HIIDE Gets an Update: New Software Adds Storage Capacity and More

The Army Deputy Chief of Staff G-2 developed the Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment (HIIDE) Version 4.0 through the Program Manager, Army Space Project Office (PM ASPO), as the Quick Reaction Capability to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).
The HIIDE has served as the workhorse handheld capability since initially procured in December 2006. With new upgrades to the Biometric Automated Toolset, HIIDE is also receiving a software upgrade to version 4.0.2.

SGM Robert Haemmerle, supporting the Center for Army Lessons Learned, enrolls Iraqi local nationals with iris scan feature of Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment (HIIDE).

To date, there are more than 6,700 HIIDEs in the field supporting the Warfighter, training, and research and development efforts. PM ASPO has deployed more than 4,400 devices to Brigade Combat Teams and other operational units in OIF, more than 1,000 to OEF, and 250 to the U.S. Marine Corps. In addition, the U.S. Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) received 120 HIIDEs for fielding to the Theater Intelligence Groups and Brigades worldwide. All three Combat Training Centers now have 75 HIIDEs each to use in training units deploying to the two theaters of operation.
As part of the PM ASPO and the U.S. Army’s Intelligence Center’s New Systems Training and Integration Office, Ft. Huachuca, Ariz., Mobile Training Teams have gone worldwide to train units. This training is normally in conjunction with PM Biometrics and Biometrics Automated Toolset (BAT) training. Training consists of user, train the trainer, or biometrics subject matter expert instruction, and trainers will tailor instruction to meet units’ missions.

Due to the large concentration of HIIDEs in OIF, PM ASPO established a forward office at Camp Liberty, Iraq, that provides units with a one-for-one exchange process. In addition, the Ground Intelligence Support Activity (GISA), Ft. Bragg, N.C., provides HIIDE repair/replacement support to all units worldwide. GISA maintains a website on NIPRNet which provides instructions for replacement of defective HIIDE devices.

Soldiers and Marines have performed a herculean effort with the HIIDE by collecting more than 240,000 records for inclusion in the Department of Defense worldwide repository, the Automated Biometrics Identification System (ABIS). The ABIS matched more than 40,000 of these records, and the National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC) produced more than 200 High Threat and High Intel Value Biometrics Identification Analysis Reports on individuals that have the potential to cause harm to the Warfighter, the United States, or Coalition forces. Many of these reports were the result of a Soldier on patrol collecting the person’s biometrics with a HIIDE. A sizeable number of these successful matches against latent fingerprints have occurred as well. In addition, NGIC developed a tiered watch list that is uploaded through the BAT to the HIIDE for identification of Persons of Interest, or the Commander can develop his own list.

New upgrades to BAT with Service Pack 6 combined with the HIIDE version 4.0.2 allows the device to store up to 42,000 identification records. There is now a single “Collect” button that replaces the “Enroll” and “Identify” on-screen buttons. In addition, PM ASPO is upgrading the supporting Portfolio Browser software to allow a remote area user to move records from the HIIDE by using a generic laptop to write enrollment data to a Compact Disc. The Warfighter sends the CD to the nearest BAT system in the AO for downloading. On the return trip to the remote user, the CD will contain the latest version of the watch list for uploading to the HIIDE. The HIIDE Expansion Module (EM), scheduled to deploy in March 2009 along with BAT Service Pack 7, will increase capabilities further, enabling a HIIDE/EM to store up to 240,000 identification records, provide faster search times, have an embedded GPS receiver, a wireless ready port, and a USB port connection for a rolled print reader. PM ASPO has ordered 535 of these devices.

As we speak, the Army is looking for the next generation handheld device to sustain and enhance Biometric Enabled Intelligence capabilities. At present, a number of manufacturers are developing capabilities, to include the current manufacturer of the HIIDE Version 4.0, L1 (SecuriMetrics).

(Submitted by James W. Fenton, Chief Integration & Technology Management Branch (Tactical Biometrics Intelligence Support), G-2 , Directorate of Intelligence Communications Information Management)