ARMY'S COMBAT SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM SEEN PAYING OFF WITH EFFECTIVE EQUIPMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP62-00634A000100080059-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 6, 2001
• Sequence Number: 59
• Publication Date: July 25, 1959
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2001/08/30 : CIA-RDP62-00634A000100080059-4
14
Army Navy Air Force Jownal 25 July 1959 (Vol, 94, P. 1438)
Army's Combat Surveillance Program Seen Paying Off With Effective Equipment
pear to be possible-within these fields,
AT AMID. GL14. WILLIAM M. THAMES
Coassaandiag Geaera.
U. S. Army Combat Sarveifaane Ageary
W HEN the weapon was a stone--and
the enemy a stone throwing man-
eyes and ears were sufficient for area
surveillance and target acquisition. As
the rifle and the artillery piece in-
creased the range of the soldiers' effec-
tiveness, it was necessary to augment the
capability o f
the eye with
the binocular
and the air-
plane and the
capability a f
the ear with
the radio. To-
d a y, ballistic
missiles an d
the envisioned
dispersion o f
t h e nuclear
battlefield r e -
quire surveil-
lance and tar-
get acquision
BAG Thasues
systems in the
U. S. Army
that are as elaborate as the weapon
systems that they must complement.
In the years that followed 1945 our
Army developed weapons of enormous
range and lethality. It was absolutely
necessary to develop a commensurate
ability to acquire information about the
enemy against whom these new weap-
ons would be used on the battlefield.
As a corollary, the development of a
commensurate ability to locate the tar-
gets for these weapons was equally
compelling. To fail to do so would leave
our Army in the position of a hunter
with a very fine sporting rifle--but
minus a sight.
In July 1956 the Chief Signal Officer
of the U. S. Army was given the re-
sponsibiitty for developing an adequate
combat surveillance and target arquisi-
Agearcr's Mission
The mission of the Combat Surveil-
lance Agency is to inset AAfi supervise
the Chief Slgn t t7i k 'r s effort in all
phases of the development of combat
surveillance equipment and system,-
The Agency is charged with the cu-
ordination of the r..mtat surveillance
a;ctivlties of installations and facilities
under the control of the Chief Signal
Officer. In the discharge of its responsi-
bility, the Agency Must provide co-
ordination between the Office, of the
Chief Signal Officer and the combat
surveillance activities of other Techni-
cal Services, the Department of the
Army Staff, the Navy and the Air Force.
The Commanding General of the Agen-
cy serves as the Special Assistant to the
Chief Signal Officer for Combat Sur-
veillance.
Because or the urgency of bringing
th?' Army's combat, surveillance capa-
bility into proportion with its weapons
capability, it was necessary to establish
rather unconventional general program
objectives for the Agency. These objec-
tives are referred to as "unconven-
tional" because they differed somewhat
from the normal procedure of placing
new equipment in the hands of troops.
This came about because we had had
no previous generation of similar elec-
tronic combat surveillance equipment.
The Army was in a position somewhat
analogous to that of the original ar-
tillery man who had no previous cata-
pult to guide him in the design of a
new one.
Program Objectives
an increased intelligence capability wiU I To develop meaningful programs, it is
increase the effectiveness of tactical mandatory that the Agency have avail-
units as a result of this increased in- able the best possible estimates of the
telligence capability, will provide tacti- technical proficiency and state -of-the-
cal units with experience and training, art which can reasonably be anticipated
end will provide a basis for thr^ develop- I at a specified time in the future. Man-
ment of future equipment agement of the combat surveillance
2. To develop an advanced interim program is dependent upon such esti-
capabclity in the mid-range time period mates and upon the existence of tech-
by u.,ng the tw,t t. hnique., Mai the n.dogical experimentation within the
state-of-the-art allows. This will provide electronic industry and the othe `us-
equipment and systems for the 19t2-65 trig, that can he foreseen to in-
period. vowed in the devet,.pment of surveil-
ment e -tivities vrgoruu.sly with a WOW
tti id*sneing the state-of-the-a t. and
exploiting technical break-thrcwghs. Ac-
complishment of this objective will pro-
vide the Army with a greatly improved
and highly effective combat surveillance
and target acquisition capability by
about 1970.
A management aspect involved in the
achievement of each of the foregoing
objectives involves the acquisition of
full known-dge of the existing state-of-
the-art in man} thelds and of the techni-
cal break-throughs that occur-or ap-
These program ohi"tives for the
Agency were
1, As rapidly as possible to provide
the Army the best equipment presently
available or in the final stages of de-
velopment, Attainment of this capa-
bility will give the field commanders
tts* capability at the earliest possible
date. The discharge of this responsi-
bitty led to the establishment of the
U. S. Army Combat Surveillances
A&itaW I USACf4A) as a Class II activity
of the Chief Signal Offcer. Approved
The U. S. A m) Signal Engineering
Laboratory at Ft Monmouth, N. J.,
conducts applied research concerning
equipment deemed to re within the
present state-of-the-art. It performs en-
gineering design and conducts engi-
neering tests on new or improved
equipment and performs some basic re-
search in areas where project Michigan
is not appropriately suited. As a check
on the practicality of projected equip-
ment concepts, the laboratory's work is
 Approved For Release 2001/08/30 : CIA-RDP62-00634A000100080059-4
Army Combat Surveillance Agency C
Ch**" A. M*sgo.rent rod
To coordinate and direct the combat
sarwrillance activities of Cornell Aero-
nautical Laboratories, Project Michigan,
the U. Sr Atxny Electronic. Proving
+.irtasnd and the 1' g Army Signal En-
gineertag `..aborat,ay, ,4 was necessary
to develop a standardized method of
moeeitoring each evwtbot surveillance
program. Because it 1s not feasible for
management to review and analyze the
entire history of a system under devel-
opment each time a policy decision
respecting the system must be made,
standardized line-of-balance, charts were
instituted for each program. These
charts are standardized in their tech-
nique of data presentation and are pre-
pared for all combat surveillance pro.
grams undertaken by the Agency. The
initiation and maintenance of. these
charts is accomplished by a staff mem-
ber of the Agency who has complete
responsibility for the effective charting
of projects from Inception to comple-
tion.
The value of these charts as a man-
agement tool is three-fold.
1. They clearly portray progress In
each phase of research and develop-
ment and in the engineering and serv-
ice teit phases of Individual Projects.
Simultaneously they provide pertinent
funding status Information.
t They provide a visual concept of
these programs for briefing appropriate
high authorities on the current status
of the Army combat surveillance re-
search and development effort. They
additionally provide a ready means of
portraying supporting fund informa-
tion.
3. They serve as a historical record
for the Agency.
To prepare a realistic schedule of the
development of a complex surveillance
system. advantage must be taken of
every available source of information.
In addition to the military and civilian
agencies discussed above, the Agency
procures .i,gfor ttton that Is espenttal
to management by liaison with the arms
Force, with the Navy, with the Marine
Corps, and with industry. Those mem-
bers -2L.1111E Affexx9y engaging in this
liaison acquire an intimate knowledge
of all phases of their work and con-
stantly increase the value to manage-
ment of their recommendations. -
I believe our technical and liaison
programs have aided in augmenting the
maximum Army surveillance capability
commensurate w ith industry's capa-
bility to produce. An aitdeA hen tat:Ott by, deli-
copter or on a small two-wh".11 try
rte From top: train, automobile, walkine man,
nalkinK woman Approved For Release 2001/08/30 : CIA-RDP62-00634A000100080059-4
TIME, AUGUST 10, 1959