Washington: We Have a Problem

Call it conduct unbecoming of a computer.

The first major test of the United States' new wired Army is a resounding failure, says a report issued earlier this month by the Office of Operational Test and Evaluation (OTE). Copies of the report were obtained by Newsday and the Army Times.

In wargames staged to test soldiers equipped with computers, information overloads led to poor synchronization of artillery and other weapons, and equipment failures diverted attention from the battlefield, resulting in high incidence of friendly fire, the report said. The computers were also vulnerable to field conditions of extreme temperatures and dirt. The Army's Experimental Force is made up of troops from Ft. Hood, Texas and Ft. Lewis, Washington, who wear laser tag-like belts during the war game exercises to record "kills." Other Army officials caution that it's too early to pass judgment on the program.