ABSTRACT
A centuries-old tradition among the peoples of the Italian, Austrian, Slovenian, Swiss and French Alps is the setting of controlled fires to signal trouble, whether of natural or human origin. (And occasionally for pure jubilation, as on midsummer's night.) Gunpowder's first use was as a signaling medium, and now it is still used by infantry as flares or smoke grenades, air-rescue units and navies for self-identification or location, to warn of an adversary's tactical threat, or to mark the local state of belligerency.1 We shall cover the broad organizational strategy the Americans call C4I: command, control, communications, computers and intelligence2 - with the strongest emphasis on communication because this ties together the other four elements.
