The Virtual Information Center
Keeping Decision-Makers Situationally Smart
By Robin Hayden

The Virtual Information Center is a consortium of information components from multiple sources — it is more a concept and less a "thing." Principally, VIC provides the U.S. Commander- in-Chief Pacific with situational awareness, a fused picture, not something possible through traditional methods through the timely and focused identification, retrieval, integration and analysis of open source information by advanced technology and information.

Origins

In the early 1990s, it became apparent that traditional intelligence channels were not geared toward collecting open source information about humanitarian emergencies in Pacific Command's extensive area of responsibility. This narrow focus derived from Cold War requirements. Information supplied solely from traditional intelligence sources, it was recognized, might not be sufficient to provide a complete picture of a crisis or an emergency because these areas are outside of the normal intelligence and operations experience. Back in the bad old days, open source research was performed individually; the research was static and could not benefit from any kind of synthesis. Reorienting traditional intelligence components to provide knowledge based on open source analysis of humanitarian operations was neither cost-effective nor wise. With an estimated 85 percent of all information residing in the public domain, it became clear that a new, supplemental model was needed to keep up with changes in the world.

Setting the Foundation for VIC

VIC was conceived as an open source information network, operating outside of the traditional intelligence and operational information box, that would facilitate timely delivery of crisis-driven information to decision makers. U.S. Pacific Command, in collaboration with the Center of Excellence, began to develop this idea in September 1997 during a week long event called the Pacific Complex Human-itarian Emergency Support Test (PAC-CHEST).

PAC-CHEST successfully demonstrated the potential of using open source information from the Internet to improve the situational awareness in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations at the strategic level. This test obviated the need to increase "granularity"— breaking down components into the smallest unit possible — to meet the pre-deployment information needs of a Joint Task Force and to help to minimize the forward footprint.

Participants learned many lessons from conducting PAC-CHEST, such as the importance of defining what might be normal or common baseline measures of effectiveness. The audience recognized the value of using the past as prologue; El Nino and La Nina, for example, as phenomena that are likely to return and whose effects can be tracked, catalogued, measured and anticipated. "The questions don't change, but the answers do," remarked Carl Schuster, VIC Director.

A critical factor borne out during the test was the need to integrate data into information, and information into knowledge. (see Diagram 1) Situational awareness is best promoted in the form of knowledge, where all of the important elements of data and information have been synthesized.

Other ideas surfaced such as developing a "play-book" of what worked before to institutionalize prior successes and improve information flow internally within headquarters and externally to other military entities and civilian agencies. Staying abreast of breaking news became a beneficial byproduct of having open source information filtered through one node.

PAC-CHEST revealed the need for robust concept development. "It confirmed our suspicions and provided the commander with a ‘fly before you buy' option," Schuster explained.

The Virtual Resource Center is Born

The Virtual Resource Center — which had begun life as the Political Military Anchor Desk two years prior to PAC-CHEST — is a group of analysts who are dedicated to the synthesis of political and military open source information. VRC staff gather, analyze and disseminate knowledge without the requirement of direct command authority, effectively setting the group outside of the traditional military hierarchy.

In this way, the VRC is sufficiently autonomous to do its job but still fully accountable for its funding. "This ensures the information and analysis it provides remains unclassified and avoids the possibility that its assessments might unwittingly be changed to meet the commander's approval," Schuster said.

Having a dedicated entity also means improving presentation technology, faster data access and better connectivity. The ability to create beneficial relationships with organizations external to the military is also facilitated by this arrangement.

The right information at the right time is key for an appropriate and properly prepared response force. "Preparedness in the information management game means being able to answer tomorrow's questions today," Schuster said.

The number of staff hovers between 8 and 10 people, including several analysts, two systems engineers and a reservist or two. Their offices are located two floors down from the commander, Admiral Blair, a client whose requirements guide their activities. The VRC also responds to his staff and subordinate elements.

Partnering is Fundamental to the VIC Concept

The Virtual Resource Center is so much the central node of the VIC that it has become synonymous with VIC. It begins the process with the political and military information pieces. These are synthesized with inputs from U.S. Pacific Command's other resources, the Center of Excellence and the Pacific Disaster Center.

Each partner brings unique expertise to the table. The VRC specializes in geopolitical analysis of the major events in the Asia Pacific Region and maintains an extensive country database of Websites. The PDC supports various models for weather related phenomena and furnishes imagery and remote sensing in the event of natural disasters or other catastrophes in the region and has directs links to other national scientific and weather-related assets. The Center of Excellence's PDMIN (see article page 7) supplies information about non-governmental organizations, international organizations, private voluntary organizations, United Nations and other humanitarian organizations on the ground. The concept founders and supporters recognize that unique expertise is not available in one place.

Two recent examples illustrate how organizations contribute their specialized knowledge to the VIC process. The Pacific Disaster Center supplied key information on the Mt. Usu eruption in Japan so that a primer was prepared a full three days before the eruption. Similar activity occurred during recent flooding in Mozambique. Natural disasters are not events that the military traditionally track. Both the PDC and the Center of Excellence were able to provide VIC with the relevant information to enable the command to be fully informed of events and the responses of others to them.

The Future of VIC

A concept like VIC needs continual development to take full advantage of the most recent innovations in technologies that apply to information synthesis. The increasing spectrum of operations demands vigilance to ensure that all relevant areas are being addressed. Rigorous testing of critical nodes, linkages and technologies will help to insure that this relatively new information management method and associated techniques are valid.

New partnerships are under development and include two other assets located in Hawaii: the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies (see The Liaison, Vol. 1, #3) and the East West Center. Military academic institutions, academia, international business, non-governmental organizations and the United Nations agencies are all potential partners.

Conclusion

The U.S. military is changing operational focus from global conflict and major regional contingencies to smaller scale contingencies and operations other than war. It is moving from the deliberate planning, possible under a fairly stable and known Cold War scenario, to a greater amount of crisis action planning to accommodate swift change in the political landscape.

The participants are changing as well to now include with the Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies, the United Nations agencies, independent organizations, non-government organizations, local authorities and other militaries. For the U.S., Presidential Decision Directives also provided impetus for coordination as it mandates an interagency response for complex emergencies. Information requirements and sources have been changing as well, so that now they span the gamut: political, military, economic, social, environmental, and so on.

VIC is more than a tool for the Commander-in-Chief Pacific. It serves as a model for other U.S. commands and organizations that can benefit from sharing information services and resources. VIC helps to insure that a higher degree of relief is delivered. It provides for the introduction of diverging views and opinions important in designing the proper response to humanitarian operations.

You can sample the VIC product by registering on their website. The address is http://www.vic-info.org.

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