VALLEY CITY, N.D. - The number of closed roads and detours weaving throughout towns surrounded by floodwater poses navigational challenges for North Dakota Guard members conducting various operations throughout the flooded areas this month.
To address these challenges, Soldiers are giving new technology a trial run to help them traverse around flood-affected areas here.
Just like a normal navigation system, the Mobile Tracking System, or MTS, helps them find a route; however, it is capable of even more.
The MTS gives Guard members map overlays of the communities they work in. The system relies on a satellite relay and is able to give the locations of vehicles to the tactical operations center. The TOC is a command post employed by the military where officers and specially trained personnel set up to guide the element executing the mission.
Another convenient feature of the MTS is the ability to use overlay maps on the monitor.
"This allows the vehicles to update information as they see it on the ground," said Army Sgt. Michael Bauder, who is assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment of the 231st Brigade Support Battalion and responsible for the employment of the MTS on the ground here.
"It’s great for a situation like the one we have here in Valley City, with streets closing down due to flooding and the levee building," Bauder said.
If a road is closed, a red ‘X’ will appear on the map.
The MTS is similar to the Blue Force Tracker, or BFT, systems that are used in tactical vehicles. The BFT – a GPS-enabled system that provides military commanders and forces with location information about friendly military forces – and the MTS are able to communicate with each other through a central computer at the TOC.
Two of the logistic vehicles on the ground for Valley City’s flood fight are equipped with the new MTS, and this is the first time it has been put to use in a non-training environment.
The MTS is capable of identifying vehicles by a color-coded system and the new devices allow operators to assign codes that will make a bumper number or call sign visible to the main control center.
The software also allows the TOC to list the vehicles in a hierarchy structure that reflects the different levels of command they fall under.
Company A of the 231st Brigade Support Battalion conducted training to familiarize Soldiers with the MTS, but Bauder said the best way to learn is by actually using it in the field.
Soldiers are learning to use the MTS and find the system pretty easy to operate.
"If the quick reaction force runs into issues, we can locate them and let them know an alternate route," said Army Spc. Whitney Brag, one of the almost 300 National Guard members activated to Valley City to assist with flood efforts.
"This is a really nice feature because we have seen bridges get closed off and streets blocked off while we’ve been here fighting the flood."
Brag said she is comfortable with the system but admits that it has capabilities she would like to learn more about.
"It’s great to use technology to make life easier, because it can get a little hectic out there," she said.