Mit 17 7 final

The Voice of Military Communications and Computing

Special Report:

Forecast to Industry

Tactical Communicator Brig. Gen. Daniel P. Hughes PEO C3T

Collaboration Technology O Terry Halvorsen Passive Optical Networking O Combat Service Support

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C4

October 2013

Volume 17, Issue 7

Military Information Technology

2014

2013

Editorial Calendar November [17.8] Q&A: Maj. Gen. Craig Olson Air Force PEO C3I&N Special Section: Air Force IT Guide Features: On the Move Comms Mobile Device Security Air Force NETCENTS

December [17.9]

Tradeshows: MILCOM November 19 Tech Net Asia Pacific December 13 Closing Date: November 7

Q&A: SPAWAR commander Special Section: Big Data Features: Naval Networks Network Monitoring ID Management

Tradeshows: AFCEA West February 11, 2014 Closing Date: December 13

February [18.1]

March [18.2]

April [18.3]

May [18.4]

June [18.5]

Q&A: Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon Commander Army Cyber Command Special Section: Cyber Features: Big Data Infrastructure Modernization Enterprise Licenses Tradeshows: Cyberspace February 4 AUSA Winter February 19 Closing Date: January 17

Q&A: Director DISA COMSATCOM Center Special Section: Satellite Industry Guide Features: Telecom Contracts Mobile Devices Insider Threats Tradeshows: Satellite March 10 Closing Date: February 24

Q&A: Brig. Gen. Kevin Nally Marine Corps CIO Special Section: Tactical Networking Features: Rugged Hardware Social Media Computer Forensics Tradeshows: Sea/Air/Space April 7 Closing Date: March 21

Q&A: Commander Army NETCOM Special Section: Data Center Consolidation Education issue Features: ID Management Optical Networking Tactical SATCOM Tradeshows: Joint Warfighting Conference May Closing Date: April 25

Q&A: Rear Adm. Marshall Lytle Director, C4 Systems & CIO U.S. Cyber Command Special Section: Joint Information Environment Features: 4G Innovations Software Development Terminals Tradeshows: Cyber Symposium June Closing Date: May 30

July/August [18.6]

September [18.7]

October [18.8]

November [18.9]

December [18.10]

Q&A: Lt. Gen. Michael J. Basla Chief, Information Dominance and Chief Information Officer Special Section: Air Force Air Force Services Guide Features: Airborne Networks Storage Unified Capabilities Tradeshows: Air/Space Sept. 16 Closing Date: July 10

Q&A: Maj. Gen. Alan Lynn Vice Director DISA Special Section: DISA Guide Features: Network Integration Evaluation Virtualization IT Certification Tradeshows: DISA Forecast to Industry Closing Date: August 15

Q&A: Army CIO Special Section: Enterprise Email Features: Antennas Cyber Ranges Encryption Tradeshows: AUSA Oct. 13 Closing Date: September 24

Q&A: Director Joint Tactical Networking Center Special Section: Radios Features: Video Teleconferencing Spectrum Network Monitoring Tradeshows: MILCOM Closing Date: October 31

Q&A: Adm. William E. Leigher Director of Warfare Integration for Information Dominance Navy Special Section: Naval Networks Features: Cross Domain Solutions Collaboration WIN-T Tradeshows: AFCEA West (2015) Closing Date: December 12

military information technology Features

October 2013 Volume 17, Issue 7

Cover / Q&A

Special Report:

Forecast to industry

22

DISA Forecast: Change

25

2014 DISA Business Highlights

Industry event offers glimpse of the Defense Information Systems Agency’s future as it undertakes significant shifts in organization, processes and culture.

Listings detail some of the key DISA contract and task order opportunities in 2014, as selected and edited by KMI Media Group editors.

16 5

Collaboration Acceleration

The Defense Information Systems Agency has hit a home run with Defense Connect Online (DCO), the designated collaboration tool for the Department of Defense. DCO, which offers online collaboration sharing application services, has surged in popularity since its launch in 2007.

By Karen E. Thuermer

9

IT Improver

Terry Halvorsen, chief information officer, Department of the Navy, who serves as the department’s senior official and adviser on matters related to information management, IT/ cyberspace and information resources management, discusses his strategy for keeping up with game-changing technologies and processes, as well as meeting the spending challenges created by federal budget limits.

Departments

12

20

An infrastructure modernization project slated for completion this fall at the at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., could play an important role in determining the Army’s future use of Gigabit Passive Optical Network technology.

By Harrison Donnelly

An Army program that uses Very Small Aperture Terminal technology to transmit logistics, medical and personnel related combat-support information to soldiers in the field has achieved its acquisition objective and been certified for full operational capability.

By Linda Valenzano

Army’s Optical Tryout

Combat Support Milestone

Industry Interview

2 Editor’s Perspective 3 program notes/People 14 data bytes 27 Resource Center

Aaron Brosnan

Vice President of Business Development Thales Communications

28

Brigadier General Daniel P. Hughes

Program Executive Officer Command, Control, Communications Tactical

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE

Military Information Technology Volume 17, Issue 7 • October 2013

The Voice of Military Communications and Computing Editorial Managing Editor Harrison Donnelly harrisond@kmimediagroup.com Online Editorial Manager Laura Davis laurad@kmimediagroup.com Copy Editor Sean Carmichael seanc@kmimediagroup.com Correspondents Peter Buxbaum • Cheryl Gerber Karen E. Thuermer

Art & Design Art Director Jennifer Owers jennifero@kmimediagroup.com Senior Graphic Designer Jittima Saiwongnuan jittimas@kmimediagroup.com Graphic Designers Scott Morris scottm@kmimediagroup.com Eden Papineau edenp@kmimediagroup.com Amanda Paquette amandak@kmimediagroup.com Kailey Waring kaileyw@kmimediagroup.com

Advertising Account Executive Patrice Lucid patricel@kmimediagroup.com

KMI Media Group Chief Executive Officer Jack Kerrigan jack@kmimediagroup.com Publisher and Chief Financial Officer Constance Kerrigan connik@kmimediagroup.com Executive Vice President David Leaf davidl@kmimediagroup.com Editor-In-Chief Jeff McKaughan jeffm@kmimediagroup.com Controller Gigi Castro gcastro@kmimediagroup.com Trade Show Coordinator Holly Foster hollyf@kmimediagroup.com

“Information dominance” is a term you hear a lot in military IT these days.

The Navy has been using it for some time, and the Air Force last year changed the second title of its chief information officer from chief, war fighting information, to chief, information dominance.

But while it certainly sounds like a good thing to have, information dominance is a general enough term that you wonder exactly what people mean when they say it. So I was glad recently to hear Lieutenant General Michael Basla, Air Force CIO and chief, information dominance, acknowledge that he had been thinking a lot about the definition as well.

“We know that information dominance is not an action or a verb, but a Harrison Donnelly place or state of being,” Basla told attendees at AFCEA NOVA’s Joint Warfighter Editor IT Day. “It’s not static—we’re constantly working to maintain the upper hand. Information dominance is not limited to the tip of the spear—support personnel need it too. The Air Force Personnel Center commander needs information dominance just like the shooter in the field. Information dominance contributes to optimal decision-making, which is the requirement for all commanders, regardless of their operations or support.

“Also, we know that information dominance is a requirement for achieving force dominance. If you can’t get your information, you can’t make optimal decisions, and you may not pull the trigger, or you may not pull it at the right time, whether it’s a non-kinetic trigger or a weapons trigger,” he said.

But it can be vulnerable, Basla warned. “Information dominance is a position of advantage that can be retained or lost within seconds, and can be lost by almost anyone who is part of the equation.”

Information dominance is needed not just for air tasking orders or force deployment, but for beds, beans and bullets, said Basla, who offered this working definition: “Information dominance is a position of advantage gained by fully integrating all the information systems, capabilities and resources to enable optimal decisionmaking.”

Operations, Circulation & Production Operations Administrator Bob Lesser bobl@kmimediagroup.com Circulation & Marketing Administrator Duane Ebanks duanee@kmimediagroup.com Circulation Barbara Gill barbg@kmimediagroup.com Data Specialists Raymer Villanueva raymerv@kmimediagroup.com Summer Walker summerw@kmimediagroup.com

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PROGRAM NOTES

Compiled by KMI Media Group staff

Army Achieves Transition to Enterprise Email Army users can now access their email securely from anywhere in the world at any time, thanks to the recent completion of the bulk of its migration to Department of Defense Enterprise Email (DEE) this summer.

The effort, which began in January 2011, improves operational effectiveness, security and efficiency, reducing the considerable resources by the Army managing and securing disparate legacy email systems.

More than 1.43 million Army users migrated on NIPRNet and 115,000 users on SIPRNet, including the active Army, Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Army Medical Command, and Army civilians and contractors.

The Joint Staff, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), U.S. Africa Command, and U.S. European Command have also migrated to DEE. “I want to thank our mission partners around the world who helped us reach this milestone,” said Mike Krieger, the Army’s deputy chief information officer/G-6. “It’s been a learning experience for all of us—the Army, DISA, NETCOM, Defense Manpower Data Center, industry and other IT professionals.”

DISA, the service provider, hosts the DEE’s cloud-based email, calendars, and supporting global address list (GAL). The Defense Manpower Data Center provides a data feed to the GAL. With enterprise email, the Army greatly increases management and control of IT resources and improves execution and performance of IT services. The DEE also eliminates inefficient network configurations and many administrative costs, freeing resources for other priorities.

Officials estimate that the Army will save $76 million in the current fiscal year, and a total of $380 million through 2017.

DEE is the first DoD service to use a single authoritative identity management capability, which is foundational for moving to other IT enterprise services such as collaboration, content management and an enterprise service desk.

Meanwhile, more than 43,000 participants from across the Army are participating in the Enterprise Content Management and Collaboration Services (ECMCS) pilot. Begun this spring and slated to run until early next year, the pilot is evaluating content management and records management services using the DoD Enterprise Portal Service, a DISA hosted and managed solution for enterprise collaboration.

Also working with DISA, the Army is planning to roll out Unified Capabilities (UC), which integrates such real-time communication services as finding people online and communicating instantaneously over text, voice and video. A request for proposal is planned for fiscal year 2014.

“We are leveraging lessons learned as we implement other enterprise services,” said Krieger. “We’ve still got plenty of work left to institutionalize DEE and enterprise services in general.”

PEOPLE Air Force Brigadier General Bradford J. Shwedo, who has been serving as director, intelligence, Headquarters Air Combat Command (ACC), has been assigned as director, capability and resource integration, Headquarters U.S. Cyber Command. Brigadier General Veralinn Jamieson will replace Shwedo at ACC. Daniel B. Prieto III has been appointed to the Senior Executive Service as director, cybersecurity and technology, Office of the Department of Defense chief information officer. Prieto previously served as vice president, IBM Global Business Services, Public Sector.

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Compiled by KMI Media Group staff

VMware, a provider of virtualization and cloud infrastructure, has announced the appointment of Lynn Martin as vice president of its U.S. public sector division.

Susan Miller

Inmarsat Government has appointed Susan Miller as president and chief executive officer.

In this role, Miller will be responsible for the overall business strategy and direction the wholly

owned, independent subsidiary of Inmarsat plc, responsible for all direct U.S. government business.

Wennergren most recently served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as assistant deputy chief management officer. Prior to that, he was deputy assistant secretary of defense (information management, integration and technology) and DoD deputy chief information officer. He also served as the Department of the Navy chief information officer.

David M. Wennergren

AFCEA International’s new executive vice president, defense, is Army Lieutenant General John R. Wood (Ret.), whose military career culminated in duties as deputy commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command. He replaces Lieutenant General John Dubia (Ret.).

CACI International has appointed David M. Wennergren to serve as vice president within the company’s Enterprise Technologies and Services business group, heading the group’s opportunity management and customer delivery practices.

MIT 17.7 | 3

PROGRAM NOTES

Compiled by KMI Media Group staff

GAO Faults Army Network Evaluation Process Although the five Network Integration Evaluations (NIE) conducted by the Army so far have produced some useful information, the service has not taken full advantage of the results in making decisions about tactical networking systems, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

The report, “Opportunities Exist to Better Utilize Results from Network Integration Evaluations” (GAO 13-711), notes that the semiannual exercises in the New Mexico desert have been assigned a critical role in the Army’s $3 billion-a-year program to modernize tactical networks, by testing proposed systems and figuring out how to make them work together in field conditions.

The study concludes, however, that Army leaders have not been fully using the knowledge gained, instead purchasing systems that performed poorly in the evaluations while not buying many emerging network

capabilities that did show promising results. Given that lack of a connection, it warns, industry may begin to lose interest in participating.

The Army has taken some steps to improve the NIE process, the report acknowledges, for example by using lab tests to weed out immature products before participating in the NIEs. In addition, the Department of Defense has begun developing outcome-based metrics for network performance and refocusing the evaluations to gain new insights.

GAO recommendations to improve NIE performance include requiring that systems achieve positive initial tests before being scheduled for NIE, and correcting NIE-revealed problems with proposed systems before moving to buy them.

In response, DoD officials concurred or partially concurred with the recommendations. GAO comments suggest, however, that significant differences over these issues remain between the two organizations.

Tactical Comms Highlight Price Career

After a record of achievements in tactical communications and other fields that enabled her to become the Army’s first female program executive officer, Major General N. Lee S. Price is retiring.

Price concluded her 37-year Army career as PEO for command, control and communicationstactical (C3T), where she oversaw an annual budget of more than $3 billion and a workforce of more than 1,600 personnel, who acquire, sustain and support the networked mission command solutions that bring technological dominance to present and future warfighters.

Looking back on her work during a recent roundtable with reporters, Price pointed to highlights that included work on putting in the CENTRIX-International Security Assistance Force as part of the Afghan Mission Network.

“The problem they were trying to solve was that they had 45 nations involved in the coalition, and the president wanted us to make sure that we were fighting in a coalition,” she recalled. “But we had no way to share that type of information. In

4 | MIT 17.7

the past, we had used email, but we wanted to be able to do the common operational picture and fire support, some of the intelligence that we could share at the coalition level, and situational awareness such as blue force tracking.

“Ordinarily, that takes four to six months, but we got it done inside of six weeks. We reutilized a lot of equipment, so we were able to save $7 million,” Price added.

“The next unit up was the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, which was located in Germany, and had a tremendous amount of vehicles. So that meant we were going to have to redo about 1,000 of their hard drives, with the touch labor to go with it.

Being able to do that inside of a six-week period to get them deployed was a great achievement. We’re doing the same thing now in Korea, and the ability to do this for the coalition has changed forever the way in which the U.S. can engage with coalition partners. So being able to be part of that was huge,” she continued.

Other key achievements during her tenure included helping develop facilities at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., as the new home for PEO C3T and related organizations, and ongoing work on Capability Set 13, the Army’s integrated set of tactical communications equipment and software.

Areas for further work in the future, she suggested, include the mid-tier level of the Army’s tactical architecture, such as vehicle-based systems, and standardization of the Army’s growing array of NetOps tools.

Price began her military career in 1975 as a private first class in the Alabama National

Guard. After being commissioned through Officer Candidate School, she was transferred to the Signal Corps. She entered active duty in October 1981.

Price’s more than 27 years of acquisition experience includes a wide range of other assignments such as product manager, Theater Automated Command and Control Information Management System in Seoul, Korea, from 1998 to 2000. Up against the Y2K deadline, her team flawlessly replaced the Y2K non-compliant command and control system in South Korea. Its replacement is used by all U.S. forces, as well as the Republic of Korea’s forces.

As product manager, Defense Communications and Army Transmission Systems, Price managed programs valued at more than $2 billion, including a $300 million project to build a commercial communications network in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. With this came the fielding of the first VSAT system to combat service support troops and an effort that more than quadrupled deliveries of Land Mobile Radio systems.

During her subsequent three-year tenure as the deputy acquisition executive for U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), Price was responsible for providing more than $3 billion per year of specialized equipment for servicewide national and theater special operators. The acquisitions focused on delivering mission-critical products such as body armor, aircraft, sensors, radios, watercraft and ammunition within six months from validation to delivery.

Brigadier General Daniel P. Hughes replaced Price as PEO C3T.

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By Karen E. Thuermer MIT Correspondent

Use of Defense Connect Online tool skyrockets as other systems also offer new ways to help users cooperate. and missions, from command and control, to emergency response, The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has hit a home to virtual mentor programs, to town hall briefings.” run with Defense Connect Online (DCO). The designated collaboraDCO services, which include the DCO Connect app, are free tion tool for the Department of Defense, DCO offers online collaboof charge to all DoD personnel and contractors and ration sharing application services. It is operated in designed to allow users to share and work collaboraconjunction with operators Adobe and Carahsoft tively on documents and content in real time with other Technology Corp. people within the department.

Since its launch in 2007, DCO has surged in popularity. In fact, DISA reports that today over 900,000 registered users utilize DCO on a regular Multiple Benefits basis, and the number is growing each year.

“For this fiscal year, which commenced OctoOver the past several years, DCO has seen usage ber 2012, its growth has especially skyrocketed,” increase with a push from the top. As leaders realized remarked John Hale, DISA chief of enterprise applithe cost savings and benefits of using an enterprise cations, adding that DCO has seen a 30 percent solution like DCO, they encouraged their organizations Brett Swartz increase this year both in registered users and in to think of how to solve their organization’s challenges concurrent usage. using DCO. The fact that Adobe Connect was already the de facto standard in “DCO’s real purpose is online collaboration of content and the tactical Army and Marine Corps units around the globe contributed publication and distribution of that content,” stated Hale. “While to its rapid adoption, according to Brett Swartz, Adobe vice presimany departments already have these types of capabilities internally, dent of public sector collaboration services. “Many servicemembers DCO offers interagency and inter-service collaboration.” already knew it well.”

While DISA’s primary objective for DCO was to enhance collaboAdditionally, because DCO is based on the widely used Adobe ration, the system also has proven to be a powerful tool for achievFlash Player, it can run on nearly every computer, regardless of ing other goals, including strengthening continuity of operations, operating system or browser, without the user having to download increasing telework, virtualizing DoD conferences, and reducing or install additional software. travel and training costs over the past several years.

“This is in contrast to previous defense communications systems Although DCO was originally contracted as a tool to improve that required installing software, which specific users were often meeting and communications across DoD’s global operations, it has unable to do,” Swartz said. “The Flash player also gives DCO the flexbecome a mission-critical tool with use cases beyond just improving ibility and customization to be tailored to many different use cases efficiency within the department. Critical to the adoption of DCO is www.MIT-kmi.com

MIT 17.7 | 5

“Now we are working closely with vendors to make a change of the technology’s ability to scale from very small one-to-one meetings architecture so we can increase the availability, size and capacity of all the way up to thousand-person briefings. the system in much quicker and in smaller increments,” Hale said.

“For example, DCO is the tool you use if you are sitting on the “That way when DISA puts the system in place this summer, we will Joint Chiefs of Staff and you need to speak and work simultaneously be able to scale dynamically with the demand of the workforce.” with someone in the Air Force, Marine Corps, Army, and Navy along DISA is working closely with vendors and mission partners to with someone with, say, AFRICOM,” Hale explained. “This is the scale up DCO so that it meets user needs. place you would do that cross-service/cross-agency collaboration.”

“In working with other vendors and capabilities, we work closely DCO also offers a viable alternative to conferences. As more large with industry experts and leaders to make sure the capabilities that we DoD conferences are cancelled or scaled back due to travel conoffer to the department are in keeping with what is being offered in straints, funding issues and sequestration, conference directors are the commercial market as well,” Hale added. “We do that by introducincreasingly turning to a virtual platform to continue these events. ing competition at every point possible.”

“A lot of what you would have typically seen done in conferences DCO is only one of a suite of products offered as enterprise serin the past is now being done with DCO,” reported Hale. vices to DoD. “We have other services, such as DoD enterprise email, Consequently, not only are more people using DCO, but the which was launched in 2011 and currently has 1.3 million users,” number of minutes people are actually in meetings and the number Hale revealed. “There’s also the Defense Enterprise Portal Service of actual meetings that occur also have increased dramatically. In (DEPS), also launched in 2011, that is starting to take off with around fact, Adobe calculates that DCO uses upwards of a half-billion web 100,000 consumers.” DEPS is a scalable, cloud-based collaboration conferencing minutes per year. Accordingly, DISA plans to increase capability that enables users to share information through indepenthe capacity of this popular enterprise service for web meetings and dently managed community and mission-focused sites. other communication tools.

In addition, enterprise file sharing (EFS) is an online, web-based From the beginning, DCO was built on commercial capabilities capability in which users can upload documents and send links to and technology such as screen sharing, mobile device support, VoIP coworkers or others to share a document within a secure network. audio, whiteboarding, video conferencing, PowerPoint, chat and file EFS was launched this year. sharing that was moved into the DoD private cloud.

“All of these are complementary products,” Hale remarked. “Each Adobe’s virtual meeting solution is involved in each of these fills a slightly different mission and role within the workforce.” areas. According to Swartz, Adobe Connect is a full featured live colIn determining what enterprise services to offer, Hale explained, laboration solution that offers screen, document, and file sharing, DISA looks for services that meet the requirements of the largest live audio and video, and interactive feedback, in a fully customizable number of people within the department. “This way we get a better package. return on investment,” he said.

“Users can access and host meetings from any web browser or All services are offered as a catalog on www.disa. the mobile app, truly making the solution available mil. “Some services are cost recovery, where they are anywhere,” he said. funded directly to us. Some are at no cost,” he added.

DCO also features a Cisco Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol-based chat client. “This instant messaging client allows DoD members to communiInteroperable Collaboration cate via one-to-one text chat and multi-user text chat conferences, as well as see presence and awareness,” A host of companies offer collaboration technolSwartz added. ogy. Cisco, for one, offers a large portfolio of collaboraThe third technology that is rolled into DCO is tion products on the DoD approved products list and a custom-designed web portal based on Cold Fusion continually certifies its products to meet the services’ technology. It acts as the landing page for users to network requirements.

Karl Dalstad register for new accounts, create meetings and access “We look at collaboration in a Unified Capabilitraining assets, among other items. ties (UC) approach that incorporates voice, video and Making DCO even more user friendly, in January the service workplace capabilities and features them into one common capability became available for free to DoD users on iOS mobile devices via the that is interoperable on an organization’s network,” stated Karl DalsiTunes App Store. This followed the Carahsoft/Adobe team’s release of tad, Cisco, Federal, director of operations sales. a major update to its DCO Connect Mobile app for Android devices.

Cisco’s UC portfolio allows the company to have interoperability In addition to the full capabilities of DCO, the Carahsoft/Adobe with all the collaboration capabilities offered by the DCO. management team provides the overall solution as a service to DoD. “Cisco gives DoD the ability to collaborate with video, voice and IM The Carahsoft/Adobe team is tasked with running the solution, from capabilities, whether at the tactical edge, operationally or in a strategic the day-to-day operations, to providing occasional bug fixes, to superenvironment,” Dalstad said. “The end result is that DoD can communicharging the system with new enhancements. cate anytime, anyplace and anywhere they need to accomplish the mission. We have an end-to-end solution on sits on the DoD network, and with our network expertise allows for a fully enriched UC experience Capacity Issues regardless of the location of the recipients using the UC capabilities.”

Consequently, Cisco collaboration capabilities are found across DCO’s popularity, however, has led to capacity issues. In 2007, the the defense and intelligence communities. The Cisco UC portfolio capacity limit was set to 2,000 users. DISA has since acknowledged, consists of VoIP, Telepresence (video teleconferencing used in a however, that they did not fully anticipate and were not prepared for pervasive and immersive manner), and workplace applications such DCO’s explosive growth.

6 | MIT 17.7

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P84 interactive flat panel. Both simplify collaboration for both virtual as instant messaging and a persistence/awareness instant message and face-to-face participants by using real-time video, voice and data. capability called Jabber.

The Smart Room System, a plug-and-play system, includes “All these technologies are being used by DoD to communicate one or more Smart Board interactive displays, an ultra wide-angle, in garrison and down to the tactical edge on the battlefield,” Dalstad high-definition camera offering 109-degree field of view, customized remarked. “We have a number of use cases, and a great application of speakers and microphones along with an extra-large room control our UC usage is within the one branch of the military that is utilizing console.

Cisco’s VoIP, TP, Jabber and VoSIP (VoIP as a SIPRNet capacity). They “In essence, this replaces a video conferencing system with a leverage the capabilities from their headquarters’ and subordinate room system at a lower cost than a video system,” explained Waliszecommands down to the tactical space for their deployed forces.” wski. “What Smart adds is a human interface into the system.”

NewsGator offers Social Sites, which leverages the Microsoft ecosystem and embeds social media deeply into core business processes.

NewsGator focuses on connecting content and conversation in Unified Capabilities a unified collaboration space. Using social collaboration technology, users can share documents, images, videos and other content; parWith collaborative services becoming one of the hottest topics ticipate in a forum-like peer-based question and answer system; and in military and intelligence circles today, its technology will only quickly locate expertise. expand.

“This technology is used to help people communicate more effiAs panel systems go down in price and weight, fewer projection ciently, collaborate on projects, and expedite learning,” reported Chris systems will be used, Waliszewski predicted, and systems will also Keyes, director of product development for NewsGator. offer higher-resolution content. “As systems get better, we will see Currently, the Defense Acquisition University uses NewsGator more interactivity into the content,” he added. software to support the communication, collaboration and training of Swartz foresees more collaborative capabilities being added to the Army purchasing community. “Acquisition Community Connecthe service to complement the existing presence, chat and web contion is an online community that supports over 150,000 users as they ferencing functions. “These can be thought of as ‘unified capabilities’ share documents, ask and answer questions, and find experts,” he said. without the emphasis on the synchronous and telephony aspects that In addition, the U.S. Military Academy uses NewsGator’s just-inare often associated with ‘UC.’” time interactive video scenarios to train future officers. Their training These additions could include things like asynchronous and program, called Leader Challenge, features the most challenging document-centric collaboration capabilities, a rapid online training experiences officers are facing in combat and brings those experiences platform, mass scale webcasting, integration with the DoD master into the curriculum at West Point through interactive engagement. directory, a rights management service for files, and better manageWhile DCO offers live, screen sharing, VoIP, chat and a host of ment and insight for organizational collaboration leads. other services, a service like that provided by Huddle is complemen“More services will be provided at the enterprise level, and there tary in that it concentrates on content collaboration, according to will be more similarity to services we enjoy in the commercial world Huddle co-founder and chief executive officer Alastair such as acrobat.com, Google Docs, Evernote and so on,” Mitchell. he continued. “Capabilities will be democratized and in “Huddle is a space where you would store all of the hands of the masses, instead of residing with power your content like a shared drive and work on that users, admins and computer experts.” content over a long period of time,” Mitchell said.

Observers also predict unclassified services will be “Whereas a user might use DCO for a web conferprovided from a commercial cloud to enable much ence, a user might use Huddle to store the content faster enhancements and innovation, along with an and share files.” overall better level of service to end-users. “It will also Huddle, a provider of government collaboramake things much cheaper to DoD,” Swartz said. tion software-as-a-service tools, sets itself apart by NewsGator’s Keyes sees collaboration technology allowing colleagues to work securely and socially on becoming pervasive, connecting people, information Alastair Mitchell documents through the cloud. By increasing agility and processes. and efficiency for government work, the company “Mobile and video collaboration technology will says, Huddle is replacing systems such as Microsoft’s Sharepoint as the become even more tightly integrated with social networking and colindustry choice in government cloud collaboration. laboration,” he said. “People will be able to find what they need, when “We are the next generation of collaboration for government,” he they need it, no matter where they are or what device they are using.” said.

Cisco’s Dalstad concurs. “Mobility is pervasive with bring your Smart Technologies, which created the first interactive smart own device and other trends,” he said. “Today, every soldier, sailor board in 1990, is a provider of digital ink and touch applications, which and airman is getting their own mobile device to communicate, can be used on Windows Excel spreadsheets and Word documents. which is transforming the DoD workforce. The smaller form factors “The key thing is we allow users to have human interface into their in how the UC content is delivered and the need to operationalize all systems,” remarked Gary Waliszewski, federal solutions group area aspects of UC will allow for use of all UC products to reach all levels manager at Smart. “In other words, we have toolsets that allow you to within DoD regardless of location.” O use your finger as a mouse so you can manipulate content or pick up a stylus and annotate directly into applications.”

For more information, contact MIT Editor Harrison Donnelly at harrisond@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives The company’s latest offerings include its Smart Room System for for related stories at www.mit-kmi.com.

Microsoft Lync, unveiled in March, and its just released Smart Board 8 | MIT 17.7

www.MIT-kmi.com

IT Improver

Keeping up with game-changing technologies and processes.

Terry Halvorsen was selected to serve as the Department of the Navy (DON) chief information officer in 2010. He heads the Office of the DON CIO and is the DON’s senior official and adviser on matters related to information management (IM), IT/cyberspace (including national security systems) and information resources management.

Halvorsen has oversight for the IM function within the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, and Headquarters Marine Corps. He develops strategies, policies, plans, architectures, standards and guidance, and provides process transformation support for the entire Department of the Navy. Additionally, he ensures that the development and acquisition of IT systems are interoperable and consistent with the department’s objectives

and vision. Halvorsen also serves as the department’s cyber/IT workforce community leader, critical infrastructure assurance officer and the senior military component official for privacy.

Prior to joining the DON CIO, Halvorsen was the deputy commander, Navy Cyber Forces. Previous to that, he served as the deputy commander, Naval Network Warfare Command, where he was responsible for providing leadership for over 16,000 military and civilian personnel and supporting over 300 ships and approximately 800,000 computer network users, all globally dispersed.

Halvorsen entered the Senior Executive Service in July 2004 as the executive director, Naval Personnel Development Command, responsible for overseeing all individual training in the Navy. He entered

Q: How would you describe your long-term strategy for DON IT operations in a more fiscally constrained future?

A: We are in what I have dubbed “a state of relentless improvement.”

We have to continually challenge the status quo when planning for the future, and we have to be open to new solutions that enable us to meet mission requirements at lower cost. As your readers may be aware, we have already taken $2 billion out of the budget. Some of the things we have done to achieve savings have improved our business. We will keep changing the way we do business where it makes sense, and study possible uses of new and emerging technologies.

You don’t buy IT for life; with the pace of IT change you have to be willing to continually review your business case. You want to keep up with game-changing technologies, but game-changing technologies generally require game-changing processes. I’m not saying IT should drive the process, but if you’re going to automate and revolutionize, you have to understand what parts of your process need to change to gain maximum advantage. Sometimes that doesn’t get enough attention, so we are committing to that. We are committed to continual improvement.

We have published a business case analysis template on our website [www.doncio.mil]. Anyone with an idea for improving DON IT can help us by sending it to us in that format. Some people say that the template is bureaucratic and complicated, but we have provided the simplest way we could for people to communicate with us.

Q: What measures have you taken so far to reduce costs, what are you planning, and what results do you ultimately hope to achieve? www.MIT-kmi.com

federal civil service in 1985 as the curriculum instructional standards officer for Navy cryptology training, Corry Station, Pensacola, Fla., subsequently holding numerous positions in the training community.

He graduated from Widener University with a degree in history, and was commissioned in the Army in 1980. His first assignment was executive/operations officer, Army Intelligence Detachment Pensacola, supporting the Army’s training with the Navy. During this tour, Halvorsen obtained a master’s degree in educational technology from the University of West Florida.

Halvorsen’s active and reserve tours include support of Operation Just Cause, Desert Storm and joint task forces in Central and South America.

Halvorsen was interviewed by MIT Editor Harrison Donnelly.

A: As I said, we are a big bureaucracy. Do we spend every dollar of our IT budget as well as we would like today? The answer is no. But the percentage of smart spending is increasing every year, because we look at it harder and we’re getting smarter. An example of how we have reduced costs and learned to do business better is mobility. With the help of the telecommunications industry, we developed a tool that commands can use to see exactly what mobile device features they use and how much they are spending. Information we collected in analyzing the DON’s mobility spend helped us combine commands with similar mobility requirements into a single minutes package and reduce costs.

We’ve also looked at the way we buy contingency phones. When the department is doing humanitarian assistance, we want to be able to issue cellphones that our people can use right away. But you don’t want to buy and pay for service on phones that won’t be issued until they are needed. So we worked some good deals, for which I’d like to thank industry. Now they will give us phones and add them to our current minutes plan only upon activation. That has saved a lot of money. To date, we’ve saved $45.9 million, which is above what we had predicted. We have a target of saving more than $250 million over the Future Years Defense Plan [FYDP], and we’re well on the path to get there by actions like changing our mobility plans.

Another area where we are achieving cost savings is enterprise licensing agreements. Enterprise licenses let us take advantage of the fact that we are a big company and spend a lot of money. So we looked at the commercial vendors we do business with and what we’re spending, and asked how we could pull that money together, not just in the DON but at the DoD level, to leverage better prices. It’s a typical MIT 17.7 | 9

business practice—if I say I’m going to spend $100 with you, you’ll give me one price. But if I’m going to spend $100 million, you’ll give me a better price.

In May 2012, we signed an agreement with Microsoft, and to date we’ve saved $11 million. We estimate that we’ll save around $50 million over the next three years. We have a series of those types of agreements in negotiations and when we’re done, we will save more than $300 million over the FYDP. We’re also looking at multifunctional devices that incorporate printers, scanners, copiers and fax machines in one device. We are not just looking at the way we can use multifunctional devices to reduce printing costs; we’re actually going after a culture of printing. With today’s technology, we should do our work with a lot less printed copy.

My staff has to think about what they print. If they bring me something on a piece of paper, they had better be able to explain why it had to be printed. We’re spreading that thinking across the department, and when we do print, we print on both sides of the paper and limit the use of color. Instead of everyone having a printer, whenever possible we go for shared multifunctional devices.

If we seem ruthless on printing, we don’t ever want to fax. Faxing is expensive, requires separate phone lines, and is the least secure way to move data. A scanned document is a much better way to move information. We don’t do a lot of faxing compared with other industries, but I think we still do too much. So we’re really going after that as part of our culture change. We realize that some of it is out of our control since some places still require faxes. We’re working to explain the benefits of electronic documents. When we get all of these things right, it could probably save us between $40 million and $50 million a year.

Not every solution will work in every situation. We have to decide how to meet the mission at the lowest cost. Applying combinations of solutions such as those we’ve talked about will get us there.

Q: What are some of the other things you are doing in this area?

Q: What results do you hope to see when both the Next Generation Enterprise Network [NGEN] and Consolidated Afloat Network Enterprise Services [CANES] programs are completed?

A: We recently signed an agreement with Amazon to post public-facing data—that is, low-risk data that is for public consumption—with Amazon Web Services. We’re doing that to take advantage of large investments that Amazon and other companies have made in their cloud hosting infrastructures. That doesn’t mean that we will put all of our data into a commercial cloud. What we have to do is to understand the complete value of our data and the risks associated with it.

Then we can look at what makes sense in terms of storage, access and continuity of operations. Our data will always be government owned, and some of it, due to its nature and value, will also be government stored and operated. However, for much of the rest, the storage facility might be contractor owned and operated. We’ll go with the best combination for each mission. In the end, we will have a higher percentage of data that is in some way commercially processed than we do today.

We are also experimenting with what is called hosted virtual desktop or zero-client, which means getting away from having software and data in individual computers. There is a black box on my desk that I use to access my data from an internal government cloud. Everything I do is virtual; nothing is stored in the box. That device costs about $199, as opposed to $300 or so for a laptop, and the price will continue to come down. The box automatically improves security; because no data is stored in it, there is no residue. If someone gets on my machine, they can’t get anything, because there is nothing there.

It’s an easier footprint to defend for other reasons as well. It enhances mobility, enabling me to access my entire desktop anywhere I can get an Internet connection. Also, the reduced infrastructure uses less energy; it is ‘green,’ and we really want to stress that.

10 | MIT 17.7

Q: What relationship do your cloud computing plans have to the Defense Information Systems Agency [DISA], which has been designated the “cloud service broker” for DoD? A: The DON is aligned to the strategy of DISA as a broker. When we were ready for our first move to the cloud, however, DISA wasn’t quite ready to do that. We talked to DISA, they reviewed what we were doing, and we moved forward with the Amazon cloud for public-facing data. That was a pilot of sorts for the DON. DISA is now ready to start acting as cloud broker, and I think what they envision will work. Just as with enterprise licensing, we’ll gather up similar requirements from DON and other defense components and agencies that have data that can move to the cloud. DISA won’t be the provider, but the broker of contracts. They can negotiate with the commercial sector as the representative of a very large requirement. There are other things DISA does for us today; they manage long-haul communications circuits and play a key role in cybersecurity. All those requirements could be made known to the commercial world, and they could then propose cost-effective cloud solutions. We’re working with DISA to find the best-value providers.

Another way to improve efficiency is sharing security accreditation paperwork. We are working on reciprocity, so that if DISA does the security paperwork on something, the DON could accept it without requiring further accreditation. That’s a huge win in time and cost, so I think this is going to be a good partnership.

A: We’re working to keep the structured information sharing architecture of NGEN and CANES the same, letting only mission dictate differences. Obviously, CANES, as an afloat network, will have some differences from NGEN because of its mission environment. As we’ve mapped it, however, those differences haven’t been as great as we thought when we first started looking at CANES. We have one vision for the DON, which is to get to the minimum number of enterprise networks. The Marine Corps is using the NGEN architecture, and blending it under a Marine Corps government-operated, governmentowned network. The Navy—due more to differences in manning philosophy—will be government-owned, with government oversight and some contractors supporting operations. But it is the same basic architecture, and is developed to the same standards and interoperable. We share files, and really do have a full-up enterprise network.

DISA Enterprise Email also uses the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System [DEERS] for identity management. In the near future, the DON will be using DEERS for that purpose. When that is done, the capability we want, a joint email system, will be achieved.

A joint email system doesn’t mean we have one provider, but that we have complete interoperability and the same services. We’ll still have usmc.mil and navy.mil, but the address is immaterial if everything behind it is the same.

We’re going to continue to reduce the number of both legacy and excepted networks, to get down to the smallest number of networks required to do our missions. I don’t know what that number is, but if I were guessing, I’d say less than 20. www.MIT-kmi.com

When the Navy and Marine Corps made the move to the NavyMarine Corps Intranet, they did a very robust reduction of other enterprise and legacy networks. Today 80 percent of the DON rides on one network, so we’re already pretty consolidated. We’re trying to get more consolidated, so that we can share data even more seamlessly. When you look at the Joint Information Environment, that’s what we’re all trying to get to—eliminating differences so that we can support the combatant commanders and business systems in a more seamless environment.

Q: What are some of your key initiatives in the areas of information assurance and cybersecurity?

A: As we discussed earlier, almost everything we’re doing helps to reduce our footprint. Going to zero client, for example, is a big initiative that helps with security. Eliminating a number of networks will leave less to protect.

How do we better share our security data internally and even externally to DoD? We’re looking at ways to do better monitoring, partnering with industry on some of the things they are doing to help us better meet our requirements. We’re also implementing public key infrastructure tokens. All of the things that security people say we need to do, we’re doing, although I can’t tell you to what extent. I’m comfortable that we’re doing the right things, but if you ask if I’m comfortable with where we are, I’m not. You always want to be better, but it has to be a better you can afford. The hard thing about security is balancing the cost.

We get compared a lot to industry, and our security costs right now are higher than you would see in industry. But I think the nation wants that now. We have data that everyone wants protected, and we’re going to do our best to protect it. We will be ruthless about containing costs, but for a while our costs will be higher. I think that you’ll see industry start spending more, to up their game in security. I think we’re getting the balance right, although the game changes almost every day.

Q: How would you define your goals in wireless technology and mobility, and what unique challenges and opportunities do you see in particular for the Navy in this area?

A: We base our mobility usage on our mission requirements, whether war fighting or business requirements. For instance, I have a BlackBerry, which may or may not be the most sophisticated smartphone on the market today. But I can meet my mission requirements with a BlackBerry—I can see my email, files and hosted virtual desktop.

That doesn’t mean I will rest with the BlackBerry. We will make more changes in mobility as we see ways that we can better meet requirements, but we won’t adopt capability just because it’s available. It will have to make sense from a mission perspective. I think we will increase our mobility usage, but we’re actually pretty mobile already. There is a perception that the DON and DoD are behind on mobility. But I had mobile access to email and other electronic resources before 2000, and there are not many in industry that can say that. Our situation is different due to our security needs and our range of requirements. My mobility requirements are not the same as for someone operating in a combat environment, or for a commander with forces all over the world, but the DON has to meet all those needs.

The DON has a mission to defend the nation and ensure freedom of the seas. To do that, we have to operate in almost every business area you can think of, and not in a small way. If our logistics, supply and medical operations were businesses, they’d all be in the Fortune 500. www.MIT-kmi.com

While there are IT requirements common to all those businesses, there are also differences, and we have to be able to support them all. It’s not a completely homogeneous environment we work in, so we’re going to use a variety of mobile solutions. We will get more mobile, while also factoring in security more than perhaps in the commercial world.

Like most big companies, I don’t necessarily want to be on the cutting edge of every area of technology. I want to be in the sweet spot of cost in delivering technology. We have to continually evaluate that, because in areas like mobility and data management, the environment is going to keep changing. We’ll keep looking at that, and we have a lot of pilots with iPhones, iPads and Android going on now, including some in conjunction with DISA. As pricing gets better and we understand what we want to do, we will move some things in that direction, when it makes mission, business and money sense.

Q: Where is the DON headed in terms of data center consolidation?

A: We’d like to have fewer than 25 DON data centers by the end of the FYDP. I think we’ll get there, and actually get below that.

More important, though, is that we structure our data right, and get it where it needs to be in the most cost-effective way possible. We’re going to reduce data centers, but the real savings will come from better managing the data itself. How can data be better positioned? Sometimes the answer might be to concentrate data where people are, at other times, to distribute it. A lot will depend upon our business needs and the differing values we attach to different pieces of data. We are meeting our marks, but we think we can do better, so we’re actively looking at what we can change about our data centers and data understanding.

I think it will result in hybrid data centers: commercial and government partnerships that vary, depending on the value of the data. We will also be even more ruthless in what types of operating systems and applications we keep. We still need to get rid of some redundancies.

Reducing those will improve our security footprint and save money in a couple of ways. For example, Microsoft has said it will stop supporting Windows XP. A commercial company wouldn’t want to have a lot of XP then, because they’d have to pay higher maintenance costs for unsupported software. But we have to be smart about that, and not automatically jump to every next offering. We’re an enterprise, so standardization is important, and the expense of changing might be greater than the higher maintenance cost. That’s the kind of thing we have to consider.

I do believe we have to get better—not that we’re bad at it—at understanding the commercial IT market. We need to do better at business intelligence, follow trends more carefully, and do that in all the businesses we’re in. We’re not an IT, logistics or shipping company, but we’re in all of those areas.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?

A: People sometimes say that the DON and DoD are overspending on IT. I don’t think we are. About 4.5 percent of the DON’s total budget is spent on IT, which is right in line with what big international companies spend. That doesn’t mean we’re spending all of that in the best way possible, or that we’re not going to continue working to reduce IT spending. But we’re in the range that you would expect. I don’t think that there is a lot of excessive spending going on. O For more information, contact MIT Editor Harrison Donnelly at harrisond@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.mit-kmi.com.

MIT 17.7 | 11

By Harrison Donnelly MIT Editor

Success of Gigabit Passive Optical Networking installation will be viewed as a proof of concept for the technology within the Army.

An infrastructure modernization project slated for completion this fall at the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) headquarters building at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., could play an important role in determining the Army’s future use of Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology.

Originally used in the consumer market for delivering phone, Internet and video services to the home, GPON is a local area network technology that has drawn increased military interest by providing increased bandwidth along with cuts in capital, power and other costs.

Passive optical networks are a point-tomultipoint access mechanism that relies on unpowered splitters to give one fiber the ability to serve multiple users. GPON is an International Telecommunication Union standard that provides increased total bandwidth and bandwidth efficiency by using larger, variable-length packets.

(See “Optical Networking Shines,” MIT, March 2013.)

Replacement of the Fort Huachuca facility’s existing copper wire infrastructure with fiber-optic cabling, as well as all of the active network switches with GPON solutions, should be finished by midOctober, Army officials say, with users 12 | MIT 17.7

migrating to it over the next two months.

Once completed, they add, the success of the installation will be viewed as a proof of concept for the technology within the Army.

Ways to Save The Army’s goal with this and other new processes, procedures and technologies has been to increase efficiencies, while reducing costs and maintaining support to warfighters, according to a NETCOM spokesman. In addition to boosting capabilities and flexibility of service, GPON advocates see substantial cost savings.

A GPON infrastructure is centrally managed, requiring fewer man-hours to maintain than active/distributed environments, and provides the ability to secure and monitor services from a centralized location. The equipment footprint is substantially smaller than a switchbased inventory, resulting in efficiencies in space, energy utilization and human resources to support the infrastructure.

Passive optical network devices also have an expected life cycle of eight to 10 years or higher, compared with approximately five years for traditional copper management devices.

GPON systems can reduce space requirements by 90 percent, energy consumption by 80 percent and total cost of ownership by 70 percent, according to an estimate by GPON systems provider Tellabs.

The Fort Huachuca project is being overseen by the U.S. Army Information Systems Engineering Command, and their systems integration contractor is NCI. In a recent interview, Randy Devine, senior vice president of operations at the company’s Sierra Vista, Ariz., office, offered a look at some of the benefits and challenges of the project, including the deceptively simple but significant advantage of reducing the number of equipment closets.

“In the project we’re doing on Fort Huachuca, they are reducing from 29 telecommunications closets with active network switches down to three,” Devine explained. “Today, if you open one of those 29 closets, there is a network switch that serves as the interface for all users in the area. Those switches will be replaced with a passive fiber-optic splitter, which ties back to a single closet on each floor.

“So you’ve eliminated the primary component that can break, requires maintenance and quickly becomes obsolete, www.MIT-kmi.com

with a piece of glass that has none of those disadvantages. It also eliminates the power and cooling requirements for that closet, which is why GPON is considered a green technology,” he added.

The headquarters building, Greely Hall, is over a half-century old, Devine noted.

“The communications closets are literally closets, only about three feet deep, because they were designed with only telephones in mind, as opposed to housing today’s active network switch components.

“In an older building like Greely Hall, the passive fiber-optic components used to support a GPON solution solve a lot of space problems,” Devine said, while adding that the benefits in a new building could be even greater. “You can eliminate the need

for 90 percent of the walk-in telecommunications rooms, as well as all the power, air conditioning and switch maintenance that goes along with them. The Army is interested in GPON because of all those potential savings.”

Security Issues Another major benefit concerns security and the practical issues involved in servicing individual workstations, especially in a building like NETCOM headquarters, where there are areas of classified users amid a less sensitive environment.

“With the current technology, to have a primarily unclassified building with a pocket of SIPRNet users who need classified

Big Fiber at Sandia A few hundred miles to the northeast of Fort Huachuca, Ariz., another key national security facility is already enjoying the benefits of a Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON), having installed the world’s largest such network.

Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico this summer completed work on a network that pulls together 270 buildings and nearly 14,000 computer network ports, bringing high-speed communications to some of its remote technical areas for the first time. Officials expect that the $15 million project will save a total of $20 million over five

years through energy and other cost reductions.

Sandia selected Tellabs as the equipment vendor for the project, which got underway in 2009 and began moving to desktops in 2011.

In the next few months, Sandia will bring up its first building that has only the GPON standard infrastructure for voice and data as the primary infrastructure in the building, according to senior engineer Steve Gossage. As time and resources permit, it also continues to retire legacy switches and clear out cable and equipment from intermediate communications rooms.

access, you have to run a protected distribution system (PDS). A PDS is a grid of rigid conduit pipes and metal junction boxes that run over and into individual cubicles to protect the classified cable,” Devine said.

“The security policy is that the PDS has to be visible and inspected daily, requiring someone to walk through the area and see that no one has tried to tamper with it. You can’t put it above the ceiling because someone could theoretically penetrate it without anyone knowing.

“Another option is to put an encryption device at the desk, which becomes costprohibitive and requires labor-intensive management of the encryption keys,” he added.

With fiber as the medium for GPON, however, it is possible to use spare fibers for security alarms to protect the fiber cable from tampering. “For our project, we are implementing a secure passive optical network solution using the spare fibers and a third party vendor to augment the GPON with alarm management software,” Devine said.

“The solution includes an armored shield encasing the fibers,” he explained.

“Using the spare fiber strands inside the shielded cable monitored by the alarm management appliances and software, the technology detects any movement, such as an individual trying to tap into the cable, and sets off an alarm that can be monitored remotely. You can set the system for different sensitivities, where the alarm would be triggered upon a single touch or only after an intensive intrusion attempt of several seconds.”

Because the armored cable is flexible, it’s easier to install than traditional PDS, and because it is alarmed, it can be run above the ceiling tiles like unclassified cable, because it doesn’t have to be visible. “In that one multi-strand armored fiber cable, you have strands dedicated to the alarm system, NIPRNet users and SIPRNet users. In theory, you could also add coalition or other classified levels as well,” he said.

NCI’s other GPON projects with the military include maintaining a GPON environment at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., for the Air National Guard. O For more information, contact MIT Editor Harrison Donnelly at harrisond@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.mit-kmi.com.

www.MIT-kmi.com

MIT 17.7 | 13

DATA BYTES Army Funds Family of Mounted Computers The Army has awarded a contract to build a modular family of computers and display systems that are expected to form the heart of the next generation of network computing technology. The Network and Imaging Systems group of DRS Technologies, a Finmeccanica Company, this summer received a competitively bid indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity (IDIQ) threeyear contract with a potential total value of $455 million to develop a mounted family of computing systems to be installed on ground vehicles and weapons platforms, providing modular computing capabilities across the services. Under the IDIQ contract, DRS will provide dismountable tablets, platformcomputing servers, docking stations, interconnecting cables, installation kits, and three sizes of ruggedized sunlight-readable touch-screen display units for more than 40 types of ground vehicles and weapons platforms. The family of common computer and display technology will add capability while reducing the overall size, weight, power and cost of the systems currently installed worldwide on U.S. military ground vehicles and platforms.

Vehicle-Based Modem Taps Into Mobile Broadband Power First responders and emergency personnel will be able to better respond to emergencies and routine activities by tapping into the power of mobile broadband, with the introduction of a new vehicle-based modem that enables applications such as ultra-fast database access, photos and streaming video.

Verizon and Motorola Solutions are collaborating to deliver the VML 700 LTE Vehicle Modem R1.1. The modem is designed to operate on the Verizon 4G LTE wireless network and LTE-based public safety broadband networks such as FirstNet, the dedicated and interoperable national public safety broadband network authorized by

Congress in 2012. In addition to offering broadband connectivity to the Verizon 4G LTE and public safety networks, the device can also serve as a mobile Wi-Fi hot spot, enabling first responders near the modem to connect their own Wi-Fi enabled 4G LTE devices.

Security Solution Unifies Threat Intelligence, Data Analytics Solera Networks, a Blue Coat company and provider of big data security analytics for advanced threat protection, has introduced the Blue Coat ThreatBlades, making it possible for enterprises to protect against and rapidly resolve advanced targeted attacks. Prior to the introduction of the ThreatBlades, security officials had to rely on separate ad hoc detection solutions for advanced threat detection. This approach made it difficult to identify, prioritize and resolve threats in a repeatable and fast way. The Blue Coat ThreatBlades solve this

problem by unifying threat intelligence, big data security analytics and security visibility to protect against zero-day, advanced persistent, web and email threats, spearphishing attacks and malicious files and botnets. The new Blue Coat ThreatBlades are integrated into the Solera Security Analytics Platform and are powered by the Blue Coat WebPulse Collaborative Defense, a real-time ratings service that provides the latest intelligence on web-based malware and other malicious web content.

Air Force Adds Eight Companies to NETCENTS-2 Contract The Air Force has announced additional awards under the NETCENTS-2 Netcentric Products multiple award, indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for IT products and capabilities. The additional multiple award IDIQ awardees are: Blue Tech, Global Technology Resources, immix Technology, Integration Technologies Group, M2 Technology, Micro Tech, Red River Computer Co., and Unicom Government. The Air Force in April originally 14 | MIT 17.7

awarded eight IDIQ contracts to Ace Technology Partners, CDW Government, CounterTrade Products, FedStore Corp., General Dynamics IT, Intelligent Decisions, Iron Bow Technologies, and World Wide Technology. As a result of protest concerns, recent reports of Trade Agreement Act violations, and an increase in recent cyberattacks occurring within the defense industry, the Air Force agreed to take corrective action to ensure the Air Force’s IT products come from

approved sources. The Air Force determined that in addition to the initial contract awards, additional contracts would be awarded based on the last proposals received prior to the initial award.

The contract ceiling for NETCENTS-2 products remains at $6.9 billion firm-fixed-price for all 16 contracts. The contract has a three-year base ordering period and three 12-month options. The contract is expected to be available for ordering in October. www.MIT-kmi.com

Compiled by KMI Media Group staff

Satellite Contract Extends Marine Corps Network TeleCommunication Systems (TCS) has entered into a contract with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to provide managed satellite services, Ku satellite bandwidth, terrestrial support and 24-hour support services for the Marine Corps’ Tactical Satellite Communications Network. The initial funding on this award is $12.8 million for the base

Small Tactical Terminal Offers Two Key Waveforms The Army is adding its AH-64E Apache helicopter fleet to the Link 16 network.

Following successful flight tests, the Army has decided to pursue a sole source solicitation of ViaSat for the Small Tactical Terminal (STT) KOR-24A to satisfy its requirement for an Airborne and Maritime/Fixed Station Small Airborne Link 16 Terminal.

The STT is the latest generation of small, two-channel, Link 16 and VHF/UHF radio terminals. While in flight, the STT provides simultaneous communication, voice or data, on two key waveforms for the battlefield of the future: Link 16 and Soldier Radio Waveform. The STT reduces the size, weight and power of tactical data link equipment and includes a range of software defined VHF/UHF military radio and Link 16 functions. At only 16 pounds, the terminal is finding a variety of applications in helicopters, ground vehicles, light aircraft, small boats, UAVs and small shelterized communication nodes.

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12-month period, with a total contract value over five years, if options are exercised, of $58.3 million. This contract was issued under the joint DISA/General Services Administration Future Commercial SATCOM Acquisition program. TCS will be providing the Marine Corps with commercial satellite services to various terminals to extend the Marine Corps

Enterprise Network to deployed users. As realworld missions arise, TCS has created a costefficient managed services solution through a network of commercial satellite bandwidth pools that has the flexibility to increase bandwidth in one region and decrease bandwidth in another region to support the Marine Corps’ diverse operations.

Air Force Labs Seek Integrated Photonic Source LGS Innovations, an independent subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent, has been awarded a $250,000 contract to design a next-generation highly integrated photonic source for the Air Force Research Labs (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Under the terms of the contract, LGS Innovations’ Government Communications Lab will conduct research to determine the potential advancements in laser technology that can be achieved through a focused, multi-year

development effort. The photonic solution will include a roadmap for the development of individual component technologies, as well as for the large-scale fabrication of these components within the U.S. The work is a prelude to a larger development effort and is in collaboration with Sandia National Labs, Boston University, Research Triangle Park and EOS Photonics.

The AFRL is one of four high-performance computing centers in the Department of Defense.

Spectrum Software Adds 3-D Mapping Capability The Marines have released a new, advanced version of software developed by Northrop Grumman for electromagnetic spectrum situational awareness and operations. Using the Systems Planning, Engineering and Evaluation Device (SPEED), communications planners can plan, model and analyze radio and jammer effects in a defined electromagnetic spectrum environment to better understand where communications degradation or interoperability issues

may occur. Version 11.1.1 adds 3-D mapping and mission planning capabilities, including frequency-dependent rejection interference analysis, enhanced jammer modeling and effectiveness prediction. Developed for the Marine Corps, SPEED is used by other services within the Department of Defense and joint operations and other federal agencies. Northrop Grumman delivered the first version of SPEED in 1988, and it has been in continuous operation for 25 years.

SPAWAR Atlantic Seeks Cyber-Operation Services Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic has awarded contracts to 13 companies for the procurement of integrated cyber-operations service: Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI Technologies, Computer Sciences Corp., Engility, General Dynamics One Source, Honeywell Technology Solutions, Lockheed Martin Services, Science Applications International Corp., Scientific Research Corp., Secure Mission Solutions, STG, Systems Research and Applications Corp., and URS Federal Services. The contracts are for the entire spectrum of non-inherently governmental services

and solutions (equipment and services) associated with the full system life cycle support, including research, development, test, evaluation, production and fielding of sustainable, secure, survivable and interoperable command, control, communication, computers, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, information operations, enterprise information services and space capabilities. The cumulative, estimated value (ceiling) of the base year is $179.9 million, with options that could total $899.5 million by July 2018.

MIT 17.7 | 15

Tactical Communicator

Q& A

Giving Troops the Information Needed to Achieve Tactical Dominance Brigadier General Daniel P. Hughes Program Executive Officer Command, Control, Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) Brigadier Genera Daniel P. Hughes serves as the U.S. Army Program Executive Officer for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T). Hughes earned his commission in the U.S. Army Field Artillery branch through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1983.

His assignments include serving as a fire direction officer with the 8th Infantry Division, U.S. Army Europe, Germany; an instructor, at the U.S. Army Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, Okla.; commander, C Battery, 1st Battalion, 17th Field Artillery, III Corps Artillery, Fort Sill; fire direction officer, 75th Field Artillery Brigade, III Corps Artillery, Fort Sill, and Operations Desert Storm/Desert Shield, Saudi Arabia; MILSTAR project officer, U.S. Army Element Air Force Activity, Washington, D.C., with duty at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Ca.; liaison officer, program manager Field Artillery Tactical Data Systems, later Assistant Project Manager, Deep Strike Systems, Program Executive Office, Command, Control, and Communications, Fort Sill; Patriot advanced capability requirements/simulation integration officer, U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command, Huntsville, Ala.; project manager, fire support, Program Executive Office, Command, Control, and Communications Systems, Fort Monmouth, N.J.; deputy for Ballistic Missile Defense Systems, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.; project manager, Joint Tactical Radio Systems, Ground Domain, PEO C3T, Fort Monmouth; deputy program executive officer, Enterprise Information System, Fort Belvoir, Va.; deputy program executive officer, integration (networks), Washington, D.C.; director, System of Systems Integration, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.; and most recently a dual assignment as deputy commanding general, Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, and senior mission commander, Natick Soldier Systems Center, Natick, Mass.

He earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Oklahoma City University and a Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University. Hughes is also a graduate of the Field Artillery Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

His military awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal (with three Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Achievement Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), the Air Force Achievement Medal, Air Force Space and Missile Badge and Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge.

Q: How would you define your mission as the new PEO C3T, and what is your overall approach to achieving it?

16 | MIT 17.7

A: PEO C3T’s bottom line is clear: give our troops the information they need to achieve tactical dominance. But to paraphrase an old saying, we have the curse of living in interesting times. The Army is winding down from two long wars, and confronting a difficult mix of budget uncertainty and shifting national security challenges. Our new regionally aligned forces must be able to communicate and share information for any mission in any area of the world where they deploy.

While we have delivered groundbreaking mobile connectivity to units in Afghanistan, the rapid progress in commercial communications technology continues, and soldiers rightly expect us to keep pace. So, our mission at PEO C3T is to take these interesting times and turn them into an opportunity to shape our tactical network.

One way we will achieve this goal is to simplify. Our network and mission command capabilities are giving commanders and soldiers more information than ever, but many systems are still too fragmented by functional area and not as intuitive as they could be for the user.

Over the next several months, we are taking a strategic look across our portfolio to identify opportunities for convergence. Several of these program efforts are already well underway. PEO C3T is leading an Armywide initiative to streamline the processes and tools involved in network operations in order to simplify and integrate training across our network capability sets, and give more control and flexibility to soldiers in how they plan, manage and sustain the network.

Working with PEO Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, we are actively looking at how to reduce the footprint of our tactical www.MIT-kmi.com

operations centers—in part by advancing the command post computing environment, which is consolidating the separate capabilities commanders use for fires, logistics, intelligence, airspace management and maneuver onto a single workstation.

But we can and will do more to ensure users get the most out of the information and capabilities we deliver. Aside from the obvious operational benefits, simplifying the network will lead to cost savings by combining hardware and other infrastructure, reducing software development efforts, and decreasing the number of field service representatives [FSRs] required to train soldiers, troubleshoot systems and sustain the tactical network.

Another way we are shaping the future network is by working with our partners in the requirements community on a Network Capability Review. Looking at deployed soldier feedback, Network Integration Evaluation [NIE] results and industry technology advancements, the review aims to identify the proper mix of systems and their requirements to provide integrated tactical network capabilities within various formations. By trying to answer these questions now, we can determine how best to allocate today’s reduced resources and plan our investments to prepare for tomorrow’s uncertain conflicts.

Q: What is your strategy for coping with budget restraints and getting the best value for the taxpayer while supporting the warfighter?

A: There is no denying the impact deep, automatic government spending cuts have on our support to soldiers. What makes this particular fiscal environment so difficult is the uncertainty that clouds our budget planning.

Given these constraints, we have to prioritize scarce resources.

Our top priority remains support for deployed soldiers and ongoing operations in Afghanistan. Their needs and safety come first.

The retrograde of equipment from Afghanistan is another key priority, and we are gradually reducing the presence of PEO C3T systems while finding opportunities to re-utilize much of that equipment to meet other requirements—achieving cost avoidance in the process.

And we are working to protect the research and development [R&D] projects that deliver a high return on a relatively small investment, such as the mounted computing environment, which will leverage existing hardware and provide a software framework to run Androidbased mission command applications inside tactical vehicles.

Another part of our strategy is leveraging industry’s R&D investments. The Army has adopted an incremental network modernization strategy to buy fewer, more often, in order to keep pace with technology advances and field the right mix of capabilities to the right formations at the right time.

Take a look at how we are managing tactical radios. Technical advances in the commercial, software-programmable radio market that took place during the Joint Tactical Radio Systems developmental effort now allow for effective hardware solutions—radio boxes—to be developed more easily by industry.

Meanwhile, PEO C3T and the Joint Tactical Networking Center maintain a data repository of secure networking waveforms and applications that adhere to open standards set by the government, allowing that software to run on multiple hardware models industry produces. This lays the foundation for a competitive and innovative marketplace of interoperable, affordable non-developmental item radios. As I mentioned previously, our work with industry to simplify the network will also lead to savings in training, sustainment and FSR support. Finally, we continue to look inward and streamline our own www.MIT-kmi.com

processes within the PEO, using tools like Better Buying Power, Lean Six Sigma and Value Engineering. For example, our Project Manager Joint Battle Command-Platform [PM JBC-P] is leveraging Better Buying Power principles to deliver faster, better situational awareness capabilities while saving the Army more than $244 million over the next several years. By transitioning the Movement Tracking System into the JBC-P portfolio, we eliminated the need for separate program management, contracts, satellite channels, operation elements and sustainment tails. PM JBC-P also recently conducted competitive contract efforts for satellite airtime, the Blue Force Tracking system platform and tactical operations center installation kits, resulting in significant cost reductions over the previous contracts.

With all that said, we know the upcoming timeframe will be a difficult one, and we’re asking for our stakeholders’ patience and partnership as we sort through our fiscal challenges to continue to provide the best possible capabilities to the soldier.

Q: Looking more broadly, how do you see the field of tactical communications changing to meet the needs of a smaller, lighter force?

A: The network is a key enabler of allowing the Army to produce a future force that is smaller but still highly capable. In decentralized operations, the network is critical to empowering our leaders and soldiers at all echelons with the right information, at the right time to make the decisions essential to mission success.

We’re already seeing that concept in action with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division [Light Infantry], which is deployed in Afghanistan with Capability Set 13, an advanced, integrated group of tactical communications systems that just arrived in theater this summer. The unit is relying on these technologies to communicate as they spread out over vast distances and challenging terrain to conduct advise-and-assist missions supporting the Afghan National Security Forces. Far from their command posts, commanders and even dismounted soldiers have the latest information at their fingertips, and the network connectivity to coordinate with their U.S. and Afghan teammates.

Going forward, we will continue to provide scalable and tailorable network equipment that is integrated across all levels of the brigade combat team [BCT], so it can be responsive to what the commander needs to execute mission command. That integrated network baseline and built-in flexibility will be critical in the future as the Army restructures its BCTs and regionally aligns its forces.

One important focus area that will give units more versatility to adapt the network to meet their mission requirements is unit task reorganization [UTR]. UTR tools and processes support network adjustments that are driven by changes in mission and battlefield task organization—such as attaching a company to a different battalion, or in the case of CS 13, when both the 4th and 3rd BCTs of the 10th Mountain Division were task organized from infantry BCTs to security force assistance brigades [SFABs], meaning the units would deploy fewer soldiers in different combinations than a typical BCT. In the past, such changes would require heavy FSR involvement and an entirely new set of system initialization data—the network glue that allows various systems to communicate. What we want to provide is the ability to adjust the network on the demand for the unit, by the unit. We’ve fielded some interim steps, and continue to pursue the long-term UTR solution that will be much more intuitive and automatic in configuring the network to support our future formations.

MIT 17.7 | 17

As we push the network to the edge of the battlefield, we are working with our industry partners to make sure that we’re holding down the size, weight and power burden, and that we provide systems and training designed for all operators, not just signal experts. We also continue to adjust our processes across the Army so we can keep pace with advancements in commercial communications technology. I always tell folks to look at your cell phone. If your cell phone is two years old, it’s time to get a new cell phone. To meet the needs of the future force, we need to leverage the newest technology as fast as we can.

Q: What are some of the most important upcoming contract competitions?

A: We are preparing to conduct full and open competitions, open to all industry partners, for the next generation of the Rifleman and Manpack radios. To date, the Handheld, Manpack, Small Form Fit Program has been authorized to purchase 19,327 Rifleman radios and 3,826 manpack radios through low rate initial production orders from the original program of record vendors. The new competitions cover the full rate production phase of both programs and will support production and fielding of the radios, along with enhanced capabilities for future capability sets.

During the past fiscal year we have made progress on the competitions by releasing several requests for information, holding multiple industry days and obtaining valuable feedback from our industry partners. We continue to examine options that would that would meet the intent of the competition by driving down costs while increasing capability for the soldier, and we appreciate our industry partners’ insights as we work with the Office of the Secretary of Defense to finalize our path ahead to execute the competitions next year.

These radios provide a critical link for small units and dismounted soldiers to communicate effectively. The full and open competitions will allow the Army to take that capability to the next level and deliver it to more units across the force, while minimizing costs for the government. We are encouraged by the strong participation from our industry partners, and will continue to work with all interested vendors to ensure a fair, open and successful competition.

Q: What lessons have you learned from experiencing and observing tactical communications in field operations?

A: After doing time in line units supporting our nation in combat, it became a passion of mine to make everyday soldiers’ lives better through the capability we bring them. I’ve been in too many places where we didn’t have enough communications, we didn’t have enough ammunition—and it was there, it was available, we just couldn’t get it to the right place. That’s why the network is so important going forward: so our soldiers across the battlefield have the information to do their jobs better, so they can direct resources to where they’re needed, so they can push a button and say, ‘I’m in trouble, come give me help.’

And I think we’re much closer to that today, but we can always do more.

I have two children now who are not much older than the soldiers who are coming into the Army today. I look at those soldiers as if they were my kids, and every day I walk into the office thinking, ‘What else can I do to make them better and safer on the battlefield?’

Q: How do you see the NIE concept moving forward in the future, and how are you working to ensure that results from the tests are reflected in acquisition decisions?

18 | MIT 17.7

A: The NIE is an evolving and adaptive process. The Army, with its industry partners, is learning from the NIE efforts and applying those lessons learned to improve the process and deliver integrated network capabilities more efficiently. The NIEs have produced a number of significant integration and training lessons-learned for several major network systems, including Warfighter Information Network-Tactical [WIN-T] Increment 2, Joint Battle Command-Platform [JBC-P], Nett Warrior and tactical radios.

As Army and budget priorities mature into fiscal year 2014 and beyond, NIEs may look different, but they will remain a key venue to integrate network systems and obtain soldier feedback prior to fielding. As an example, a major difference in the upcoming NIE 14.1 from previous NIEs is the increased use of modeling and simulations.

In order to reduce costs, the Army is deploying only one battalion to the field, with the remainder of the BCT participating in a live, virtual environment. NIE 14.2 will continue use of modeling and simulation to reduce costs, and following the completion of required testing and evaluation, it will transition into a joint, multinational exercise. NIE 15.1 will be used to assess the integrated network baseline to evaluate the performance of existing network capabilities and identify remaining gaps.

Another key change is that the capability gaps identified at NIE 15.1 will be locked in place to be evaluated over the following two NIE cycles. These consistent gaps will increase industry’s lead time in identifying mature capability solutions, and allow the Army to better align NIE results with our budget planning to inform procurement and fielding decisions for future capability sets.

While the process continues to evolve, the Army remains committed to the three-fold intent of the NIE: To reduce the integration burden on operational formations; to define, develop and integrate capability sets; and to provide a forum to leverage promising industry capabilities that solve operational gaps.

Q: What are some of the ways that PEO C3T and its Aberdeen Proving Ground [APG] partners are collaborating, and what can you do to foster that in the future?

A: It’s been exciting to see the APG community grow into its vision as the home for Army communications. This summer, PEO C3T opened the permanent home for the Tactical Systems Integration Facility [TSIF], which now occupies 9,500 square feet dedicated to executing testing and integration across the PEO C3T family of systems.

It’s a realistic environment that simulates the challenges of the battlefield, allowing project managers to test software earlier in the development process so we can identify and resolve integration and interoperability issues prior to formal operational test and fielding to soldiers. The TSIF is at the forefront of integration activities for the Command Post Computing Environment, which as I mentioned is one of our major efforts to converge operations and intelligence data into a common operational picture for the commander.

The TSIF is linked to other facilities and laboratories through direct fiber-optic connectivity—allowing each location to efficiently leverage the resources of its neighbors at APG. Together, the campus facilities enable the Army to continually measure performance and interoperability among government and industry systems, supporting an integrated and incremental approach to fielding the tactical network. Having the Army Test and Evaluation Command close by allows us to conduct required developmental testing, receive feedback and implement changes more efficiently and effectively. www.MIT-kmi.com

We are realizing significant operational benefits through collaboration with our partners in the Army sustainment and science and technology [S&T] communities. As we transition select systems and hardware into sustainment while developing software that captures and improves upon their capabilities, we are working in lockstep with the Communications-Electronics Command to ensure continued support throughout those systems’ lifecycle. We are leveraging the work of the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center and Army Research Laboratory communities to help drive down our power requirements as we extend the tactical network to lower echelons than ever before. Army S&T is also at the forefront of antenna technology, and PEO C3T engineers are working closely with their S&T counterparts to reduce our antenna footprint and better integrate them on vehicle platforms. We will continue to seize opportunities to work together going forward.

Q: Could you point to some projects underway at PEO C3T that perhaps have not received the attention they deserve?

A: We haven’t talked about WIN-T, which does receive its share of attention but is important to update for your readers. I’ll begin with WIN-T Increment 2, which is deployed today supporting soldiers in Afghanistan as part of Capability Set 13. WIN-T Increment 2 provides enhanced capabilities over the previous WIN-T Increment 1 and its upgrades, including network-equipped vehicles that provide the on-the-move communications and situational awareness that commanders need to

lead from anywhere on the battlefield. WIN-T Increment 2 also provides soldiers with high-speed, high-capacity voice, data and video communications down to the company level for the first time.

As fixed network infrastructure is dismantled during Afghanistan retrograde operations, SFABs will still be able to conduct their missions and share critical situational awareness throughout the brigade by employing the satellite communication and mission command capabilities of WIN-T Increment 2, both at-the-halt and on-the-move.

Last year the Army began fielding upgrades to WIN-T Increment 1, referred to as the Colorless Core upgrade or WIN-T Increment 1B. The Colorless Core upgrade will make communications between WIN-T Increment 1 and Increment 2 even more seamless, giving the Army flexibility in communications across WIN-T-equipped units as we continue to field WIN-T Increment 2 to additional BCTs. Another important effort we are working through the WIN-T program is the creation of a new standard network enclave for coalition communications. Instead of having different coalition network enclaves, such as we created for Afghanistan and Korea, for separate mission requirements, the Army will be able to utilize this standard enclave for many different applications, including homeland security and disaster relief missions. U.S. forces will be able to utilize the network enclave to communicate with forces that do not reside on secure U.S. military networks. It’s a great example of how we’re building on operational lessons-learned of the last several years in order to deliver versatile, efficient solutions that meet the needs of the future force. O

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MIT 17.7 | 19

Combat Support

Milestone Army program that uses small, inexpensive SATCOM terminals to transmit logistics information achieves its acquisition objective.

By Linda Valenzano

20 | MIT 17.7

An Army program that uses Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) technology to transmit logistics, medical and personnel related combat-support information to soldiers in the field has achieved its acquisition objective and been certified for full operational capability.

Product Director, Defense Wide Transmission Systems (PD DWTS) recently fielded the final two terminals in a decade-long, 3,620-unit rollout of the Combat Service Support (CSS) VSAT program.

“The CSS VSAT provides our Army with vital connectivity globally,” said Doug Wiltsie, program executive officer for enterprise information systems (PEO EIS). “It saves lives, time and money and enables real-time information sharing that allows commanders to make the best decisions possible. Reaching the

acquisition objective is a significant feat and one that should make the team extremely proud.

I applaud each and every team member, stakeholder and industry partner on their commitment, dedication and perseverance over the past 10 years.”

VSAT equipment extends the range, accuracy and speed of CSS communications capabilities by providing a transportable, easy-to-use solution for achieving SATCOM connectivity. These relatively inexpensive terminals have a small footprint, require only two soldiers to operate and can be assembled in less than an hour. Increasing flexibility and reliability, the terminals do not require specialized personnel to operate and automatically acquire and maintain a satellite link.

In 2004, the Army authorized an initial fielding of and

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found the program so successful that the scope soon expanded to reach all active and reserve components.

DWTS designed the CSS VSAT system to support one of the four key programs under the Army G-4 “Connect the Logistician” initiative: to provide a vital communications link connecting CSS users in the field to the NIPRNet during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. “[Previously], our inability to see requirements in real time drove us to rely on large stockpiles of supplies, and to depend on inadequate forecasting capabilities to support operations. In the unpredictable operating environment of the modern battlefield, that paradigm would cause failure; we had to change the game, and CSS VSAT became that game-changer,” Lieutenant General Claude (Chris) V. Christianson (Ret.), the former Army G-4 and the visionary of the CSS VSAT’s capability, said at a recent ceremony celebrating the program’s completion.

As the chief of logistics automation in Iraq, Lieutenant Colonel Forrest Burke (Ret.) developed the operation plans and secured funding for the first generation of CSS VSATs deployed to the Kuwait and Iraq theaters of operation. Later, representing the Army G-4 CSS Automation Management Office, Burke obtained Army Staff approval and funding for a full CSS VSAT network as part of the Army’s overarching LandWarNet, after performing seamlessly with the Combat Service Support Automated Information Systems Interface (CAISI).

“Having proved [the success of] VSAT and CAISI together in Kosovo, Kuwait and Iraq, we knew it would work across the Army,” said Burke. “Thanks to leadership support, the pace of the PEO’s team, and overwhelming demand from field commanders, CSS VSAT is a global win-win for soldiers and taxpayers alike.”

Major General N. Lee S. Price, who as defense communications and army transmission systems project manager (DCATS PM) was responsible for the initial fielding of the system, recalled that the CSS community had long needed the ability to communicate via satellite, instead of sending soldiers overland to higher headquarters in search of some way to transmit requisitions for needed repair parts, potentially putting them in harm’s way.

“I had the opportunity as a PM to execute a lot of highly visible programs for the Army, but none proved to be more valuable than the CSS VSAT program,” said www.MIT-kmi.com

Col. Clyde Richards, PM DCATS (2nd from left) is joined by (left to right) Kevin Carroll, former PEO EIS; Maj. Gen. Michael S. Linningtnon, CG,JFHQ-NCR/MDW; Gary Winkler, former PEO EIS; Lt. Gen. Claude Christianson (Ret.), former Army G4; Forrest Burke, former Army G4, CSSAMO; Col. Anthony Sanchez, former PD DWTS; and Lt. Col. Jeff Etienne, PD DWTS. [Photo courtesy of PM DCATS]

Price. “We received numerous reports from the field about how this one system saved numerous lives.”

Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Etienne, the current product director for DWTS, spoke at the ceremony about CSS VSAT’s evolution, crediting the leaders throughout the program’s evolution. “I owe a great debt of gratitude to all the people who have made this program a complete success,” he said, “to include its visionaries, our industry partners and all of the program’s personnel. You have exemplified the finer side of the acquisition model.”

“Our role was to create a technical solution that was affordable, easy to set up and operate by users, with strong bandwidth performance, and to field the solution to the Army,” observed Kevin Carroll, who served as the PEO EIS during CSS VSAT’s inception and early development. “This led us to the commercial marketplace and the creation of a great satellite terminal for the logistics soldiers. This program achieved its acquisition objective because of the acquisition and logistics communities working very closely together. The VSAT program was one of the most productive and efficient systems the Army fielded over the past years. It delivered results and saved lives as well.”

Gary Winkler, who was with the Army Chief Information Office/G-6 during the birth of the CSS VSAT program, and who later succeeded Carroll as PEO EIS, noted, “None of us really knew what the final Army

acquisition objective would be; we just knew that the Army needed this critical capability and we had to keep providing it better, faster and cheaper, which the whole DWTS team and stakeholder community did marvelously.”

Colonel Clyde Richards, the current DCATS PM, emphasized CSS VSAT’s support for disaster relief operations over the years, in addition to its critical war fighting mission. “During Hurricane Katrina, CSS VSAT was used to support network communications in various locations in the disaster zone. We supported the Haiti Earthquake relief efforts with over 40 CSS VSATs. “CSS VSAT was also deployed in support of the Pakistan Earthquake Relief and Hurricane Irene and Operation Tomodachi. We currently have systems supporting Southwest Asia and Korea, Japan and the Philippines. CSS VSAT continues to provide commanders and CSS users an interface device that supports present and future doctrine during times of peace and war,” Richards said. O

Linda Valenzano is a contractor supporting PM DCATS. For more information, contact MIT Editor Harrison Donnelly at harrisond@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.mit-kmi.com.

MIT 17.7 | 21

Special Report:

Forecast to industry

Industry event offers glimpse of agency future as it undertakes significant shifts in organization, processes and culture.

By Harrison Donnelly MIT Editor

As it works to implement the Department of Defense’s new network concept and continue to provide needed services to warfighters in a time of tight budget limits, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is also undertaking important changes in its organization, business processes, and overall culture and approach to key issues.

That’s one conclusion to be drawn from the agency’s recent Forecast to Industry Day, which was held in August at its Fort Meade, Md., headquarters. The event offered several hundred industry representatives an opportunity to hear from and network with senior DISA executives about their contracting and other plans for the coming year.

An annual event, the forecast drew intense interest this year in light of the budget-forced cancellation of the agency’s annual customer partnership conference, which in the past has featured a full-scale trade show and program of workshops and speakers.

In an opening address, the DISA director, Lieutenant General Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr., outlined his vision for both the agency’s role in developing and implementing the Joint Information 22 | MIT 17.7

Environment (JIE), and how it is transforming to meet that and other goals. Frequently described as a conceptual framework rather than a program of record, JIE represents an effort by top DoD leaders, including Chief Information Officer Teri Takai, to bring coherence to the department’s vast array of networks and systems.

“Ms. Takai has put forward her vision for where we’re going with JIE, as has the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We recognize what General Dempsey wants us to do. When he starts to talk about next-generation capabilities, that’s where we’re at when it comes to JIE,” Hawkins said.

“As we get ready to lay that out,” he continued, “it is as much about changing our culture in the way that we work in cyberspace as it is about the technology that we’re going to bring into the environment.”

Speaking from his experience as a C4 director in theater, Hawkins noted that bringing networks together is difficult during a time of war. “But it’s even more difficult now as we see how to change culture and tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs),” www.MIT-kmi.com

Special Report: he said. “We’ve got a tough challenge to move into the deployed environment with JIE. As we take in the 15,000 LANs and look at the millions of devices out there, and bring them into the DoD Information Network, we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re going to work with industry to make sure that we’re able to deliver those capabilities.

“We see DISA in the primary role as integrator and synchronizer as we bring JIE into its operational capability,” he added.

As part of the effort to align with JIE, Hawkins outlined a number of executive and structural changes within DISA, in such areas as finance, customer relations, enterprise services and field security.

“We are looking at a greater emphasis on efficacy and savings from working with enterprise solutions. I’ve asked the staff to focus on us being able to pivot on delivering capability in short periods of time. Rather than taking years to do things, we’re going to be doing things in sprints,” Hawkins said, adding, “We’re also accentuating acquisition agility and focusing on better buying power, such as DoD has asked us to do.”

Looking ahead, the director described his plans for implementation of JIE, which began Increment 1 this summer with the opening of a network facility in Europe. “As we go into increment 2, our focus is also going to be on the coalition environment. In increment 1, we began with the TTPs and installing technological capabilities that we help us get where we need to go. But we’ve got to focus on our coalition partners as well.

“Many people have said we wouldn’t be able to get JIE started.

But two and a half years ago, people said we wouldn’t be able to do Enterprise Email, and two years ago they said we would never reach 1.5 million users. We’ve done that in DISA. A year and a half ago, people said we wouldn’t be able to do mobile device management, but we’ve implemented that. We have a lot of visionaries in this organization, and we are focused on delivering for the warfighter,” Hawkins said.

Forecast to industry

One idea being considered, she noted, is a centralized strategy for multiple awards. “We’ve already used this, but if you look at the capabilities for things like acquisition support, engineering, logistics and help desk services, we do a lot of those across the board. A centralized strategy doesn’t necessarily mean one award, but having a common approach to how we manage incentives, efficiencies and performance opportunities, and how we set up processes, so that we have a common approach to leverage efficiencies between multiple contract alternatives.”

To achieve an increased focus on efficiency, she continued, the agency will have to balance performance and efficiency measures.

“Over time, it would be great if we could give the Cadillac of customer service, but when budgets are tight, we have to find a way to balance that. So you’re going to see more contract opportunities with a balance between efficiency measures and performance incentives.”

Cindy Moran, director of network services, provided an overview of her organization’s mission, which she described as “making sure that anything that touches the network is interoperable and secure, and works all the time, every time and in the same way.”

In the area of transport infrastructure, Moran reported, “We’re doing innovative things, moving from 10 G to 100 G and trying to get out of point-to-point circuits, which are harder to manage and have lots of bandwidth that isn’t fully utilized. There are better

Acquisition Strategies Hawkins was followed by Dr. Jennifer L. Carter, DISA component acquisition executive, who talked about her vision of changes in acquisition processes, as well as the agency’s plans in the critical areas of mobility, Unified Capabilities and cloud computing services.

Carter placed DISA’s ideas within the context of fast-changing trends in IT acquisition, as well as the slower-changing realities of the federal government’s way of doing business. “We know that we need to build agility into how we deliver. We’re always working to accelerate how we get capabilities out,” she said. “But there is a budget process with its own pace, and contract and requirements processes with their own pace.

“So one of the things we need to be able to do is to work within existing processes that are not going to change rapidly, and still be able to deliver capabilities. That requires us to have a set of programs with baselines that have the ability to be agile built into them. That means having flexibility in the requirements for the cycles of what gets delivered, and having contact vehicles available that have the scope so that we can turn things around and be agile,” Carter said. www.MIT-kmi.com

MIT 17.7 | 23

Special Report:

Forecast to industry

Lieutenant General Ronnie D. Hawkins, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), addressed Forecast to Industry Day attendees at the agency’s Fort Meade, Md., headquarters. [Photo courtesy of DISA]

ways to manage the transport infrastructure and use the bandwidth that we have.”

Last year, for example, the Missile Defense Agency brought its legacy network into DISA’s Defense Information Systems Network.

“We discovered that they had 10,000 miles of fiber that they had bought. So we not only provided them service, but also were able to take over their fiber, and working with industry, take some of the fiber initiatives, such as the Global Information Grid-Bandwidth Expansion, and take those programs to the next level,” she said.

“We’re also partnering with the Army in Europe and other places where there is government-owned fiber, and bring that fiber into the broader core network,” Moran continued. “We’re partnering with people to get the best value and transport capability.”

Multiple Missions Dave Bennett, who has been serving as agency CIO and recently received additional responsibilities as head of enterprise services, emphasized the benefits of combining the two roles.

“We’re converging multiple missions,” he said. “As CIO, I deliver IT to the agency globally. I’m a provider and a consumer of capability from an agency perspective. Under the enterprise hat, I’m a provider of capability from the enterprise level.”

Bennett pointed to the benefits he sees as CIO, in charge of the agency’s internal IT operations, from the enterprise services approach. “Any time as CIO that I’m providing service specific to the agency, I don’t want to have to buy the hardware. It’s easier to put it into a Defense Enterprise Commuting Center (DECC) and 24 | MIT 17.7

use capacity services for storage, processing and communications.

I don’t have to worry about sustainment, but just pay an annual cost to provide the service.

“I don’t have to worry about providing a directory service for DISA, because I consume the enterprise directory service that the DECC provides to the department. We have the ability to look at it from two ways. As we provide the service, we understand how it’s going to be consumed. We understand what the end-user environment looks like,” he added.

Bennett noted that the military services are currently being driven to reduce or eliminate their data centers and move them into the core data centers.

“There is a big effort underway right now to look at all the computing in the services. If it is a local application that is used on an installation and not externally, it would go into an installation processing node. Other than that, the applications that are used broadly are moving to a core data center. That is to be done by fiscal 2018,” he said.

“That is a huge center of gravity for the department in terms of where computing is going,” Bennett added. “That gets you the ability to manage and drive standardization within the department in those data centers. You can drive what the virtual operating environments look like, as well as security architecture and communications infrastructure.” O For more information, contact MIT Editor Harrison Donnelly at harrisond@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.mit-kmi.com.

www.MIT-kmi.com

Special Report:

[

Forecast to industry

(Editor’s Note: Following are some of the key DISA contract and task order opportunities in 2014, as selected and edited by KMI Media Group editors. All dates are for fiscal years. The complete listings of planned business actions, as provided by DISA officials during the recent Forecast to Industry Day, are available at www.disa.mil/ news/~/media/files/disa/news/forecast-brief-9aug.pdf.)

Mobility Contracts Gateway Procurement • Single award. Market research underway.

• RFP to be released 1st quarter, 2014, with contract award in 2nd quarter, 2014.

Firm-fixed price (FFP) contract.

Mobile Applications Enterprise Solutions • Single award. Market research underway.

• RFI to be released 1st quarter, 2014.

Unified Capabilities Global Video Service • Single award. RFP to TBD, early in 1st quarter, 2014.

• Predecessor contracts: GDS-APPTIS-TO 54 (DCA200-02-D-5000) • Small business: GSM-ETI • Contract type: FFP-DWCF eVoIP • Single award.

• Predecessor contracts: HC 1028-08-D2000 (DNMSSG-TO 45, 43, 38) • Small business: GSM-ETI • Contract type: FFP and CPFF-DWCF

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NS2 Strategic Planning • Single award. RFP September 30, 2011 • Predecessor contract: HC 1028-08-D2000 (DNMSSG-TO 45) • Small business: GSM-P&S • Contract type: FFP-DWCF Partnership with Army • Single award. RFI in June 2013

GSM-ETI Task Order Forecast MPLS Implementation (RFP release— 4th quarter, 2013) • Global implementation support for three Army projects: Army 10G, Joint Regional Security Stacks, and Fort Detrick, Md., service delivery node relocation.

Optimization (RFP release—4th quarter, 2013) • Global implementation support for major technology changes to DISN infrastructure, including site survey, detailed engineering, implementation plans and incidental hardware procurements.

]

Technical Refresh (RFP release—4th quarter, 2013) • Global implementation support for upgrades to DISN technology reaching end of life cycle.

DISN Video Services Engineering (RFP release—4th quarter, 2013) • Provides Global Video Service (GVS) support for the architecture, design, integration, assessment and problem management for the evolving IP GVS and the transition of video customers from legacy services to IP services.

GSM-P&S Task Order Forecast Naval Circuit Management Office (RFP release—4th quarter, 2013) • Life cycle management and technical support for circuits that connect naval bases to the DoD Information Network.

DISN Video Services Engineering (RFP release—4th quarter, 2013) • Provides Global Video Service (GVS) support for the architecture, design, integration, assessment and problem

MIT 17.7 | 25

Special Report:

Forecast to industry

management for the evolving IP GVS and the transition of video customers from legacy services to IP services.

Military Sealift Command Global Service Desk (projected RFP release—4th quarter, 2014) • Explore commercial call center service providers that can perform ticket handling (Tier 1) and low-level service fulfillment (Tier 2) services.

Teleports GSM-ETI (projected RFP release— 2nd quarter, 2014) • Engineering and technical support to Teleport Program Office.

Teleport Integration and Engineering Support (projected RFP release—3rd quarter, 2014) • Integration vendor to assist in establishing new WestPAC Teleport.

Digital IF (projected RFP release—1st quarter, 2014) • Integration and design support for replacement of analog IF switches with digital IF switches.

Spectral Warrior (projected RFP release—2nd quarter, 2014) • Integration of electromagnetic sensors into DoD gateways to locate and mitigate interference.

ISR (projected RFP release—2014-2016) • Support development, fielding and sustainment of global UVDS capability to support worldwide distribution of full motion video to key war fighting and processing, exploitation and dissemination centers.

COMMSATCOM Meet-Me (projected RFP release—2nd quarter, 2014) • Allows the connection of commercial transport network to the DoD Information Network.

26 | MIT 17.7

Enterprise Information Services Storage Capacity Services • Single award. FFP. Indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity.

• RFP to be released 4th quarter, 2013, with award 1st quarter, 2014.

Global Content Delivery System • Single award. FFP. ENCORE II task order.

• RFP to be released 1st quarter, 2014, with award 2nd quarter, 2014.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure • Single award. Market research to determine strategy.

• RFP to be released 2nd quarter, 2014, with award 3rd quarter, 2014.

Wireless Local Area Network • Single award. Market research to determine strategy.

• RFP to be released 4th quarter, 2013, with award 1st quarter, 2014.

Field Security Operations Information Assurance Technical Reviews • Single award. Market research to determine strategy.

• RFP to be released 4th quarter, 2013, with award 1st quarter, 2014.

System and Network Administration • Single award. Market research to determine strategy.

• RFP to be released 4th quarter, 2013, with award 2nd quarter, 2014.

Security Technical Implementation Guides • Single award. Market research to determine strategy.

• RFP to be released 4th quarter, 2013, with award 2nd quarter, 2014.

IA Training • Single award. Market research to determine strategy.

• RFP to be released 4th quarter, 2013, with award 2nd quarter, 2014.

Combatant Command IA Operational Support and Mission Assurance Support Capability • Single award. Market research to determine strategy.

• RFP to be released 1st quarter, 2014, with award 3rd quarter, 2014.

Information Assurance Support Environment and DoD IA Portal • Single award. Market research to determine strategy.

• RFP to be released 2nd quarter, 2014, with award 4th quarter, 2014.

Engineering and Software Development PEO-Mission Assurance and Network Operations Software Development Support • Multiple award. Small business set-aside.

BPA. • RFQ released 4th quarter, 2013, with award in 4th quarter, 2014.

Gateway Security Engineering • Single award. ENCORE II. Full and open.

• RFP released 4th quarter, 2013, with award in 1st quarter, 2014.

Mission Assurance and NetOps Support • Single award. Market research to determine strategy.

• RFP to be released 1st quarter 2015, with award in 3rd quarter, 2015.

Information Assurance Solutions Host Based Security System Next Generation • Single award. Market research to determine strategy.

Athena Network Traffic and Anomaly Detection • Single award. Market research to determine strategy.

• RFP to be released 1st quarter, 2014, with award in 3rd quarter, 2014.

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The advertisers index is provided as a service to our readers. KMI cannot be held responsible for discrepancies due to last-minute changes or alterations.

MIT RESOURCE CENTER Advertisers Index Adobe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 http://events.carahsoft.com/event-detail/2820/ad/register Baker College. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 www.bakercollegeonline.com/demo CompTIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 www.comptiastore.com/casp/mit Exelis Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 www.exelisinc.com/gnomad-dom Syntonics LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 www.syntonicscorp.com

Calendar October 9, 2013 Hosted Payload Summit Washington, D.C. www.hostedpayloadsummit.com

November 18-20, 2013 MILCOM San Diego, Calif. www.milcom.org

October 21-23, 2013 AUSA Annual Meeting Washington, D.C. www.ausa.org

December 3-5, 2013 TechNet Asia-Pacific Honolulu, Hawaii www.afcea.org

October 29, 2013 SAP NS2 Solutions Summit Falls Church, Va. www.sapns2.com

February 11-13, 2014 AFCEA West San Diego, Calif. www.afcea.org

EXPERIENCE YOU CAN COUNT ON » Stability » Consistency » Integrity With more than a decade as editor of Military Information Technology, Harrison Donnelly has the background, relationships and understanding to lead MIT, widely considered the “Voice of Military Communications and Computing” and the most effective and trusted way to reach military IT professionals. His continuity of service guarantees the highest quality of editorial coverage, and makes advertisements in MIT all the more valuable. In a time of turmoil and change in both the defense and publishing worlds, “Hank” is someone that people across the community turn to when they want to deliver a message that makes a difference.

has published to serve the military, Congress, and the executive branch for 17 years by the same KMI Media Group management.

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MIT 17.7 | 27

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW

Military Information Technology

Aaron Brosnan Vice President, Business Development Thales Communications Aaron Brosnan is vice president of business development for Thales Communications, where he is responsible for developing and executing the company’s business development strategies and for growing the company’s core business, including its next-generation communications products. Brosnan is a veteran of the U.S. Navy.

will benefit troops who currently have to carry two radios—one to connect to legacy networks and the other for highspeed, networked data. That will lighten their load and provide more capability.

Q: Thales Communications has been known for its legacy handheld radios, the AN/PRC-148 MBITRs and JEMs. Aren’t you also the co-developer of the AN/PRC154 Rifleman Radio?

A: Yes, we are. Our focus being the size, weight and power [SWAP] challenges faced by our warfighters, we are continuing to leverage our technology into applications in other domains. Two examples are the Multichannel Airborne Radio with SRW [MARS], and the Full Motion Video [FMV] Receiver Mission Module.

The MARS is a minimal SWAP solution for rotary-wing, aerostat and UAV platforms, specifically targeted to airborne VHF/UHF/L-band communications and relay applications. It repackages two radio channels—one narrowband AN/PRC-148 JEM radio board set and one wideband AN/PRC154 Rifleman Radio board set—into an airborne-qualified air transport rack enclosure.

The Mission Module [MM] concept integrates the AN/PRC-148 JEM handheld radios and full motion video receivers into an FMVR Mission Module form factor. This single device approach reduces the size and weight burden of the warfighter and provides the ability to receive full motion video from ISR assets on-the-fly as the mission dictates.

We recognize that users currently carry multiple radios to maintain access to legacy narrowband waveforms and wideband full motion video downlinks from assets such as UAVs. As an “add-on” module to the currently fielded AN/PRC148 radios, the FMVR-MMs eliminate the need to introduce a separate and dedicated FMV ground terminal receiver and provide mission-specific extended capability to the user. O

A: We established ourselves as pioneers of software-defined radio technology and a leader in the size, weight and power domain with our AN/PRC-148 Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radios. There are more than 200,000 units fielded worldwide.

Yes, we are the co-developer, along with General Dynamics, of the AN/PRC154 Rifleman Radio under the Joint Tactical Radio System [JTRS] Handheld, Manpack, and Small Form Fit program of record. The Rifleman Radio is a lightweight, body-worn radio that transmits voice and data simultaneously utilizing the Soldier Radio Waveform [SRW]. It is cutting-edge technology that enables the Army to build out one cohesive, infrastructure-less, tactical network across the battlespace at all tiers, and is critical for the Department of Defense plan to build out a ubiquitous tactical communications network to facilitate voice and data communications interconnectivity anywhere around the globe.

We are manufacturing half of the Rifleman Radios procured under low rate initial production, the other half being manufactured by General Dynamics.

Q: Does Thales have just one Rifleman Radio offering?

A: Actually, there are two versions of the radio—the AN/PRC-154 Rifleman Radio, 28 | MIT 17.7

Q: Are you leveraging any of these technologies beyond the traditional handheld radio?

which operates at the Sensitive But Unclassified level, and the AN/PRC-154A Radio, which is capable of providing soldiers with access to the government’s classified networks at the Secret and Below levels.

Additionally, Thales has developed— jointly with Ultralife—the Vehicle Integrated Power Enhanced Rifleman [VIPER]. VIPER is a ground vehicular adapter for the AN/PRC-154 and AN/ PRC-154A Radios. It provides a vehicular-based, higher-power SRW solution to expand network connectivity with the dismounted soldier across mounted assets.

Q: We’ve also heard about the MBITR2.

Tell us about this new product.

A: The MBITR2 is the next-generation Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio. We leveraged technologies based on both the narrowband AN/PRC-148 and the wideband AN/PRC-154 to develop this new, tactical handheld radio, the first to provide simultaneous two-channel communications. It provides the dismounted warfighter with the ability to integrate into the wideband tactical IP and voice network via the SRW wideband channel while simultaneously maintaining legacy reach back via the narrowband channel—all in a form-factor that is nearly identical to the original AN/PRC-148 MBITR. Thales expects that the MBITR2

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November 2013 Vol. 17, Issue 8

NEXT ISSUE The Voice of Military Communications and Computing

O

Cover and In-Depth Interview with:

Maj. Gen. Craig S. Olson

Program Executive Officer for C3I and Networks Air Force

Special Report: Air Force IT Acquisition Guide Features



From the CIO’s Office

Lieutenant General Michael Basla, chief information officer of the Air Force, outlines his policy views on how to achieve the goal of “information dominance.”



NETCENTS

Although protests continue, the Air Force is pushing ahead with efforts to centralize oversight of IT acquisitions to make them more economical and interoperable.



Comms on the Move

SATCOM on the move has provided such an advantage to the U.S. military that the Army wants to take it to the next level by equipping more weaponized vehicles with SATCOM on the move capabilities.



Security Certification

As mobile technology, with its potential security vulnerabilities, becomes more popular, the issue of certifying devices as secure is becoming critical.



Software Complexity

A sustainable IT application blueprint can reduce software complexity and costs while delivering exceptional capabilities and value to the organization, Lieutenant General Jeffrey Sorenson (Ret.), former Army chief information officer, and a colleague contend.

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Exelis is a registered trademark and “The Power of Ingenuity” is a trademark, both of Exelis Inc. Copyright ©2013 Exelis Inc. All rights reserved. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army and Sgt. Ken Scar.