US, Allies Establish Network for Secure Information Sharing

Col. Rett Burroughs, the chief information officer and G6 for the Army’s I Corps, said the U.S. military and its allied forces made progress in establishing a secure network for information sharing through the Yama Sakura annual training event.

In an Ask the CIO webinar interview, Burroughs shared that the Yama Sakura 85 exercise in December 2023 demonstrated secure sharing of information between the U.S. Army and the Japanese and Australian forces, a capability that previously was not possible.

He explained that in previous exercises, the U.S. military’s network enabled collaboration with allied military commanders but using different tactical operations centers. The said approach prevents direct coordination among allied forces, Federal News Network reported.

The distributed network demonstrated at the Yama Sakura 85 exercise used zero trust tools.

According to Burroughs, the training event aims to create a common operating picture and enable voice video chat, besides the ability to share significant data.

“The application of this proved critical in the ability for staff to make informed recommendations and for commanders to make informed decisions,” he said.