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How an experiment in New Jersey could shape the Army’s future network

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How an experiment in New Jersey could shape the Army’s future network


Last spring at the Army’s fourth Project Convergence capstone event, the service and its partners proved they could integrate data from multiple web-based applications into a common user environment.

The event — one of the Army’s premier experimentation series — brought together the U.S. military services and international partners like Australia and the United Kingdom to test new software, connectivity tools and user interfaces.

The results were unprecedented, according to Army officials, who said the experiment demonstrated the ability to share vast amounts of data at previously unheard-of rates.

But for all its success, the exercise lacked an important dose of realism: a degraded network.

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“We ran it on a network that was essentially pristine and was not representative of what would maybe be in the field, an austere environment,” Joseph Welch, acting deputy to the commanding general of Army Futures Command, told Defense News in a recent interview.

Through a series of experiments this summer and fall known as NetModX, the Army sought to wring out some of those capabilities in conditions that posed a greater challenge to its network operations. This year’s exercise was hosted at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst near New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, where connectivity is easily thwarted by rolling hills and thick tree lines.

Starting in July, the Army’s C5ISR Center — short for command, control, communications, computers, cyber and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance — posted up at the base for more than three months. Leading up to the event, the center invited scientists, engineers and industry to propose lab-developed capabilities that they wanted to test in a real-world environment.

Seth Spoenlein, assistant director for systems integration at the C5ISR Center, told Defense News during a visit to NetModX in late September that the experiment has two broad goals: to mature technology — or as he said, “kick the tires” — and see how it performs when integrated with other capabilities. This year, the event featured about 100 technologies from more than 50 organizations, with projects ranging from science and technology efforts that hadn’t seen the outside of a lab to more field-ready systems.

Throughout the demonstrations, Army officials and program managers had a chance to observe the capabilities in action and collect data to inform future requirements and acquisition decisions.

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This year’s event showcased technology that could inform the Army’s strategy for Next-Generation Command and Control, or NGC2, one of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George’s top modernization priorities, Welch said. The service’s fiscal 2025 budget included $2.7 billion for the effort.

The vision for NGC2 is to upgrade everything from user devices and applications to computing infrastructure to the underlying network. Whereas Project Convergence tested the data integration and application layers, Welch said, the experimentation at NetModX focused on how the network and compute aspects support those higher-level functions. It’s also exploring how the entire NGC2 tech stack works together.

“What I see as an outcome of this is, now we are better understanding where those technical challenges are,” he said. “They’re solving some of them right here in the field, but we’re also learning about things we may need to require.”

Network experimentation

During the event, soldiers and representatives from a slew of commercial companies spread out across the base’s Range 86 to experiment with technologies that could allow the Army to shrink the size of its command posts, better manage electronic signatures and navigate its network in less-than-ideal conditions.

In one area, a team from Virginia-based Research Innovations, Inc., served as a red cell, using an advanced edge computing sensor to continuously map electronic signatures, challenging nearby units to reduce their footprint or try to confuse the simulated adversary.

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That experimentation could feed into the Army’s Mobile and Survivable Command Post program, or MASCP. The service plans to launch a pilot program in 2025, but for now, it’s using events like NetModX to figure out what user devices, computing infrastructure, software and signature management tools could help make its command posts more nimble.

A team led by RJ Regars, the Army’s project lead for MASCP, installed 22 different technologies into command post vehicles during NetModX — the most it’s integrated to date by far, Regars said.

“Leading up to this, there’s been a lot of work identifying technologies, working with those technologies in the lab, working with these technologies in a standalone fashion with the end goal of getting them all into vehicles and interoperating with them,” he said. “Not everything worked, but a lot did work, and we definitely had a great learning experience from it.”

The Army’s C5ISR Center partnered with industry and academia to research commercial 5G tech to provide a high-bandwidth, low-latency communications network for the distributed command post at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst during this year’s NetModX. (Dan Lafontaine/U.S. Army)

Elsewhere on Range 86, vehicles equipped with satellite terminals from several different providers allowed the service to see how the network adapts when a connection is interrupted or broken.

The service has struggled with how to move and reroute data within different echelons of its communications, or transport, architecture, said Col. Matt Skaggs, director of tactical application and architecture development for Army Futures Command. At NetModX, the command experimented with capabilities that bring redundancy into its network, allowing it to do that more seamlessly.

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“It’s a reactive and redundant network,” he said in an interview. “We call it comms agnostic. If one pathway is blocked, that system will automatically find another pathway.”

Along with testing out the transport architecture, the experiment also helped identify which “bespoke” applications put too much strain on the network.

“We learned that we had to dial back the resource requirements on these web applications and make it thinner so they work on the tactical network,” Skaggs said. “If we hadn’t had this experimentation event, we would have been way further down the acquisition pipeline before we learned these kinds of lessons.”

Building a network baseline

The Army’s experimentation at NetModX is just one piece of its broader NGC2 effort. The service has been on a path toward modernizing its network for the last six years, narrowing its focus last year on an acquisition approach that delivers capabilities iteratively rather than aiming to field a complete package of upgrades all at once.

Skaggs likened the Army’s strategy for NGC2 to laying a new foundation for integrating data. Once that foundation is set, the service can then bring on new applications and tools that build on it.

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“We push out a baseline product, the soldiers touch it and use it in their mission command application and we’ll continually modify it,” he said. “So, it’s constantly evolving and constantly getting updated.”

In May, the Army signed off on a “characteristics of need” for NGC2 and on Oct. 1 it issued a request for information to industry. The service plans to feed its learnings from NetModX into its next Project Convergence capstone, which is slated for March 2025. A minimum viable product should be finalized later that year and the service could start fielding NGC2 capabilities as soon as 2026.

An experiment like NetModX is crucial in that process because it puts NGC2 technology in context, allowing the service to consider “the art of the possible” as it writes requirements and issues acquisition plans, Welch said.

“There are a lot of products out there — brochures, slick sheets, endorsements, what have you,” he said. “We’re separating out what really works and what doesn’t.”

Courtney Albon is C4ISRNET’s space and emerging technology reporter. She has covered the U.S. military since 2012, with a focus on the Air Force and Space Force. She has reported on some of the Defense Department’s most significant acquisition, budget and policy challenges.

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New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: Your 2024 Devils All-Prospect Team

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New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: Your 2024 Devils All-Prospect Team


The Rules

Before we begin, a quick breakdown of the rules. I select a lineup of players with an eye of putting the best projected lineup together of players as they are realistically projected to be in their prime. Players who are older will benefit from a higher degree of certainty, but younger prospects will be given consideration of their realistic (i.e. not ideal) projections so as not to load a lineup full of AHLers, who are further along in their development.

For this exercise, I will not differentiate between left and right wing or right and left defense, nor will I consider “handedness” of any of the prospects. Players who have made the full-time jump to the NHL are ineligible. Lastly, the age cutoff is 23, so players such as Nolan Foote, who turned 24 last month, are also ineligible. Let’s get started.

Top Line

Center Matyas Melovsky; Wingers Lenni Hameenaho and Arseni Gritsyuk

The Devils prospect pool is notoriously short of center depth. However, Matyas Melovsky has had a breakout season as a 20-year-old playing for Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the QMJHL. The first Devils prospect in any league to reach thirty points this season, Melovsky, who plays both wing and center, is more of a playmaker than a natural goal scorer. The center is well built for the NHL game at 6’1’’, 190 pounds and uses his strength to body opponents, earning high marks from many scouts for his defensive game. If properly developed, Melovsky could blossom into a versatile bottom 6 forward at the NHL level some day.

For this exercise, Melovsky will be dishing the puck to the top two offensive prospects in the Devils system on the top scoring line, while providing some much-needed two-way play at center. Russian winger Arseni Gritsyuk would provide zone entries and some dazzle to the line, while Finnish Forward Lenni Hameenaho would work his magic around the net. Gritsyuk and Hameenaho are both in the midst of strong seasons in their respective top leagues. It would not be surprising to see this entire line playing in North America for the Devils organization next season.

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2nd Line

Center Adam Beckman; Wingers Cam Squires and Herman Traff

Adam Beckman is a bit of a cheat as the player acquired by the Devils for Graeme Clarke over the summer has been playing right wing on Utica’s second line. However, Beckman can play center and the center depth is bad enough for me to slot him here. Whatever problems Utica has had this season, and there have been many, Adam Beckman has not been one of them, scoring sixteen points in eighteen games. This makes his lack of a call-up to the big club during the myriad of injuries so far this season rather surprising. At 23-years-old, Beckman is becoming close to a finished product as he awaits another opportunity to play in the NHL.

On the All-Prospect Team, the AHL veteran will center two younger players on this line. After a rough start and a couple of suspensions, Cam Squires has caught fire for the Cape Breton Eagles and is the only Devils prospect not named Matyas Melovsky to be averaging over a point per game. Power forward Herman Traff has been a steady presence in the SHL playing amongst men as a 18-year-old in his D+1 (Traff turns 19 on December 31st), tallying seven points in nineteen contests and earning a spot on Team Sweden in the World Juniors. Cam Squires has already signed his ELC with the Devils and should join the Comets next season as Utica’s season is likely to end before Cape Breton’s. Traff will likely continue to develop in the SHL next season.

3rd Line

Center Samu Salminen; Wingers Josh Filmon and Chase Stillman

Coming into this season, this line would have looked really good on paper. Samu Salminen, another forward who plays center and wing, centers this line by default, given the aforementioned lack of center depth. The power forward has been streaky this year after transferring to the University of Denver from the goal-anemic UConn. With six goals and six assists in eighteen contests, this will likely be Salminen’s best offensive season. Whether it be enough to earn him a contract with the Devils this summer is anybody’s guess.

Much has been written about wingers Josh Filmon and Chase Stillman this season. Filmon has already been demoted to Adirondack of the ECHL, where he has, at times, toiled on the fourth line. At the time this article was written, Stillman is still hanging onto a fourth line spot for the Utica Comets, but has struggled and I speculated last week whether a short stint in the lower league may help spark him a bit. It is way too soon to give up on Filmon or Stillman, but to say that this has been a challenging year for the duo would be a bit of an understatement.

4th Line

Center Max Graham; Wingers Kasper Pikkarainen and Cole Brown

The fourth line of the All-Prospect team is intriguing. Max Graham is another center, who also plays wing. That’s zero natural centers in the system for those keeping track. After being selected as an overager in last year’s NHL entry draft, Graham, who is known for his leadership and his fisticuffs, has broken out offensively in the WHL with 24 points in 26 games. Graham’s pathway to the NHL would be that of a physical two-way grinder, who kills penalties (something he would need to learn) and sticks up for his teammates, but at 6’3’’ doesn’t quite have the size to be a true heavyweight in the NHL.

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The two wingers on the fourth line are big question marks. Kasper Pikkarainen was chosen in the 3rd round by the Devils this summer and then proceeded to get injured in his first game for the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL and has not played since. As such, Pikkarainen’s progress is impossible to evaluate and one will have to wait until the winger returns to game action to see how the injury impacted his development. Pikkarainen’s selection here is purely based on his status from the draft. Cole Brown is a winger for the Brantford Bulldogs, who is on pace for 60 points, a full 21 points more than last season. More impressively, this pace has been a result of a late surge after a very slow start. As with Salminen, it is still up in the air as to whether this will be enough for the Devils to offer Brown a contract, but the winger has certainly earned that consideration.

Defensive Pairings

Anton Silayev, Simon Nemec

Seamus Casey, Daniil Orlov

Topias Vilen, Ethan Edwards

The first three selections for the Devils defense were rather straightforward. Not much needs to be written to justify the inclusion of Anton Silayev, the 6’7’’ Russian blueliner who has suited up for 32 games for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL this season and tallied seven assists as an 18-year-old. Likewise, #2 overall pick Simon Nemec broke into the NHL last season and has been the odd man out with the stellar play of Jonathan Kovacevic. Nemec has not exactly lit up the AHL since his demotion, but his focus has been on becoming a steadier presence in the backend. The offense for the Comets from the blueline has been left up to Seamus Casey, the third easy selection for defense on this team. Casey has proven capable of playing in the NHL already in a sheltered role and has carried his four points in his first eight NHL games to fourteen points in seventeen games since his demotion to the Comets.

The other three defensemen were a much tougher decision. One could argue Daniil Karpovich deserves consideration and I would agree. However, as Karpovich split nine games between the KHL and VHL this season before his injury and after a season in the more obscure Belarusan league, it is really difficult to pinpoint his progress. Likewise, Santeri Hatakka probably would have made this team if not for his injury this preseason. Fellow Comet Daniil Misyul, who played one game for the Devils this season, has aged out of consideration for this team. Defensive defensemen Charlie Leddy and Artyom Barabosha were also considered and Barabosha might have made the cut if not for splitting time between the KHL and VHL this year after seemingly earning a full promotion to the KHL last season.

I chose Russian defender Daniil Orlov, who seems to have the speed and transition skills to possibly play in the NHL one day should he ever stay healthy enough to fully develop and decide to come to North America. Topias Vilen and Ethan Edwards were also difficult selections. Ethan Edwards has a chance to be an Andy Greene-like defenseman should he reach his potential, but such players are very rare at the NHL level. Moreover, as a senor this season, it is unclear where Edwards will end up this summer. Former 5th rounder, Topias Vilen earned his ELC after showing tremendous promise with a breakout in the Liiga. After a demotion to the ECHL last season, Vilen picked up his game and finished strong with 29 points in 54 AHL games proving his newly-found offense could translate to North America. This season, Vilen has only played in fourteen contests for the Comets, totaling a goal and three assists, after returning from an upper body injury suffered during the preseason. Vilen is still only 21-years-old and defensemen develop later, so I would not worry too much about him yet. There is still a chance Vilen develops into a strong puck-moving defenseman in the NHL some day given his skill set.

Goaltenders

Jakub Malek

Nico Daws

At 22-years-old, Jakub Malek is the best goaltending prospect in the Devils system. Since the Devils drafted him in the fourth round (100th overall) in the 2021 NHL entry draft, Malek has dominated just about everywhere he has played. Currently, that somewhere is the Liiga, where the netminder has either been at the top or near the top all season in GAA (2.06) and SV% (.918). Malek also possesses the athleticism to be a starting goalie in the NHL should he reach his full potential. That is not just me saying that. The latest Dobber update on Malek says essentially the same thing. Of course, most players never reach their full potential and whether Malek will remains to be seen, but given the goaltender’s track record of consistency since his draft year, I would not bet against him. Even if Malek maxes out as a capable back up in the NHL, the netminder would earn the top spot here.

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Devils fans are likely more familiar with Nico Daws, who has already played quite a few games for the Devils in recent seasons, mostly in call-ups. After the Devils traded Akira Schmid over the summer, Daws became the defacto third string goalie for the Devils. Daws has struggled this season for a bad Comets team with a 3-10-2 record, 3.18 GAA and .895 SV%, but has outperformed (at least in terms of SV%) his platoon-mate Isaac Poulter after losing out to Poulter last year. It is no secret that Daws has played on a lot of bad Devils teams and it is hard to say how much of Daws’s raw numbers have been diminished by that reality. Daws has the ability to steal games at times, even high profile games at the NHL level. Consistency has been the issue with Daws, something Malek has not struggled with. For that reason, Malek gets the nod as the starter of this hypothetical team.

Your Take

Tell us what you think. My best to all our readers and their families. May you enjoy all your end of year festivities.



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Body Found in Refrigerator in New Jersey State Park, Investigation Ongoing

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Body Found in Refrigerator in New Jersey State Park, Investigation Ongoing


A body was found in a New Jersey state park just days before the holidays.

On Sunday, Dec. 22, a body was discovered in an abandoned refrigerator in Belleplain State Forest in northern Cape May County, NJ. State Police Sgt. Jeffrey Lebron released information stating that the body was found by troopers shortly before 3 p.m. inside the forest in Dennis Township.

“NJSP are actively investigating a body that was found out in the woods in Belleplain,” Dennis Township Mayor Zeth Matalucci shared in a statement on the official Dennis Township Facebook page. “There’s no threat to the public, and more information will be provided once it’s received,” he continued.

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According to its official website, Belleplain State Forest was “established in 1928 for public recreation” and “consists of almost 23,000 acres,” including over a dozen trails for walking/hiking and biking and several campsites. Boating, swimming and fishing are also permitted in the nearby lakes and ponds.

No further details have been shared regarding identification of the body or speculation as to what occurred, as the investigation is ongoing. PEOPLE has reached out to Cape May County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Park Police and Matalucci for comment.

It’s the second body found in eastern New Jersey in as many weeks.

Two weeks ago, a body matching the description of a retired teacher was found in the Galloway Township of New Jersey. Alan Levin, 84, was reported missing by his family on Dec. 7. Remains were discovered two days later along the bank of Nacote Creek, a waterway that leads to the Mullica River about 10 miles north of Atlantic City.

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“After an extensive search of the area, a drone team from the Atlantic City Police and Fire Departments located a body matching the description of Mr. Levin deceased along the bank, approximately 3/10 of a mile east of the Port Republic Bridge,” authorities said in a post on Facebook at the time.

Levin’s disappearance remains under investigation by the Galloway Township Police Department and the New Jersey State Police.



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New Jersey fines firms $40K for sports betting violations

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New Jersey fines firms K for sports betting violations


ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey gambling regulators have handed out $40,000 in fines to two sportsbooks and a tech company for violations that included taking bets on unauthorized events, and on games that had already ended.

In information made public Monday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement fined DraftKings $20,000. It also levied $10,000 fines on Rush Street Interactive NJ and the sports betting technology company Kambi.

According to documents released by the state, Rush Street accepted 16 bets worth $1,523 in Nov. 2021 on a college basketball game between the University of North Carolina-Asheville and Tennessee Tech University after the game had already concluded with a UNC victory.

Kambi told the enforcement division that a trader had failed to manually remove that game from its betting markets, saying it had stopped receiving messages from its own sports data provider due to a network connectivity error. Kambi said it has updated its guidelines and retrained its traders to prevent a recurrence.

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Kambi, which is based in Malta, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Monday. Rush Street declined comment, and DraftKings had no immediate comment Monday. DraftKings stopped using Kambi in 2021.

In March 2022 Rush Street took seven bets totaling just under $2,900 on three Magic City Jai Alai games after the results were already known.

Kambi told the division it experienced a connectivity issue that allowed the bets to be accepted after the games were over. An explanation of what Kambi did to address the situation was blacked out in documents released by the division.

A month earlier Rush Street took 13 wagers worth $8,150 with pre-match odds on a Professional Golf Association match after the event had already begun. In this case, Kambi told the division a newly hired trader failed to enter the correct closing time time for bets on the event. The trader and a supervisor underwent retraining.

DraftKings was fined for taking bets on unapproved events including Russian basketball for nine months in 2020 and 2021. It eventually voided over $61,000 in bets and returned the money to customers after being directed to do so by the state.

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In this case, Kambi told the division it misidentified this particular Russian basketball league as one that was approved for wagering in New Jersey. DraftKings told the state it did not catch the error, either.

In 2020, DraftKings accepted 484 wagers on unapproved table tennis matches. Kambi incorrectly enabled the events for wagering without conditions required by the state, the division said.

In Feb. 2022, the division said DraftKings took pre-season NFL bets involving specific players but did not give the state specific information on what information was to be included in the bets, drawing 182 wagers worth nearly $7,000 that were later voided and refunded to customers.

(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission)





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