1. Air Force ISR Reach Back Distributed Common Ground Systems
Col Mike Shortsleeve
Commander
497th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group (DGS-1)
Thank you for that introduction. It truly is an honor to address this group of government and industry teammates on a topic that I am passionate about the Air Force Distributed Common Ground System. Now a wise person once told me that when giving a speech only about 10% of the audience will remember anything that you said, but 100% will certainly remember how long you took to say it! So with that in mind I plan to keep this fairly short, in hopes that more than 10% of you will remember at least some of what I say.
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2. A Lesson From The Great One
Wayne Gretsky was a phenomenal hockey player. He played 20 seasons in the NHL for four teams from 1979 to Nicknamed "The Great One", he has been called "the greatest hockey player ever. What made him great were his skills, his determination and his uncanny ability to know where to place himself at the right time to score. You see, great hockey players don’t skate toward the puck; they anticipate where the puck is going and skate in that direction in order to meet it. Gretsky realized he needed to meet the puck at certain point on the ice, not go to where it was or try to chase after it.
This is a lesson that I think many of us in the Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance business have forgotten. We in the ISR community need to stop skating to where the puck is and we need to skate to where it is going to be. This is why I think we have missed the big picture of what is really needed when it comes to ISR. The future of ISR is not about platforms and sensors but it really is about data and people. I can have the greatest collection platform and sensor ever built, but if I can’t move the data or have enough people to analyze the information collected, the platform and sensor is useless.
So for this speech, I want to skate to where I think the ISR puck is going to be and briefly discuss with you the importance of Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination in ISR Operations and why it is important that we, as government and industry professionals, move in the direction to where the ISR puck is going to be and not skate to where it currently is. This is absolutely critical because the demand for actionable, global ISR continues to grow at a rapid pace yet we are not keeping pace in the area of data and people.
J.D. Cuban Getty Images

3. Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance
…in today’s world, intelligence is…the single most effective weapon in our national security arsenal…The intelligence we collect, analyze and deliver to policymakers, diplomats, law enforcement and military commanders is the basis for decision and action every day.
General (Ret) Michael V. Hayden Former DIRNSA, Deputy DNI, DCI
I want to start by saying that there is no doubt in my mind that Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance has become absolutely critical to today’s warfare. When our nation’s leaders select a military option, ISR becomes an integral part to American power projection and indispensible to the effective application of military power. The knowledge or intelligence acquired through ISR is assuming precedence over kinetic weapons.
Where it used to take months and thousands of Airmen and aircraft with separate functions to attack a single target…today we can find, fix, and finish a target from a single aircraft within minutes.
We have moved from being intelligence gathers, collecting anything and everything available in hopes of finding the puzzle pieces, to hunters, actively and aggressively finding the enemy and finishing them as quickly as possible.
Find, fix, finish is becoming the new mantra for AF ISR. We have had to make this change because the demand for precision and actionable intelligence has grown tremendously to the point that one third of our aircraft are unmanned aerial vehicles capable of collecting vast amounts of full motion video, EO/IR and SAR imagery, and a variety of signals.
However, despite the great technological leaps we have encountered in our intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance sensors and platforms, we are still falling short when it comes to processing, exploiting and disseminating the data associated with this drastic rise in ISR capabilities. In most cases, the rate of new platforms and sensors is rivaled only by our difficulty to keep pace with it from a data and people perspective. We find ourselves chasing the puck or in most cases arriving at where the puck used to be when it comes to data and people.
We need to develop a trajectory that allows the data and the people portion of ISR to intersect at the right moment with the platforms and sensors thus giving us the ability to be in the right position to score a goal.

4. Air Force Distributed Common Ground Systems (DCGS)
Executing 24/7, 365 day, ISR Ops for Component and Combatant Commanders
The AF DCGS is a network-centric weapon system capable of tasking ISR sensors and receiving, processing, exploiting, and disseminating data and information from Air Force ISR platforms like the U-2, RQ-4 Global Hawk, MQ-9 Reaper, MQ-1 Predator and more recently the MC-12 Liberty. This reach back enterprise is currently composed of multiple geographically separated, networked sites as shown on the slide. The distributed ground and mission sites are a mixture of active-duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units working as an integrated combat capability to provide actionable ISR across Multiple Operations from the strategic to the tactical.
This slide shows the global reach of the Air Force DCGS weapon system– both the technology architecture and its people. However, this distributed network was not solely built for the transfer of 1s and 0s data, but rather its purpose is to link the Commander's Intent with ISR Effects/Relevance. That commander can be a 4 star Combatant Commander or a Sgt operating as a Joint Tactical Air Controller on the ground.
Air Force ISR as a whole understands the importance of giving the commander on the ground, at sea, or in the air the best possible information available. That is why we have found that the greatest value is connecting our AF ISR Warriors to their combat customers virtually through a proven reach back architecture as well as face-to-face through deployed LNOs or storefront units.
Providing Actionable ISR Across Multiple Operations

5. AF DCGS Operations WHO WHAT DCGS ISR CAPABILITIES ISR COLLECTORS…
EO / IR / SAR / FMV / SIGINT
FUSED WITH…
DCGS ISR CAPABILITIES
C2 &
Collaboration
1st Phase
and Multi-Int Exploitation
Fusion
HOW
WHO
Predictive Analytical Reporting
Target Development
Positive Identification
WHAT
I & W
BDA
Pattern of Life
Initial Prep of
Environment
Time Sensitive
Targeting
Persistent Surveillance
Precision
Geo-Location
Tipping/Cueing
other ISR Assets
Infrastructure
As recently as two decades ago, intelligence primarily remained product oriented, delivered in material forms (e.g., books, charts, photos, overhead slides, articles, and artifacts). Now intelligence has become not only mostly digital but also dynamic with interactive delivery, to the extent that we more often refer to ISR as products and services. This is why our ability to store and move data is absolutely critical to warfighting today.
Similarly, in the past the links between collection and analysis—or between sensors and PED—were electronic but self-contained, part and parcel of the particular, individual ISR system. Today, the connections consist of multiuse fiber and communications pathways, and systems acquired already depend upon a communications architecture not part of the acquisition. The information-architecture communications enterprise supplies the bandwidth, routing, distribution, and security that links platforms, sensors, operators, PED, and the myriad of ISR consumers. It is the “long pole” in the tent for the future of ISR.
Who are we are working with? We are working with Decision Makers, planners, operators on a daily basis.
What do we do? We provide them a Laundry List of ISR capabilities focused on the fight at hand. We help provide persistent surveillance, battlefield situational awareness, High Value Targeting, and IED identification to name a few
How do we do it? We do it through C2 & Collaboration with the various AF ISR Collection Platforms employing EO/IR/SAR/FMV/SIGINT sensors
We conduct 1st Phase and Multi-Int Exploitation that provides actionable intel through a variety of products distributed via chat, , or web services. These products are tailored to the supported units needs. However, we don’t do this in a vacuum, so we fuse our collected information with a variety of other assets and collects available to our AF DCGS enterprise. On a daily basis we are producing thousands of SIGINT reports, imagery products, and all-source fused reports for the warfighter
Of note, part of that fusion process comes from our Air Force ISR Warriors who are deployed forward with ground forces to ensure our sister services clearly understand what we do, how we do it, and the higher confidence reporting we bring into combat.

6. AF DCGS Collaborative Enterprise
Regionally Focused, Globally Networked ISR Ops
Provide Higher Confidence Reporting to Warfighters and 1st Responders
AF DCGS Reach back operations is in essence a collaborative effort. It does not just involve intelligence professionals. As shown in the top row of photos on this slide we are providing Imagery analysis, FMV analysis and Signals intelligence, all of which is supported by the backbone of communications, logistics and supply Airmen. Keeping the system operational is critical and we could not do it without the support of these amazing Airmen.
Despite its common association with supporting the warfighter, AF DCGS is not just solely a weapon system designed for combat operations. In addition to providing higher confidence reporting to the Warfighter in combat, we also provide 1st Responders information and situational awareness during humanitarian or crisis situations. In the past, we have supported, California wildfires, US hurricanes, the Haitian earthquake and its humanitarian effort, and Japan after their earthquake and subsequent Tsunami. All of this mind you, while maintaining our support for combat operations.
Now, ISR is an increasingly complex operational art that, notwithstanding our extensive use of advanced technologies and automated tools, always requires a man in the loop, so this is why we continue to cultivate critical thinking in our ISR Airmen and are constantly looking for automated tool sets that will help them do their job better. We have to do this, because despite our incredible technology, intelligence is an inherently a human endeavor. Fusion and analysis occurs between the ears and relies on a human to make the final call. While automated technologies are critical to refining the data and help in extraordinary ways, sometimes the gut call made by a human is the deciding factor. Regardless of the sophistication of our platforms, sensors, computers and bandwidth, in the final analysis we depend on teams of humans to produce actionable intelligence, because intelligence is inherently a human endeavor and without the human in the loop our ability to collect raw information and turn it into useable, actionable intelligence becomes very limited.

7. Air Force DCGS Airmen are the Eyes and Ears for Our Deployed Forces
AF DCGS Mission Set
Air Force DCGS Airmen are the Eyes and Ears for Our Deployed Forces
Every day, through a mix of aircraft, satellites, and computer-based operations, Airmen collect and process massive volumes of raw information. We are talking on the scale of two seasons worth of televised NFL games in a day—thousands and thousands of hours of video.
As impressive as this is, it is not the quantity of information our sensors collect that allows us to create decision advantage. Rather, it is the quality of the actionable intelligence—answering the questions asked—created by trained ISR professionals. The power of our network is in the quality of our ISR Airmen, connected globally and ready to respond to emerging crises.
The Airmen operating the Air Force Distributed Common Ground Station are doing a phenomenal job when it comes to ISR and supporting forward deployed units. Our AF DCGS Airmen are involved in warfighting on a 24/7 365 day basis. For them the war never stops and they don’t get the fanfare of returning home from a deployment. While physically they are out of harm’s way, mentally they are in the fight daily for years on end.
Let me take a moment to describe for you who is doing this work daily. Today’s AF DCGS Airmen is usually an A1C with less than two years on station and in most cases doing the work of what a TSgt or MSgt was doing ten years ago. These silent warriors are directly enabling offensive and defensive operations. I call them silent warriors because forward deployed forces will likely never see there face nor know their name, but they have the comfort of knowing that someone is watching over them and stands ready to assist.
These Airmen have developed a hunter mentality vice the gatherer mentality that intelligence professionals used to possess. They are no longer passive in their collection efforts; they are actively seeking the enemy. Find, Fix, Finish is their mantra and if they have to stare at hundreds of hours to get the bad guy then they will.
Now while we have become very good at executing the counterinsurgency fight, we must be prepared for what is coming next. In the future, the mix of sensors and capabilities we employ to execute global integrated ISR will change as we prepare for operations in anti-access, area-denial environments. Therefore, are making sure our Airmen are prepared for it through planning and training.
AF DCGS Airmen Facing Unique Moral, Ethical, Psychological and Physiological Challenges Daily

8. Moving AF DCGS Data
Every day, through a mix of aircraft, satellites, and computer-based operations, Airmen collect and process massive volumes of raw information. We are talking on the scale of two seasons worth of televised NFL games in a day—thousands and thousands of hours of video.
As impressive as this is, it is not the quantity of information our sensors collect that allows us to create decision advantage. Rather, it is the quality of the actionable intelligence—answering the questions asked—created by trained ISR professionals. The power of our network is in the quality of our ISR Airmen, connected globally and ready to respond to emerging crises.
The Airmen operating the Air Force Distributed Common Ground Station are doing a phenomenal job when it comes to ISR and supporting forward deployed units. Our AF DCGS Airmen are involved in warfighting on a 24/7 365 day basis. For them the war never stops and they don’t get the fanfare of returning home from a deployment. While physically they are out of harm’s way, mentally they are in the fight daily for years on end.
Let me take a moment to describe for you who is doing this work daily. Today’s AF DCGS Airmen is usually an A1C with less than two years on station and in most cases doing the work of what a TSgt or MSgt was doing ten years ago. These silent warriors are directly enabling offensive and defensive operations. I call them silent warriors because forward deployed forces will likely never see there face nor know their name, but they have the comfort of knowing that someone is watching over them and stands ready to assist.
These Airmen have developed a hunter mentality vice the gatherer mentality that intelligence professionals used to possess. They are no longer passive in their collection efforts; they are actively seeking the enemy. Find, Fix, Finish is their mantra and if they have to stare at hundreds of hours to get the bad guy then they will.
Now while we have become very good at executing the counterinsurgency fight, we must be prepared for what is coming next. In the future, the mix of sensors and capabilities we employ to execute global integrated ISR will change as we prepare for operations in anti-access, area-denial environments. Therefore, are making sure our Airmen are prepared for it through planning and training.
Ability to Store and Move AF DCGS Data is Absolutely Critical to Warfighting

9. Growth in Mission/Data
Massive Growth in ISR
Manned ISR grew 1,901%
Unmanned ISR grew 6,811%
Exploitation requirements growth
3 msns per day (2001) to 75+ msns (today)
Data processing rates
255 Terabytes per month (2001)
1.28 Petabytes per month (2012)
Analysis & exploitation tools need to keep pace with sensor development and deployment
The Air Force ISR enterprise has unique and complex communication and data-handling requirements. In 2001 we transmitted and stored 255 terabytes per month; today that number has increased to 1.3 petabytes. Today’s advanced hyperspectral sensors collect multiple layers of complex data that require conditioning and formatting. The next generation of wide area motion imagery sensors will be capable of collecting 2.2 petabytes of data per day, bringing 450 percent more data into our network than Facebook adds each day.
In addition to managing volume and complexity, we must also protect the information we transmit around the world. In an increasingly congested and contested environment, information assurance is as important as connectivity and capacity.
This is why the Air Force has made a concerted effort to find new ways or doing business and actively pursuing the lessons learned from civilian entities faced with the same large volume set of data. ESPN, NASCAR, closed circuit TV and perhaps reality TV to a certain extent may offer the Air Force better ways of handling the volumes of data and steer the analyst to where they need to focus and use their brain power. With the rise of technology and the proliferation of ISR platforms and sensors, we find ourselves on the eve of creating large data landfills where we just continue to pile information on top of information in hopes that some day we are able to have technologies that will aid the analysts to sift through it and make the right call, thus giving the warfighter the knowledge they crave and need to make the right decisions in warfare. In short, today’s ISR PED requires automated analytic tools to assist analysts with the vast amount of collection that exists
Given these emerging realities, our mission emphasizes the information and tools for the ISR analysts over the platform or sensor that collects data. With access to information from all sources, analysts must employ exploitation tools that enable them to focus on information understanding—spending their valuable time answering the “why” and “so what,” as opposed to conditioning the data through staring, annotating, and tagging. The development of automated tools will enable critical thinking and result in improved battlespace awareness. As we move forward, we must optimize our ability to fully integrate all sources of information into our global network. Giving our analysts full access to all available information will enhance our ability to provide decision advantage. Intelligence from all sources and all domains places a significant burden on our capacity to move all types of information across our global network.
Leveraging Advances in Technology Vice Increasing ISR Personnel

10. Real World Comparisons
The Enterprise in One Day: =
7+ Terabytes of motion
imagery/day
1600 hours of video/day
2 seasons worth of
NFL game video
At DGS-1:
Here are some examples of real world comparisons of the amount of data and network operations done daily. =
1,000 miles of fiber
throughout the building
139 Servers / 125 Terabytes
8,000 iPad 2s (16GB)

11. Focusing Efforts on Priorities that Best Enable Future ISR Ops
Beyond Reach Back
USAF is taking a holistic approach to developing capabilities that harness information
AF ISR enterprise of the future:
Seamless, open architecture, all-domain, sensor-agnostic “go-to” information source
Areas of focus
Improve communication and architecture
ISR in denied/contested airspace
Development of PED tools
Despite our successes with distributed ISR operations, the USAF is continuing to look at ways to improve beyond our current reach back enterprise. The USAF is taking a holistic approach to developing capabilities that harness information and make it useful for commanders, warfighters, and other key users.
The AF ISR enterprise of the future will consist of a seamless, open architecture, all-domain, sensor-agnostic “go-to” information source, fully integrated with AF command and control architectures. As technology continues to enhance, we will see a greater precision in collection capabilities and more than likely the dawn of real-time ISR in the next few years.
Areas of focus for us revolve around improving capacity, security, and reliability of AF ISR “infotecture”. Additionally, increased awareness of our ISR platform capabilities drives the need to develop a balanced and survivable mix of ISR platforms to operate in all environments from permissive to denied airspace. Finally, with the advent of more advanced sensors and demand growth we can expect a massive increase in data from the various ISR collection platforms, which poses great challenges for or analysts.
Focusing Efforts on Priorities that Best Enable Future ISR Ops

12. Parting Thoughts ISR demand growing
Witnessing a rapid evolution of distributed ISR operations
Sensor technology rapidly expanding ISR capacity
Distributed ISR operational concept allows us to project power and create desired effects without projecting vulnerabilities forward
In conclusion, I would like to say that the sustained commitment to the AF DCGS network has enabled a transition from reachback to true distributed ISR operations. The operational success we have enjoyed through distributed ISR operations comes from our significant investment in both human capital and technology.
AF DCGS is the leading model for executing distributed ISR operations on a global scale as an integral element of on-going combat missions. The distributed ISR operational concept allows us to project power and create desired effects without projecting the vulnerabilities associated with the deployment of the enterprise into the combat zone.
To put it succinctly, what this audience needs to know is that reach back for the United States Air Force is not a theory, but it is a proven concept that has been around for several years, so if there is a combat operation or humanitarian event – you can bet that AF ISR with its DCGS enterprise will be involved.
I've really enjoyed the opportunity to talk to you this afternoon.
Thanks for your attention and a special thank you to AFCEA for having me here. And remember, when it comes to ISR don’t skate to where the puck is but to where it will be.