Soldiers Say Intel Tool Is Too Difficult: Congress Cuts Funds for Army’s System

Photo Credit: Rahmat GulAn internal memo from the U.S. command in Afghanistan says soldiers are voicing strong complaints about the Army’s battlefield intelligence network, for which Congress just slashed spending by 60 percent.

The $28 billion Distributed Common Ground System is too slow and unstable and hurts operations in some cases, say intelligence officers who rely on the computer network to collect and quickly dispense data on hard-to-find insurgents and the homemade bombs they plant.

The “official use only” memo issued in November was in the form of a survey of four combat and support units in Afghanistan.

Soldiers with the 130th Engineer Brigade said that, after training, “the system is still too complex and overwhelming for most to use.”

“DCGS continues to be unstable, slow, not friendly and a major hindrance to operations at the [battalion] level and lower,” the brigade said.

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