An Cosantóir May 2020 www.dfmagazine.ie
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BY CAPT PAUL SHORTE, CIS
COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SERVICES CORPS:
"Le Luas a Cosaním" "With Speed I Defend"
"Necessity is the mother of all invention" is a quote that
is widely used in times of crisis and conflict. The ability
to adapt and innovate is a key component in all CIS pro-
grammes and developments. The COVID-19 pandemic has
reinforced this approach and shown the versatility of our
military communications infrastructure and systems. The
CIS Corps has developed a number of key initiatives in terms
of capability development with the sole aim of reducing the
timeframe from idea inception, to concept development
and finally operational deployment. Through collaboration
between our industry partners, the CIS Corps and the De-
fence Forces have deployed a significant array of CIS assets
in response to COVID-19 while maintaining all routine and
overseas operational commitments.
The ability of the CIS Corps to 'scale up' in response to
COVID-19 is evident through a number of key tasks that were
completed in a greatly reduced timeframe. The Defence
Forces C4IS system SitaWare is being utilised extensively in
the Joint Task Force (JTF) HQ. Although a military operational
planning tool, SitaWare has been adapted to provide the
necessary command and control functions required by the
JTF for COVID-19. Through integration with our GIS systems,
key information is available at the click of a mouse providing
real time data and analysis. Necessity has greatly assisted the
rapid development and integration of 3rd party data sources
where by commanders can now make more informed deci-
sions within the domain of Aid to the Civil Authority (ATCA).
The capacity to stand up contact tracing centres within
