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Purveyor

(29,876 posts)
Tue Oct 20, 2015, 05:27 PM Oct 2015

Army Intelligence System Said Down During Hospital Attack

Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Army's $5 billion intelligence network, designed to give commanders battlefield awareness but criticized for years as a boondoggle, was not working in Afghanistan during the recent American air attack on a hospital, according to a member of Congress in touch with military whistleblowers.

Significant elements of the Distributed Common Ground System, a network of computers and sensors designed to knit together disparate strands of intelligence, were offline in Afghanistan when U.S. commanders approved an air strike Oct. 3 that killed 22 staff, patients and others at a Doctors without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Rep. Duncan Hunter wrote Tuesday to Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

"The purpose of DCGS is to enable commanders and service members to 'see and know' the battlefield and prevent incidents like the airstrike on the hospital in Kunduz," wrote Hunter, a California Republican, combat veteran and armed services committee member who has been a persistent DCGS critic.

"Senior Army leaders have gone to extraordinary lengths in recent years to deny evidence of the failures of the DCGS program, and I am asking for your help to prevent them from doing so following this tragic incident," he wrote.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said he could not comment on the Hunter letter because he had not yet seen it.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HOSPITAL_ATTACK?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-10-20-17-04-20



How 'convenient', indeed!
15 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Army Intelligence System Said Down During Hospital Attack (Original Post) Purveyor Oct 2015 OP
Well, hell's bells. forest444 Oct 2015 #1
No shit! Ahpook Oct 2015 #5
and comes the Pentagon Truprogressive85 Oct 2015 #2
As they say, "military intelligence" is an oxymoron... Human101948 Oct 2015 #3
well, isn't that just convenient Locrian Oct 2015 #4
Oh, sure. jwirr Oct 2015 #6
Cool story, bro. GeorgeGist Oct 2015 #7
Speaking as an old Army intell guy . . . OldRedneck Oct 2015 #8
That takes the onus off the pilot. Downwinder Oct 2015 #9
K&R...Article is worth the read.....even though Duncan Hunter has not seemed KoKo Oct 2015 #10
Looks like they were using a private commercial program canoeist52 Oct 2015 #14
Just like NORAD was down during 9-11. valerief Oct 2015 #11
Glitches...nt Jesus Malverde Oct 2015 #12
Operation Embarrassment Reduction achieved! Nihil Oct 2015 #13
lying war criminals have no reason to tell the truth EVER reddread Oct 2015 #15

forest444

(5,902 posts)
1. Well, hell's bells.
Tue Oct 20, 2015, 05:31 PM
Oct 2015

I wonder how long it took them to put their little heads together to come up with that one.

 

OldRedneck

(1,397 posts)
8. Speaking as an old Army intell guy . . .
Tue Oct 20, 2015, 06:56 PM
Oct 2015

I retired in 1995 with 28 years of Army service . . . about half in the infantry, the rest in intell after continued problems with wounds wouldn't allow me to keep up with young people half my age.

Twenty years ago Army intell was in the early stages of turning over more and more tactical decision making to linked computers and sensors. I have kept somewhat in touch with these battlefield systems and I gotta tell you -- a lot of us old guys didn't buy it then, didn't buy it as it was being developed, and don't buy it now. Of course, we aren't the contractors and merchants of death who are entertaining decision makers with big $$, exotic hunting trips, vacations, jobs after retirement, party girls, and the like.



Downwinder

(12,869 posts)
9. That takes the onus off the pilot.
Tue Oct 20, 2015, 07:27 PM
Oct 2015

It becomes a command and control error. Brings it down on a Full Bird or higher.

KoKo

(84,711 posts)
10. K&R...Article is worth the read.....even though Duncan Hunter has not seemed
Tue Oct 20, 2015, 07:28 PM
Oct 2015

very Trustworthy...given the "company he keeps"...BUT, worth the read to see the rest.

canoeist52

(2,282 posts)
14. Looks like they were using a private commercial program
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 06:45 AM
Oct 2015

to back-up an official system that was known to be spotty. The question is which one failed? I'm sure both systems have big money behind them, protecting their investment's image.

Or...they're all blowing smoke to cover-up a deliberate attack. Who can know?

 

Nihil

(13,508 posts)
13. Operation Embarrassment Reduction achieved!
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 05:07 AM
Oct 2015

No need for any pesky inquiries or other shit, just write it off as a glitch in the system ...



 

reddread

(6,896 posts)
15. lying war criminals have no reason to tell the truth EVER
Wed Oct 21, 2015, 07:48 AM
Oct 2015

the truth would not set them free in a just world.

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