Joint Operation Computer Project Team

The Joint Operations Computer Project Team (JOCPT) was set up by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in the late 1960s charged with the task of convincing Army commanders to adopt the computerisation of battle control.

JOCPT was part of Project Wavell. What JOCPT achieved is a system known in the British Army as Ptarmigan (see and [http://www.armedforces.co.uk/army/listings/l0085.html#PTARMIGAN]).

Historically, generals had moved flags and blocks representing their forces on a map to give them an overview of the strategic and tactical situation on the ground and to help plan forthcoming events. This was still the case with the British Army in the early 1970s.

In its simplest form, computerisation envisaged that forces in the field could link to the main battle command computer and input data as it developed for each unit. This would cut out the need for massages to be relayed to the commander's table and someone to move the flags around. At any given moment, the most up to date situation would be on screen and hard copies could be printed out if required.

The MoD did not seek to impose such a technical advance on commanders without giving them them the chance to evaluate it first.

JOCPT was therefore set up in the headquarters of the at Bielefeld in what was then West Germany. This was the British Army's frontline defence in the Cold War against the Soviet bloc in the east. The team's task was to convince the corps commander (Lieutenant General Sir Mervyn Andrew Haldane Butler - known as "Tubby" Butler), the commanders of its four armoured divisions, and their subordinate commanders, that computerisation of battle control would would not only work but be robust enough to withstand battle conditions. For example, early objections to the concept focused on whether sensitive computer equipment housed in a mobile command vehicle could withstand the shock of a missile exploding nearby.

Part of JOCPT's role was to liaise with the various private contractors that would be supplying the equipment involved.

Personnel

The original leader of the team was Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Edwards, Royal Signals (1920-1993). Edwards had been in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War and had also trained as a fighter pilot. After the war he was attached to Military Intelligence (MI8) and had a high security clearance. The reality of postwar prospects for officers seeking a permanent career in the Royal Artillery was limited and Edwards, like many others, opted to change to Royal Signals which was seen as the Corps with the bright future ahead of it in terms of likely technological advances.

In accordance with this, Edwards was attached to the Westinghouse Corporation in Maryland, USA, which at that time was developing the latest computer technology for US military forces and for NATO. This was where Edwards gained the information necessary to fulfil his role as leader of JOCPT when it was set up in 1968.

Another member of the team was Major Ken Grapes, Royal Signals, who in retirement became director general of the Royal National Rose Society, Hertfordshire.

Books

The Royal Corps of Signals: Unit Histories of the Corps (1920-2001) and its Antecedents, by Cliff Lord and Graham Watson, published by Helion & Company Ltd ISBN 1874622922, ISBN 9781874622925 (see pages 22, 58, 70, 91, 93, 140, 170, 331, and 335).

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