Senate Committee for National Security and Defence
BACKGROUND BRIEF - MARLANT COMMAND AND CONTROL OF OPERATIONS
Issue
1. Discuss Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) command and control of routine operations and response to contingency and crisis operations.
Discussion
2. The Navy’s national security mandate includes a surveillance and response capability for a host of contingencies in which the primary government departments responsible have neither the capability nor the expertise themselves to undertake the response action on the high seas or far from urban centres. Despite being the department of last resort, the difficult and remote maritime environment frequently calls for a military component to the government’s response. The capabilities inherent in powerful, long-range aviation, surface and subsurface forces, communications and command and control facilities, joint operational capability with land and air forces, is self evident.
Maritime Operations
Centre
3.
There is a common misconception that surveillance and command and control
of naval forces are directed by an operations centre.
This is not the case. In
MARLANT, there is operations center known as the Maritime Operations Centre
(MOC). This facility, while
administratively a section of the TRINITY Joint Ocean Surveillance Information
Centre (JOSIC), is responsive to the Assistant Chief of Staff Plans and
Operations. Located in the
headquarters building, it functions as a 24-hour per day, seven days per week
contact cell for communicating urgent developments from and to ships at sea, as
well as among headquarters nationally, and among other government departments
and civic agencies as and when crisis situations arise.
The Maritime Operations Centre also has as a primary mandate, the task of
compiling, updating and managing the Recognized Maritime Picture (RMP).
This dynamic product is the collation of all shipping detected,
identified and tracked in Canada’s sea lanes of approach. As such, the
Recognized Maritime Picture is an information and intelligence product and
logically has resulted in the Maritime Operations Centre being a subordinate
unit of TRINITY JOSIC. However, the
direction of surveillance, the command and control of operations, and the
formulation of emergency responses to emergent crisis situations is the
responsibility of the Assistant Chief of Staff Plans and Operations and his
staff. (A separate briefing has been
provided that describes how the Recognized Maritime Picture is created, managed
and disseminated.)
4.
In addition to the tasks associated with the maintenance of the
Recognized Maritime Picture, during routine operations the Maritime Operations
Centre accomplishes the following tasks:
a.
24/7 on-call watch for relaying information from and to ships at sea;
b.
24/7 access point for establishment of other government department
liaison with naval planners;
c.
initial reading of all message traffic addressed to Commander MARLANT,
the Assistant Chief of Staff Operations, and other critical MARLANT operational
authorities, and relay of important issues to planning staffs for resolution
action;
d.
HF radio flight following of surveillance flights;
e.
Initial phone calls and recall notification to key MARLANT operations
planners in emergency and contingency operation situations;
f.
After hours harbour support for tugs, fuel booms, and fuelling; and
g.
Manning augmentation support to the Battle Watch, a body that would close
up in an emergency, crisis or emerging contingency situation.
The Maritime Operations Centre provides personnel for the answering of
phones, relaying orders, and maintaining websites and information management
systems.
5. As stated earlier, the Maritime Operations Centre neither commands nor controls operations but functions as a conduit to deployed forces and outside agencies . It is manned by relatively junior personnel; consequently it has neither the capability nor the delegated authority to provide operational direction other than to relay information to planning authorities and to those senior officers vested with such powers by the Commander MARLANT. At most, the Watch Officer at the Maritime Operations Centre can release immediate operational messages or verbally relay command and control direction as provided over the phone by senior operations staffs during the initial moments of a crisis response action.
Plans and Operations
Staff
6.
The Assistant Chief of Staff Plans and Operations, whose staff designator
is N3, and his supporting staff provide command and control, and operations
planning for both routine and contingency operations.
The staff is broken into functional areas for normal day-to-day support
to naval operations, planning and policy development as:
a.
N31, Deputy Chief of Staff Surface Operations.
Manages the fleet operations schedule, creates and plans military and
civil cooperation exercises, plans the deployment of forces and drafts the
orders for domestic and international operations, develops and monitors force
protection plans, and interacts with other government departments for the
implementation of shared operations objectives (ship support to counter-drugs,
fisheries, illegal migrant smuggling, pollution, and counter-terrorism to name
but a few);
b.
N32, Deputy Chief of Staff Sub-Surface Operations. Acts as the Submarine
Operating Authority for Maritime Forces Atlantic, directs submarine operations,
is responsible for water-space management procedures necessary to ensure the
safety of submarines and ships operating in the vicinity of each other, and
coordinates the emergency response to submarine accidents;
c.
N34, Deputy Chief of Staff Operational Readiness.
Plans and coordinates the implementation and sustainment of operational
capabilities in MARLANT ships and submarines, including weapons systems,
ordnance, sensors and new equipment trials;
d.
N37, Deputy Chief of Staff Engineering Readiness. Plans and coordinates
the technical readiness of fleet units and develops repair plans for deployed
units.
7. The Plans and Operations staff jointly develops contingency plans for some of the more likely operational scenarios. Over time, plans have been developed for fisheries enforcement, counter-drug operations, nuclear-powered vessel visits, short-notice deployment of a Task Group, and force protection as examples. Operational planning for naval and cooperation programs with other government departments is done on a daily basis. The N31 staff has close ties with the RCMP, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Coast Guard, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency for example, and participates in the various security and integrated oceans management committees resident on the East Coast. Multi-agency planning is routinely undertaken for fishery patrols, offshore surveillance, preventive patrols), counter-drug operations, marine protected areas, and requests for services where DND provides a unique military capability to the requesting department. Planning of this nature is done in close partnership (jointly) with the regional air and land force components of the Canadian Forces.
Battle
Watch and Battle Staff
8.
A more dynamic and robust approach is taken to developing response plans
for emergency or crisis scenarios offshore. When the Navy's role becomes
significant, when command and control of assets becomes complex, becomes a 24/7
requirement, or necessitates detailed and immediate staff planning, the MARLANT
Battle Watch is convened on order of the Assistant Chief of Staff Plans and
Operations. The Battle Watch has as
its core element senior personnel of the N31, N34 and N37 staffs who operate in
a specially-configured space, immediately adjacent to the Maritime Operations
Centre. Nearby, and in the same
shielded structure are located similar operations centres of the Land Force
Atlantic Headquarters and the Air Component Commander.
9.
The Battle Watch is provided executive direction by Commander MARLANT who
convenes his Battle Staff, a group senior officers representing the major
command components of MARLANT including operations, logistics, personnel,
information management, engineering and maintenance, the Commander of the
Canadian Atlantic Fleet and his deputy. The
Battle Staff reviews the known factors of the developing event, develops a rough
plan of action and intent and, in turn, provides guiding direction and readiness
orders to the various sub-commands. The
provision of early command direction permits the Battle Watch to act as an
executive authority, tasking and directing MARLANT commands, units and personnel
to undertake specific tasks according to the nature of the emergency and in
accordance with Commander MARLANT’s intent.
10.
When activated, the Battle Watch operates 24/7 and has several key
organizational elements. First, experienced and senior officers command each watch.
These watches are comprised of various military specialists from operations,
logistics, personnel, engineering, etc. Furthermore,
specialists are seconded to the watches as required for subject matter expertise
relevant to the crisis situation unfolding.
Specialists in logistics support or transport, public affairs, nuclear
emergency response, submarine operations and aviation operations are cases in
point. The watches are further
subdivided with supporting staffs as follows:
a.
short-term crisis action teams, responsible for developing emergency
response plans to immediate action requirements, or events taking place within
24 hours. Depending on the
complexity of the scenario unfolding, these teams are organized into functional
groups; a nuclear scenario would demand a cell comprised of Nuclear Emergency
Response Team (NERT) members, a logistics cell to manage evacuation, housing and
feeding, force protection specialists for the provision of security, etc;
b.
long-range planning teams, responsible for developing and analyzing
options and plans for situations likely to evolve as the scenario unfolds over
time; and
c.
liaison personnel for 24/7 manning or support to other military and
government department crisis response centers, such as Emergency Measures
Organizations, RCMP regional headquarters, etc.
By the same token, the Battle Watch accepts liaison personnel from other
involved government departments as appropriate to the situation.
11. Each Battle Watch Commander is selected for individual skill and proven judgment. He or she has sufficient headquarters expertise, operations background, and command insight to execute orders, assign subordinate units to tasks, pass coordinating instructions to other government departments, and commence readiness preparations for situations that will naturally evolve with time using nothing more that the Commander MARLANT’s intentions and over-arching direction as guidance. MARLANT has the depth of personnel and expertise to maintain the Battle Watch manning and this intensity of operational command indefinitely.
Operational
Planning Process
12. The Battle Watch organizational construct is very responsive and efficient, capable of expanding or contracting to meet the scale of the crisis scenario. It operates on a “battle rhythm” that has frequent planned interaction with senior decision-makers, permitting intentions to be disseminated as a crisis evolves and response actions approved. Moreover, the “rhythm” provides for interface with other government department crisis centres and superior headquarters, liaison officer reporting and direction, public affairs management etc, all according to a predictable time schedule. A dedicated “Operational Planning Process” is employed. This is a NATO-formulated military planning protocol that develops options using planning factors and assumptions, criteria for success, objectives and desired end-states. The staff uses the planning process to develop response options that are then assessed for by Command and then the most suitable response is selected for implementation. The Operational Planning Process is employed by all elements of the Canadian Forces and is a powerful tool for resolution of the most complex and difficult scenarios. It is the training received in this planning method that makes military officers sought after and respected facilitators in the resolution of complex multi-agency scenarios.
Conclusion
13.
This background brief explains the role of the Maritime Operations Centre
within the greater command and control organization of MARLANT, and operations
in particular. While the Maritime
Operations Centre provides an essential service through the creation and
dissemination of the recognized maritime picture, it is not an executive
capability charged with planning and directing response actions to emergency or
crisis events. It does fulfill an
immediate call-up and warning service, providing a 24/7 linkage between deployed
units or other government departments with senior naval executive authorities as
a situation unfolds.
14. The more in-depth and versatile capability brought to bear during crisis events is the Battle Watch. Provided early command guidance by the Admiral and his senior advisors, the Battle Watch develops a rhythmic approach to formulating plans in response to the crisis and tasking MARLANT agencies and units to missions. The capability draws in the required subject matter expertise from operational and other staffs in MARLANT, is sustainable indefinitely, and has well-developed linkages with other government departments fostered through normal day-to-day cooperative maritime initiatives and regional committees. This level of military command and control has been proven in major government responses, including the crash of SWISSAIR 111 and the regional response to the effects in Atlantic Canada of the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York City.