Combat information center
A combat information center (CIC) or action information centre (AIC) is a room in a
Regardless of the vessel or command locus, each CIC organizes and processes information into a form more convenient and usable by the commander in authority. Each CIC funnels communications and data received over multiple channels, which is then organized, evaluated, weighted and arranged to provide ordered timely information flow to the battle command staff under the control of the CIC officer and his deputies.
Overview
CICs are widely depicted in film and television treatments, frequently with large maps, numerous computer consoles and
Such polar plots are used routinely in navigation and military action management to display time-stamped range and
A CIC in a naval context brings together and manages information on the warship's status and its surroundings, and supplies this to the commanding officer, who would generally be present on the nearby bridge or where plots can be viewed and, if one is aboard, a flag officer who might have their own separate flag bridge and fleet CIC. CICs or operations centers in other command contexts have the same function: information ordering, gathering, and presentation to the decision makers. The methods and materials may vary, but the provision of information & options to a leader remain the same.
Some control, assistance, and coordination functions may be delegated to the CIC staff or directly to the CIC officer, such as overseeing the mode and prioritization of sensor resources such as radar monitoring, targeting, or sonar activities; communications to external sources and assets.
On US aircraft carriers this area is called the combat direction center (CDC). The United States developed their Command Information Center concept circa the winter of 1942–1943 and implemented it in a surge of refitting and retraining during 1943 after post-battle action analyses of battles in 1942 from the battle of the Coral Sea through the losses at Ironbottom Sound during the protracted Solomon Islands campaign.
In British usage this area may be known as an aircraft direction room;[1] together with the operations room they form an "operations headquarters".[2] The British aircraft direction room evolved from the fighter direction office, a primitive means of controlling an aircraft carrier's aircraft through radio and radar. In September, 1942, HMS Victorious underwent a refit that included installation of an aircraft direction room.
Development
The idea of such a centralized control room can be found in
After the numerous losses during the various naval battles off Guadalcanal during the war of attrition in the
The
From that beginning, were added the corporate experiences of the continuing series of naval air and naval surface actions around and about the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands campaign. By late 1943 when the first new construction carriers of the Essex-class fleet carriers and the Independence-class light carriers with many associated fleet vessels had reinforced the refitted USS Enterprise (CV-6) and the USS Saratoga (CV-3), the U.S. Navy was prepared to take the offensive and began evolving CIC procedures and operational doctrine for a fleet of carriers.[5]
There has been an evolution of electronics (computer) equipment and user interfaces used in such installations over time. Modern CIC equipment is built up from many connected embedded systems.[6][7]
See also
- List of established military terms
- Glossary of military abbreviations
- Command and control
- Comprehensive Display System
- Joint Tactical Information Distribution System
- Mission control center
- Naval Tactical Data System
- Situation room
- Tactical communications
- USS Moosehead (IX-98), a destroyer converted into a floating CIC simulator during WW2 to train CIC personnel
References
- ^ Flight 1957
- ^ Flight 1957 referring to the carrier HMS Ark Royal
- ^ Unpublished letter from John W. Campbell to E. E. Smith, pages 1–2, Dated 11 June 1947 in the collection of Verna Smith Trestrail
- ^ Robert A. Heinlein by William H. Patterson, Jr., volume 1, chapter 24
- ^ a b c "CIC [Combat Information Center". Naval History and Heritage Command. Washington DC: Department of the Navy. 31 August 2017.
- ^ "USN Ships--Interior Working Spaces on board USS Spruance". www.history.navy.mil. Archived from the original on 11 July 2001.
- ^ "Aboard Uss Carl Vinson26 Stock Photo Image". Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
External links
- CIC room (World War II)
- CIC manual (World War II)
- Naval Ordnance and Gunnery, 1958
- USS Sterett, CIC 1968 -1991
- Modern RN Ops Room
- US Navy Surface Warfare Officer School – Division Officer Training