Handheld Computers Give Sailors a High-Tech Lifeline

[William Knowles <wk () C4I ORG>]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGATVN4IHJC.html

By D. Ian Hopper
Associated Press Writer

ABOARD THE USS CONSTELLATION (AP) - Sailors aboard the USS
Constellation still look to the stars to help find their way. For a
lot of other things, they gaze at their Palms.  Handheld computers are
bringing a high-tech touch to all hands - or many of them, anyway - on
this sprawling ship, one of two steam-powered aircraft carriers still
in service.

The Navy is providing handheld computers to almost all of its new
officers and giving them to graduates of the Naval Academy and other
naval programs.

"It cuts my workload literally in half," said Lt. Mike "Beemer"
Biemiller, handheld computer in tow as he observed a Hornet jet
screaming on to the deck and snagging an arrester cable aboard the
ship floating in the waters near San Diego.

In no time, Biemiller stores the data about the landing into his Palm
Pilot, where he could later upload the data easily to the ship's main
network.

Moving from traditional Navy tools like the sextant - still used each
night aboard the Constellation to pinpoint locations by the stars as a
backup to satellite navigation - to gear like the Palm is always a
logistical and cultural challenge, but the sailors agree it pays off.

Before handheld computers were used, a landing signal officer would
record onto a paper notebook how well an incoming pilot negotiated the
600-by-200 foot landing strip.

When he left the deck, he would have to copy the information into a
large binder, then finally type the information on a desktop computer.
That is streamlined now by a program one of his colleagues wrote for
the Palm Pilot.

The concept is sweeping the Navy. A team at the Space and Naval
Warfare Systems Center in Chesapeake, Va., is developing Palm
applications sailors can use at sea.

Several programs can replace forms used for tasks such as ordering
supplies and performing environmental testing. A program developed by
a private company can be used by land forces in conjunction with a
Global Positioning Satellite receiver to plot locations of friendly
and enemy troops.

The widespread distribution of handheld computers has helped boost
morale aboard the Constellation and spurred ingenuity by sailors who
are developing their own software to automate routine naval tasks.

"I remember (Microsoft chairman) Bill Gates once talking about the
paperless office. Then I saw this Palm, and said, 'This is it,'" said
Lt. Ken Schnider, who developed the program with a fellow pilot on
another carrier.

The personal communications devices also are used below deck for
roping in e-mail from a loved ones far away and entertaining the
sailors.

"I use games when I'm waiting in line," said Lt. J.G. Alex Mabini of
Carlsbad, Calif., an engineering training officer. "There are a lot of
lines in the Navy."

As if preparations for real warfare are not enough, Schnider, 27,
plays an infrared battleship game on his handheld computer. He also
has a currency converter and time zone guide for ports.

When he noticed that all the ship's TVs were the same model, but
missing their remote controls, he loaded a program enabling him to use
the handheld computer like a remote to change channels.

Card games, Missile Command and Scrabble are also popular among the
sailors.

"It's amazing how when a tool comes along how quickly it propagates,"
said Cmdr. Justin Cooper, who uses a handheld to download shipboard
e-mail and read it on his own time, without tying up any of the
carrier's 750 desktop computers.

The Constellation's computer security chief, Petty Officer 1st Class
Curtis Sims, is exploring how to let communications technology
flourish without compromising secrets and safety.

A text scanner looks over every inbound and outbound e-mail, making
sure that an officer does not give away sensitive information such as
the exact location of the battle group.

Users cannot download new programs while on the ship, and programs
must be checked for viruses when brought onboard. The Constellation's
true Internet address is not given out.

Still, the ship is not immune: The Melissa virus penetrated the
Constellation's defenses in 1999, and it took almost a day to debug
the ship.

At sea, the works goes on to find ever more useful functions for the
technology.

Schnider is working on an application that could be used in the
cockpit, integrating flight planning, fuel consumption and other
functions.

"It's all going to be combined into one big package," Schnider said.
"That would be really cool."



*==============================================================*
"Communications without intelligence is noise;  Intelligence
without communications is irrelevant." Gen Alfred. M. Gray, USMC
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