United States Army Communications-Electronics Command

The Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) is a Life Cycle Management Command of the United States Army based at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, United States. It is one of four such commands under the Army Materiel Command (AMC), and is the Army's provider and maintainer of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities.

The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decision relocated CECOM to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland as part of implementing the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure law. Its former home, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey has been closed since 15 September 2011. CECOM has approximately 13,000 military, civilian and contract personnel across five CECOM organizations.

Mission
CECOM is The Critical Link that ensures the global readiness of the complex, networked C4ISR systems and capabilities that provide our joint forces with the advanced information and technology they need to communicate on today's battlefield. CECOM adapts, strengthens and sustains the critical C4ISR systems that joint warfighters rely on - allowing them to operate, fight and win anywhere, against any foe, at any moment.

Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., CECOM is comprised of a dedicated and highly skilled workforce of approximately 13,000 military, civilian and contract personnel across five subordinate organizations. The joint expertise of these organizations makes CECOM the 'one-stop shop' for all of the warfighter's C4ISR needs.

Designated a life cycle management command, subordinate to the Army Materiel Command, CECOM provides The Critical Link to sustaining C4ISR systems, equipment and capabilities across the C4ISR domain through providing training; field support for software modifications and software upgrades; logistics expertise; information assurance; joint network capabilities and interoperability certification functions to ensure the right equipment is in the right place at the right time.

CECOM's five subordinate organizations perform a variety of CECOM core functions, taking lead in their specialty areas of expertise, including:
 * Providing timely and cost-effective global C4ISR logistics support.
 * Testing, integrating and certifying information technology and national security systems to support the digital needs of our joint forces.
 * Providing life-cycle software solutions for weapons systems, as well as logistics, business and enterprise solutions in an international environment
 * Designing, manufacturing, maintaining, repairing and overhauling dozens of electronic systems for our joint forces.
 * Securely replacing legacy systems and modernizing the information technology infrastructure on posts, camps and stations.

CECOM executes a sustainment and logistics integration mission across a very broad a complex set of C4ISR systems and capabilities. As one of AMC's four Life Cycle Management Commands (LCMCs), CECOM is the Army's Critical Link for life cycle support of the communications-electronics systems and equipment used by the joint Warfighter. These efforts span the full scope of tactical and strategic echelons-from the individual Soldier to the installation. The command accomplishes its mission by providing eight major functions. They include:

DEPOT LEVEL MANUFACTURING, REPAIR AND OVERHALL
 * Tobyhanna Army Depot (TYAD) is the Department of Defense (DoD)'s premier sustainment center for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems ranging from night-vision devices to satellite terminals. The depot designs, manufactures, repairs and overhauls critical C4ISR systems for the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines. It executes critical partnerships with industry to ensure viable industrial base capability in support of Joint Service electronics systems.

FIELD SUPPORT:
 * CECOM provides software and hardware engineers, logisticians and maintenance personnel to the field supporting units. CECOM's 'Face to the Field' includes Logistics Assistance Representatives (LARs), Field Service Representatives (FSRs) and Field Service Engineers (FSEs) under the management of CECOM's Senior Command Representatives (SCRs).

FOREIGN MLITARY ASSISTANCE:
 * CECOM executes foreign military sales under the direction and guidance of the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command by supporting our allies and strengthening relationships through foreign military sales. CECOM's Logistics and Readiness Center (LRC) provides Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) equipment in support of Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, among others. These military partnerships promote compatibility and interoperability in equipment and training which are crucial to the National Defense Strategy.

INTEROPERABILITY CERTIFICATION:
 * Central Technical Support Facility (CTSF) is the Army's strategic facility for Army Interoperability Certification (AIC) testing and configuration management for all operational Command, Control, Communications, Computing and Intelligence (C4I) systems, applications and hardware before fielding.

LOGISTICS, SUSTAINMENT PLANNING AND EXECUTION:
 * CECOM's Logistics and Readiness Center (LRC) prepares, sustains and resets the Nation's Armed Forces before, during and after operations and deployments. LRC achieves its mission by rapidly providing and sustaining Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) equipment. LRC has subject matter experts in the 12 Integrated Product Support elements described in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Product Support Managers (PSM) guidebook to support C4ISR systems.

SOFTWARE SUSTAINMENT:
 * CECOM provides life cycle software solutions and services that support units' Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) and business systems requirements. The Software Engineering Center (SEC) ensures uninterrupted critical software functions, such as licenses, information assurance vulnerability alerts and the Department of Defense (DoD) Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process. SEC executes priority Post Production Software Support to ensure critical safety and interoperability compliance of fielded C4ISR software intensive systems

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT:
 * CECOM's supply chain management expertise ensures the supply chain meets the demand whenever and wherever needed. CECOM provides timely and effective logistics support to streamline and optimize supply chains.

IT SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND INTEGRATION:
 * Systems engineering is a structured, iterative and multidisciplinary process. It involves designing, developing, testing and maintaining information systems. CECOM experts from the U.S. Army Information Systems Engineering Command (USAISEC) engineer the backbone infrastructure for these information technology (IT) systems, including hardware and software, enabling distribution of information from the battlefield to national command and control centers.

Mission Statement: To develop, provide, integrate, and sustain the logistics and readiness of C4ISR systems and mission command capabilities for joint, interagency and multi-national forces worldwide. Vision: Be the life cycle provider of choice for supporting superior joint warfighting through world-class, globally networked C4ISR systems.

CECOM recently issued a new Campaign Plan for the period 2013-2015. It focuses on goals that will enhance the efficiency and effectiveness with which CECOM executes its sustainment and support mission to ensure readiness of deployed C4ISR systems while supporting the Army’s development of a future Force focused on Army 2020 as part of a joint Force 2020.

History
The history of the Communications-Electronics Command began with the establishment of a Signal Corps training facility and radio research and development laboratory at Fort Monmouth, NJ in 1917. In 1929, the Signal Corps' Electrical Laboratory of Washington and the Signal Corps Research Laboratory of New York merged with the Radio Laboratories at Fort Monmouth to form the consolidated "Signal Corps Laboratories."



In 1949, the Signal Corps Center was established and consolidated many existing Signal functions to include: the Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories, the Signal Corps Board, Signal School, Signal Corps Publications Agency, Signal Corps Intelligence Unit, Pigeon Breeding and Training Center, the Army portion of the Electro Standards Agency, and the Signal Corps troop units.

The forerunner of the Army Air Corps and the U.S. Air Force had its roots at Fort Monmouth. In 1928, the first radio-equipped meteorological balloon soared into the upper reaches of the atmosphere, a forerunner of a weather sounding technique universally used today. In 1938, the first U.S. aircraft detection radar was developed at the Signal Corps Center. In 1946, space communications was proved feasible when the Diana Radar was used to bounce electronic signals off the moon.

The Army disbanded the technical services and established the Electronics Command (ECOM) at Fort Monmouth in 1962. This CECOM predecessor was charged with managing Signal research, development, and logistics support. As a subordinate element of the newly formed United States Army Materiel Command (AMC), ECOM encompassed the Signal Research and Development Laboratories, the Signal Materiel Support Agency, the Signal Supply Agency and its various procurement offices, and other Signal Corps logistics support activities. ECOM was fragmented in January 1978 on the recommendation of the Army Materiel Acquisition Review Committee (AMARC) in order to form the following three Commands and one Activity: The Communications and Electronics Materiel Readiness Command (CERCOM), the Communications Research and Development Command (CORADCOM), the Electronics Research and Development Command (ERADCOM), and the Avionics Research and Development Activity (AVRADA).

Reassessment of the changes at Fort Monmouth, begun in August 1980, concluded that, while the emphasis on research and development had increased for the better, there was also much duplication of effort. Thus, on 1 March 1981, AMC combined CERCOM and CORADCOM to form the new Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), effective 1 May 1981.



The 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission mandated the closing of the Evans Area, Vint Hill Farms Station, moving the United States Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center to Fort Monmouth under CECOM. Additionally, CECOM gained some missions and personnel from the Fort Belvoir Research and Development Center.

The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission ordered the closure of Fort Monmouth and the relocation of CECOM to Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Maryland. The CECOM flag was cased at Fort Monmouth on 10 September 2010, and the colors were uncased on 22 October 2010, marking CECOM’s official arrival at APG, occupying the newly completed C4ISR Center of Excellence. Comprising six primary organizations, the C4ISR Materiel Enterprise includes three organizations from AMC and three from United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT)). AMC organizations include: U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command; the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center; and the Army Contracting Command-APG. ASA(ALT) provides three Program Executive Offices to the team including: Program Executive Office Command Control Communications Tactical (PEO C3T); PEO for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors; and PEO for Enterprise Information Systems.

Famous firsts

 * 1918: Standardization and quality control of vacuum tubes for military radios resulted in a total standard for vacuum tube production for both military and civilian applications.


 * 1928: The first radio-equipped weather balloon was launched in 1928. This was the first major development in the application of electronics to the study of weather, and of conditions in the upper atmosphere.


 * 1938: Aircraft Detection RADAR was developed at Fort Monmouth, the Evans Signal Laboratories, and at Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook in 1938, providing the first U.S. capability of aircraft detection and early warning. RADAR sets, such as the SCR-270, were used in World War II and also later in the civilian aviation industry.


 * 1940: Development of the SCR-300 first portable, hand-held, FM "walkie-talkie" for use in the front lines occurred. This was the first major development in the miniaturization of radio equipment.


 * 1946: On 10 January 1946, Fort Monmouth took the first electronic step into space when the first radar signal was bounced off the moon using a modified SCR-271. It took the Diana radar 2-1/2 seconds to reach the moon and return. This proved the feasibility of extraterrestrial radio communications.


 * 1948: The first synthetically produced large quartz crystals were grown by researchers at Fort Monmouth. The crystals were able to be used in the manufacture of electronic components, and made the U.S. largely independent of foreign imports for this critical mineral.


 * 1949: On 28 September, a record height of 140,000 feet was set by a high altitude balloon of the Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories at Fort Monmouth.


 * 1957: COL William Blair finally received his radar patent, U.S. Patent Number 2,803,819. He is remembered as the "father of American radar."


 * 1958: Development of solar cells for satellite power in space. The solar cells developed by Fort Monmouth scientists powered the Vanguard I satellite in space for more than five years.


 * 1958: The first communication satellite, Project SCORE, was developed in 1958. Launched on December 18, Project SCORE (Signal Communications via Orbiting Relay Experiment) broadcast President Eisenhower's Christmas greeting, proving that voice and code signals could be relayed over vast distances using satellite communication technology developed at Fort Monmouth.


 * 1959: The first Weather Satellite, the Vanguard 2, was launched on 19 February 1959, equipped to map the earth's cloud patterns by a varying infrared scanning device. The electronics for the satellite were developed at Fort Monmouth.


 * 1960: The first televised weather satellite, Tiros-1, was developed under the technical supervision of the Fort Monmouth Laboratories. Tiros-1 sent the first televised weather photographs of the earth's cloud cover and weather patterns to the giant 60-foot "Space Sentry" antenna at Fort Monmouth.


 * 1960: The first Large Scale Mobile Computer, the Mobile Digital Computer (MOBIDIC), was developed at Fort Monmouth. It was the first computer developed for use at the Field Army and theater levels. This van-mounted computer was the first experiment in automating combat support function in artillery, surveillance, logistics and battlefield administration.


 * 1971: A system test bed first demonstrated the ability from an airborne platform to intercept signals. GUARDRAIL evolved through multiple product improvements to become "the most prolific intelligence system in the field." Its many "firsts" include the first tactical, airborne, remotely controlled COMINT system, the first multiple platform Signals intelligence system, and the first COMINT system that could be controlled through a satellite relay.


 * 1975: Automatic Telephone Central Office: The solid state AN/TTC-38 is smaller and lighter than manual switch systems. It is faster and more easily maintained. It gives the user touch-dialing to anywhere in the worldwide military telephone system.