutenant Commander Richard Guida, exer staff communications officer, suggested that e'ectr. .e. mail software, which is available on commercial ti sharing services, be used for the Rainbow Reach ’83 c0 munication system. aS.
In this electronic mail system, mailbox codes were jt signed to each participating headquarters and office u Group codes, such as “all MSCLANT,” analogous address indicator groups were also assigned. Periodic j units would sign on to the system; if traffic had been ^ to them, a command would print it on their terminal- cause of their larger message volume, headquarters had two or more terminals and two or more address c° ^ They set one or more terminals in the receive-only m ^ remaining on-line continuously. Outgoing traffic keyed in at the terminal by the originator, who use standard Navy message format with the appropriate dressees’ mailbox codes as a header. Because the c.^ mercial time-sharing system was used without encrypt', only unclassified traffic was transmitted. Messages c 3 ^ fied “for exercise purposes only” were, however, se order to test security procedures. ug£lj
This same simulated communications system waS . j in Rainbow Reach ’84. Establishing this network requ ^ extensive planning by the exercise staff to ensure tha proper documentation was transmitted to the units to P mit initial training prior to distribution of the terminal5 ^ weeks prior to the first exercise weekend. Included 'n ^ communications annex and its ten appendices were j mailbox codes assigned to units playing, controllers-^, evaluators. Also included were a group code for ** destined for ships, the local telephone numbers foraC . ing the time-sharing system, and message drafting 3 lease procedures.
During the exercise, the communication staffs a units and the area commands were at the center of act' ^ entering the outgoing messages and receiving and m uting incoming traffic to the appropriate offices. T*1® j9y tern was more than adequate to provide a high level 0 y, and a high amount of incidents to keep all players .j. More than 4,000 messages, and 13,000 copies for 'l1i ^ | ual addresses, were processed during the two ex weekends. 0iv
The final cost for the use of this network was apP (gf. mately $16,000, including $3,000 for the rental of ugh minals. This cost was less than that for 1983, even t ^ ^ the system was used throughout the country. This c0Sge of also under budget and was held to a minimum beca" the following measures: local telephone numbers r° ^ work access were used; prior to StartEx, messages ^ off-line loaded; the number of information addressee ^ ^ minimized; a maximum of four hours training 11 \\j
each unit was allocated; mailboxes were autom3
mess ’ and Prior to the first exercise weekend, controller adher^eS Were PrePositioned by mail. The imposition and enna 6nCf to cost-minimizing procedures was in itself
^mobilization training.
dePendq!jaUty training received in Rainbow Reach ’84 s°]Veon the problems players were called upon to (]Urj' hese problems were conceived and introduced levei ^ f 6 exerc'se by the control staff. Maintaining a high °ut meaningful activity for 2,100 reservists through- Contrcountry was a prime objective of the exercise. site n° I'" at office unit level reported to their oppo- Ported mbers at the area command level, who in turn reCon l° eontroller on the OCE staff.
desi„ ^°ders had two functions: to introduce incidents pr°pri6 to provide realistic problems to be solved by ap- reactoa 6 des^s at all command levels, and to function as r°le o|fS' headquarters controllers as reactors played the activif n°nParticipating headquarters-level commands and 0pera;es SUch as Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Naval rriand pnS’ ^tate Department, Defense Fuel Supply Com- mand’ttt0mmander’ Military Traffic Management Corn- Area ^^C), and Commandant of the Coast Guard. A(lmiC°mmand reactors played the role of the Maritime i^.^ion, Commander in Chief, Atlantic, Com- ganjz r.ln Chief, Pacific, Naval Control of Shipping Or- Distrj Operational Control Authorities, Coast Guard Under J ,^quarters, and masters and crewmen of ships Qj.,.. heir operational control. repair'^6 Un'c reactors played local activities such as ship Unj0ri ] aCdd'es’ Naval Control of Shipping offices, labor P°rtc °C£ds’ ^aw enforcement activities, and Coast Guard f°r j • Ptains. Office unit controllers were also responsible play Gehrig free-play events during slack times. The free signed 3S Pdher spontaneous or preplanned and was dein sitto involve the maximum number of unit members *°ns that might occur during operations of a mobilized unit. Examples included terrorist activity, medical problems, and labor disruptions.
The assignment of the most experienced reservists to the controller staffs ensured that the prescripted and free- play events were as realistic and meaningful as possible. This experience resulted not only from participation in the reserve program but also from employment with the Military Sealift Command. The staff of the Far East area command monitored the experience level of each unit in their organization and devised incidents appropriate to that experience level.
Rainbow Reach ’84 provided realistic training for the entire MSC reserve community. Realism was achieved because reservists performed tasks mobilized MSC units would be expected to accomplish. In addition, the scenario and events in the controllers’ plans were integrated, that is, action taken in one area command involving loading a vessel was reflected in discharging operations in another area command after the requisite transit time had elapsed. Appropriate port play would be related to these operations.
The ship list and cargo requirements data bases were tailored to provide the “tools” for headquarters and area command controllers to use to generate play. The communication system was chosen to facilitate the exchange of the large volumes of information required by the area commands and their ports to sustain a high level of activity. The value of the state-of-the-art automatic data processing (ADP) support lies not only in the volume of car-
MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND
One of the goals of logistics planning is to maxim'2 ^ use of costly assets. In order to do this, cargo planners operations personnel must stow the ships properly ^ know their location and status. Information manage111 j is essential to this task and is dependent upon autom equipment and personnel trained to use it. ,0
Rainbow Reach ’84 provided the training necessary^ control the large fleet of assets needed for sealift- h a required that an exercise plan be prepared—a realist'0
hands'
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history and served in the USS Lorain County (LST-1177) as °P^, a officer. He was employed by Johnson and Higgins, New York,
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goes or number of ports which can be simulated, but also in timing the play for particular situations. This aspect resembles war gaming and is a frontier yet to be explored to its fullest.
In addition to developing the exercise “script,” ADP equipment was used by the command and control centers (CCCs) in headquarters and at the Atlantic and Pacific commands to correlate and exchange the ship and cargo status information. The training Rainbow Reach players received in the operation of the equipment and software was directly related to their mobilization billets. This training consisted of data entry, on-line communication with the headquarters computer, and report production. All of these applications use software developed by COMSC for the present generation of microcomputers. When upgraded equipment is installed, training using the new software will be required. Rainbow Reach is an excellent test bed for shaking out the bugs in new software. In additional Rainbow Reach exercises, ADP-qualified personnel can provide useful insight regarding new requirements for software and hardware. An integral part of the ADP team in the exercise was enlisted personnel assigned mobilization billets in the CCCs or who were interested in performing these duties.
Future Rainbow Reach exercises are an appropriate environment to prototype computer networks in which available ship information would be preloaded into centrally accessible data bases along with cargo requirements. Allocation of cargoes to vessels could be facilitated by having vessel cargo stowage constraints built into the software. A misallocation would then be caught and a warning given to the cargo specialist. An operator would feed instructions for allocation into a computer terminal, which would result in creation of a new data base. This information would be down-loaded to the headquarters computer, rendering present status reports unnecessary. This prototype could be tested using the new generation of microcomputers to be acquired by MSC- and a Department of Defense-approved commercial or military time-sharing service. Many of these services provide encryption equipment to permit transfer of classified files.
Rainbow Reach also included as many of the military organizations that would be connected with port mobilization MSC activities as possible. The Coast Guard, the MTMC, Naval Control of Shipping, and Telecommunications units all participated in the exercise. The MTMC units simulated their role as shipper. Transportation Terminal Units 1174 and 1175 provided cargo requests and liaison with MSC office units in New York and Philadelphia. Transportation Terminal Unit 1176 participated with Military Sealift Command Office, Baltimore. An active- duty Coast Guard officer was assigned to COMSC during the exercise weekends; a Coast Guard reserve officer served on the headquarters controller staff; and other Coast Guard reserve officers played with area command staffs. West Coast area command activity included extensive involvement of Coast Guard personnel and, at the Atlantic command, Coast Guard participants confronted such problems as oil pollution, safety of vessels with casualties, and interpretation of regulations in a mobilization
environment. The Coast Guard reserve players have corn mented that the Rainbow Reach format, including the r sponsive communications system, provides an excel vehicle for testing procedures for port security, terroris • and environmental catastrophes. .
Naval Control of Shipping (NCS) was played durnv both the command post exercise and mobilization pha of the exercise. A Naval Control of Shipping OrgaI1,z tion-qualified officer was a member of the headqua'c; controller staff and introduced NCS incidents during P Written NCS guidance was also provided to all units P to StartEx. Commander in Chief, Atlantic, directed a Coast NCS reserve units to provide assistance to M units colocated in reserve centers during the cornn1h-tj. post exercise phase. Personnel participating in the mo zation phase were provided with the names of NCS 0 cers holding AcDuTra orders to their location to facil' their joint participation in a concurrent worldwide Na Control of Shipping Organization exercise. Rain0 Reach thus provided an opportunity for MSC reservists become more familiar with NCS procedures. .
COMSC has been assigned increased responsibilh'eS ^ part of the Navy’s effort to increase the sealift readinesS the armed forces. Sealift improvement efforts have ^ cused on three areas: improving responsiveness by s predeployment—the near-term prepositioning force c cept; making available on-berth additional sealift asset.[11. the United States; and providing support systems that prove the efficiency and usefulness of sealift pla
on experience with the latest automated information 1U cessing equipment and its use in a realistic operating e 0 ronment. State-of-the-art ADP equipment was also uS^arj. generate the scripts for the exercise and to deliver the ous communications. . ^
Mobilization readiness demands that reserve un‘lSnol ready to assume their assigned duties not in a montt1’ ^ in a week, but immediately. In creating and particip jf in Rainbow Reach ’84, MSC reserves maintained ^ mobilization readiness and contributed greatly to the Force concept.
■ v. rlegr6e ,
Commander Brouwer graduated from Yale University with a u
Administration, U. S. Department of Transportation, as an ec°ncsSjnf, His education included a Certificate in Systems and Data Pro gjir from New York University and graduate work in business ics. His Naval Reserve experience includes both the Military. t9fl
Command and Naval Control of Shipping programs. He is exercis operations officer for Rainbow Reach ’85.