Maritime Security from a Systems View
From Cold War Systems to multinational Civilian-Military Information Exchange
The Past
Inter-governmental and inter-services approach, civilian-military co-operation or standardization are no new idea or concept. History has numerous examples, and maybe modern standardization has its roots in the ancient civilizations of Babylon and early Egypt, where physical standards for weight and measurements of the Sumerians were carved in stone. Later Gaius Marius restructured the Roman Legions and standardized their equipment in the Marian Reform – Dr. Urbanovsky called it in the «Brief History of Defence Standardization» the «probably first recorded Defence Capabilities Initiative in history».
During the II World War submarine losses increased significantly due to the grouping of commercial ships in allied convoys. Key issue for the hunters as well as the hunted was in both cases always secure and undetected communication. One aimed to guide his convoys away from detected sub packs, the other tried to analyze the convoy routes to guide sub packs towards their targets. Only the combined effort of masters and geniuses in mathematics, cypher technics, radar and sonar technology made it possible to reach the appropriate information level and achieve the necessary awareness in military operations. The inter-governmental, inter-services approach and civilian-military co-operation (CIMIC) of this time was the key to success and victory in history …
von: Joachim Beckh
