1st, 20th OSS showcase new capabilities of DICE-4 kit

A team of four U.S. Air Force intelligence analysts from the 20th Operations Support Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base traveled to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, to showcase the capabilities of the fourth iteration Deployed Intelligence Combat Element kit on Aug. 22.

The demonstration was part of a Headquarters Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Cyber Effects visit. This allowed leadership of Air Force, ACC and local intelligence operations to experience firsthand the equipment being utilized in the field to enable intel operations and agile combat employment.

The DICE-4 kit allows intelligence analysts to rapidly deploy with the capability of setting up a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility and establishing a secure connection to the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System from anywhere in the world - in only minutes.

"[DICE-4 is] a deployable top-secret communications capability," said Maj. "Carnage," 20th OSS senior intelligence officer. "We can forward deploy and move agilely like a pop-up SCIF, which normally takes years to accredit in a building on base. This can get up and operational within [a matter of] minutes, which really enhances our ability to get timely information and intelligence as close to the pilots in the cockpit as we can in any forward location."

The main upgrade from previous versions of the kit is the satellite itself, which is now a single unit instead of many pieces requiring assembly. Even just that small change has helped speed up the set-up process by nearly five times.

"Today's demonstration we accomplished in under an hour," said Carnage. "It would take that long just to assemble the dish, let alone get connectivity in the previous version. It was much slower and bulkier, and the upload/download speed was about 1/20th of what the new connectivity is."

The speed of the connection wasn't the only talking point during the demonstration; the kit is fast, effective, and any airman can do it, said Carnage.

"It's honestly very easy to assemble," said Airman 1st Class Kaela, 20th OSS intelligence analyst. "As long as you know the key parts about the system, everything else connects. I think I've set it up at least 20 times because of practice and demonstrating, and probably after the third or fourth time I could do it without the instructions."

Equipment like the DICE-4 kit which allows airmen to rapidly deploy and remain mobile at a moment's notice increases agility and resiliency, which are keys to operational success.

"The DICE program is ACC-led, across multi-major command intelligence directorates, to enable global ACE," said Brig. Gen. Abe Jackson, ACC director of intelligence. "The demo was intended to demonstrate new connection across the Combat Intel Network. Because the speed at which combat may unfold is unpredictable, leaning forward into ACE tactics is necessary for the Air Force to remain mission ready in today's warfighting landscape."