Mit 18 5 final rev by KMI Media Group

The Voice of Military Information Dominance

Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Who in NETCOM

Network Modernizer Maj. Gen. John B. Morrison Jr. Commanding General Army NETCOM

Tactical Smallsats O Information Storage O DISA Forecast SNE O Electronic Health Records O Big Data

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August 2014

Volume 18, Issue 5

military information technology Features

Cover / Q&A

Big Storage

The U.S. military currently manages stored data in volumes approaching the exabyte level. As the military manages mind-boggling amounts of data, industry is offering a number of new solutions. By Peter Buxbaum

Extension 12 Network Offers Versatile Tool

It’s a mobile network hotspot, the bird’s eye view of a UAV, or a command post on wheels. The Soldier Network Extension is becoming the Army’s chameleon of network communications. By Amy Walker

Who’s Who in Army NETCOM

A guide to the leadership of the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command and associated Signal commands.

As military and intelligence analysts increasingly rely on big data analytics to understand the present and predict the future, there is growing interest in systems that will take that to the next stage by providing useful insights in the timeframe required to make the decisions that need to be made. By Harrison Donnelly

With their promise of on-demand communications capabilities and nearreal-time ISR, small satellites are emerging as potentially key tools of the future for special forces and others operating at the extreme tactical edge. By Harrison Donnelly

A closely watched competition to provide a new electronic health records system for the Department of Defense is nearing a key turning point as officials prepare to release their final vision of a modernized system for the department’s health care enterprise. By Harrison Donnelly

While acknowledging the prospect of significant funding reductions in the future, officials of the Defense Information Systems Agency have outlined an ambitious agenda for the months ahead that includes agency reorganization, contract consolidation and security changes. By Harrison Donnelly

Analytics in Operation

August 2014 Volume 18, Issue 5

Smallsats for the Tactical Edge

Modernization Competition

DISA Looks Ahead

Major General John B. Morrison Jr. Commanding General Army Network Enterprise Technology Command

“I would put our real main effort into two buckets. The first is continuing to build momentum on our comprehensive

network modernization

Departments 2 Editor’s Perspective 3 program notes/People 14 data bytes 26 COTSacopia 27 Resource Center

Industry Interview Mark Mills

Vice President and DCO Program Manager Carahsoft

effort. The second is to rapidly build and employ

cyber-mission forces and capabilities. What we’re trying to get after is

synchronizing operations and maintenance with defense of our Army networks.” —Major General John B. Morrison Jr.

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE

Military Information Technology Volume 18, Issue 5 • August 2014

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At the Defense Information System Agency’s recent annual Forecast to Industry event, Major General Alan Lynn, the agency’s vice director, offered an opinion widely shared among defense and other federal officials at a time of fiscal constraints: “Competition is good for us, so we’re going to try to compete as much of the contracts as we have coming out as possible.” However, the Department of Defense has not met its goals for competitive contracting for the past four years, and is actually experiencing a declining competition rate, according to Under Secretary of Defense Frank Kendall, who recently issued a policy memo aimed at Harrison Donnelly Editor improving DoD competition for products and services. Kendall’s memo outlined a number of steps for enhancing competition, beginning with focusing on the topic at senior-level meetings and using data analysis to find ways to do better. Other measures included asking companies why they decided not to bid on a project and increasing the requirements before officials can solicit non-competitive acquisitions. In addition, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics released a report on maintaining a competitive environment, which offers an incisive analysis of the factors that hold back competition, along with a number of practical ways to make it happen. Among other ideas, the report cited the benefits of using Open Systems Architectures (OSA), which enable programs to acquire components of a system from separate sources, and pointed to the Navy’s new Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) contract as an example. Designed to streamline and update shipboard networks, CANES will use OSA to eliminate many legacy, standalone networks on ships. After a lengthy contract-selection process, the Navy recently selected five companies—BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services, General Dynamics C4 Systems, Global Technical Systems, Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. and Serco—to participate in CANES. Each company will have to compete for work orders with a total cumulative value of $2.5 billion.

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PROGRAM NOTES Transmitter on a Chip Opens New Radio Vistas

Many existing compact, high-data-rate millimeter-wave wireless communications systems use integrated circuits (ICs) made with gallium arsenide or gallium nitride, which provide high power and efficiency in small packages but are costly to produce and difficult to integrate with silicon electronics that provide most other radio functions. Silicon ICs are less expensive to manufacture in volume than those with gallium compounds, but until now have not demonstrated sufficient power output and efficiency at millimeter-wave frequencies used for communications and many other military applications, such as radar and guidance systems. Researchers with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Efficient Linearized All-Silicon Transmitter ICs program recently demonstrated an all-silicon, microchip-sized transmitter—a system on a chip (SoC)— that operates at 94 GHz. This accomplishment marks the first time a silicon-only SoC has achieved such a high frequency, which falls in the millimeter-wave range. “What normally would require multiple circuit boards, separate metal-shielded assemblies and numerous I/O cables, we can now miniaturize onto one silicon chip about half the size of an adult’s thumbnail,” said Dev Palmer, program manager. “This accomplishment opens the door for co-designing digital complementary metal oxide semiconductors and millimeter-wave capabilities as an integrated system on an all-silicon chip, which should also make possible new design architectures for future military RF systems.” The all-silicon SoC transmitter uses a digitally-assisted power amplifier that dynamically adapts amplifier performance characteristics to changing signal requirements. This capability allows for simultaneous optimization of efficiency and linearity—a key goal of all transmitters and power amplifiers designed to quickly deliver large amounts of data on the emerging, net-dependent battlefield. www.MIT-kmi.com

Compiled by KMI Media Group staff

Staff Tool Migrates to Enterprise Environment With the support of the CommunicationsElectronic Command Software Engineering Center (CECOM SEC), the Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) recently completed the migration of its Staff Action Tracking Automation Tool (SATAT) to the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Enterprise Portal Services (DEPS) environment. The SATAT is used daily by over 150 unique IMCOM users to automate the collaboration, coordination, tracking, and approval or rejection of staff actions and tasks across the headquarters and regions. As a result of the migration, users will experience enhanced performance and improved records management and archiving capabilities for the tool. The work began in October 2013, when IMCOM’s SATAT was selected to be part of the Enterprise Content Management and Collaboration Service (ECMCS) pilot to provide Army organizations a consistent platform where geographically dispersed users would be able to collaborate across boundaries and access Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Enterprise features.

IMCOM selected the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) services team of CECOM SEC to execute the migration. The ECMCS pilot kicked off in April 2013, when the Army Acquisition Executive approved the CIO/G-6 proposal for the Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems to conduct the ECMCS pilot of the DISA-hosted and -managed solution for enterprise collaboration. The pilot was set for nine months, with goals related to evaluating the DISA-managed Enterprise Collaboration Solution, collecting data and metrics to inform the acquisition strategy and realizing new cost savings. “As one of the first complex customers for the Enterprise Content Management and Collaboration Services pilot, IMCOM demonstrated how the DISA DEPS environment increases both performance and collaboration capabilities for the Army,” said Mike Krieger, Army deputy CIO/G-6. “IMCOM’s transition data and feedback provide vital input to help the Army move towards a final enterprise solution.”

PEOPLE Karin E. Appel has been appointed to the Senior Executive Service and assigned as the director, joint information environment implementation, Office of the Department of Defense Chief Information Officer. Major General Stephen G. Fogarty, who most recently served as commanding general, Army Intelligence and Security Command, has been assigned as commanding general, Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon, Ga. He replaces Major General LaWarren V. Patterson, who has been assigned as deputy commanding general for operations/chief of staff, Installation Management Command, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.

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Colonel (Promotable) Karen H. Gibson, who has been serving as executive officer to the deputy chief of staff, G-2, Army, has been assigned as commander, Joint Force Headquarters-Cyber, Army Cyber Command, Fort Gordon.

Maj. Gen. James K. McLaughlin

Air Force Major General James K. McLaughlin has been nominated for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general and for assignment as deputy commander, U.S.

Cyber Command, Fort Meade, Md. McLaughlin is currently serving as commander, 24th Air Force, Air Force Space Command; and commander, Air Forces Cyber, U.S. Cyber Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. ViON Corp. has announced the appointment of Richard Breakiron as senior director of cyber solutions. Before assuming the new senior position at ViON, Breakiron was the Defense Information Systems Agency’s executive program director for the Joint Regional Security Stack, and previously served with the Army Chief Information Office, where he was the network capacity domain manager, serving as the lead for the Army-wide network modernization effort.

MIT 18.5 | 3

Big

As the military manages mind-boggling amounts of data, industry is offering a number of new approaches to storage problems.

Storage By Peter Buxbaum, MIT Correspondent

tiering systems are all part of big data storage solutions. At the same The U.S. military currently manages stored data in volumes time, innovative systems are being developed that allow enormous approaching the exabyte level. That’s 1,000 petabytes, 1 million teravolumes of data to be stored in boxes that can be transported and bytes or 1 billion gigabytes. And new data is being accumulated at the deployed in theaters of operations. rate of numerous petabytes annually. “Big data storage has been recognized by DoD as The problems associated with collecting, analyzone of its top technology focus areas,” said Audie Hiting, exploiting and disseminating data extend to stortle, federal chief technology officer, Isilon storage diviage as well. That trend will continue, say analysts, as sion, EMC corp. “It is essential to modern warfare.” long as commanders, warfighters and analysts have “Military applications for data storage differ from an insatiable appetite for data. civilian applications,” said Brian Houston, vice presiStoring large data sets is also taking a bigger bite dent of engineering at HDS Federal. “The military is out of IT budgets. Ten years ago, IT budgets included looking for analytics at the machine level. They want single-digit percentages for storage. Now, experts say, to tie data derived from unmanned aerial systems and that figure is approaching 30 percent. other sensors to mapping software. They need to deal There are a number of new approaches being with new data at a moment’s notice, apply analytics taken today to handle the storage problems associAudie Hittle across the data, and give answers back to the front ated with big data. Storage solutions appropriate for audie.hittle@isilon.com line. As a result, storage has to reside in one location Department of Defense applications must take into and on one platform, and has to be able to handle data formatted in account the fact that the military requires storage capacity at both multiple protocols.” the enterprise and tactical levels. “Military data users require storage products that meet their Technologies such as denser data storage capabilities, software tight size, weight and power constraints,” added Andrew Russette, that defines storage policies, and automated data prioritization and 4 | MIT 18.5

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a product manager at BAE Systems. “They need as much storage as they can get in as lightweight and as low-power footprint that they can get. They also need a solution that they can transport easily and ship around the world if needed, but that is also suitable to the data center.”

Network Attached Storage One storage architecture that is growing in popularity for military applications is called network attached storage (NAS). Many industry experts contend that this storage method brings greater efficiencies and utilities, especially for the military, when compared with two leading alternatives—direct attached storage (DAS) and storage area networks (SAN). DAS and SAN are typically deployed on dedicated infrastructures, while NAS shares infrastructure assets with other computing and storage assets. NAS has made efficiency strides beyond the capabilities of the other two alternatives, and also facilitates the portability of data storage capabilities for tactical applications. NAS architectures have been developed to remedy the shortcomings of direct attached storage, which dedicates storage assets to a particular computing node, noted Hittle. “DAS is like a home personal computer, which has the data storage as part of the computing device,” he said. “The DAS architecture has the tendency to create data silos that are not accessible to the rest of the enterprise. That is exactly what DoD is trying to get away from.” NAS, on the other hand, enables a client to act as storage for numerous kinds of data protocols, including SMB, NFS, HTTP, FTP and HDFS. “It can also handle data moving across different kinds of computing platforms, such as Linux and Windows as well as Apple and mobile operating systems,” said Hittle. EMC fields an Isilon product line that makes use of a technology called scale-out NAS. Scale-out NAS represents an improvement in data management over the traditional NAS architecture, according to Hittle. “With traditional NAS, requests for access to storage come in to a controller that manages a stack of disks,” he explained. “This presents a management problem and a scaling problem due to the issues associated with how many disks a controller can effectively manage before reaching peak performance. Each controller manages a limited amount of disk storage access.” EMC Isilon’s scale-out NAS approach allows storage to be accessed across the enterprise by any client over standard protocols. “With controllers, you can scale up by adding more disks. With our approach, you can add additional nodes to a cluster. Each node is selfcontained with computing capacity, disk storage and network connectivity, and each node is typically interconnected via a high-speed backbone connection. When an organization has additional storage requirements, they add additional nodes to the cluster. That’s scaling out, as opposed to scaling up. Computational performance is added along with storage capacity,” said Hittle. EMC Isilon’s OneFS operating system for disk storage uses software-defined storage capabilities to enhance the efficiency of storage capacity. “OneFS provides flexibility for users to define policies for managing and storing data and protecting them at different levels,” said Hittle. “This enables easy scaling from a few terabytes to 20 petabytes. The data is broken down into chunks and stored on multiple disks. This also enables file protection and requires fewer, typically one, backup redundant file copies.” www.MIT-kmi.com

Other types of storage configurations, such as the traditional redundant array of independent disks (RAID), require four or more redundant copies. OneFS also enables higher disk utilization rates. RAID-based storage typically averages 30 to 40 percent utilization, according to Hittle, while optical environments typically achieve 50 to 60 percent. “Isilon typically achieves 80 to 85 percent storage utilization,” he said. EMC’s scale-out NAS environment is specifically designed to accommodate unstructured data such as the audio, video and imagery files vitally important to military intelligence. “Users access enterprise storage as opposed to a direct attached storage silo,” said Hittle. “The military has been struggling to eliminate silos to share information and create a more collaborative environment.”

Preservation Platform HDS Federal’s approach to big data storage concentrates on minimizing the costs and maximizing the efficiencies of long-term data storage. “Not all data needs to be living in the higher-speed and higher-performing storage tiers,” said Houston. “Lower-priority data should be driven down to lower tiers for archiving.” The Hitachi Digital Preservation Platform (HDPP) emphasizes pushing the data stored on traditional spinning disks, together with their metadata, down to an optical storage environment for archiving. “The data can survive in that environment for 1,000 years and not have the degradation experience with spinning disks,” he explained. HDPP represents a multi-tiered storage environment, which can include disks and flash media as well as optical storage. “But all the tiers have a single management interface through the entire stack,” said Houston. “It doesn’t matter where or on what kind of media the data is living.” The optical storage medium has the effect of reducing the power requirements of data storage as well as its costs, according to Houston. “The technology keeps advancing. The new generation of optical disks allows data preservation for 1,000 years with multiple petabytes of data in a single rack using 1 kilowatt of power. When you are looking at preserving large volumes of data for long periods of time, you need to look at costs. It costs a lot less to preserve data on optical media than on spinning disks.” Tactical applications require large volumes of data to be stored in ruggedized packages that are easy on size, weight and power. Trenton Systems’ TSS5203 rugged military storage server, for example, is designed to enable big data storage capacities for military applications that require a high degree of performance, security and system longevity. The server is built with COTS hardware in a modular design configurable for individual applications. The TSS5203 has been configured to store upwards of 100 terabytes in a single box. “There are a number of issues that we address with our military systems,” said Jim Renehan, director of marketing and business development at Trenton Systems. “Military end-users are gathering a lot of different data from many different sources. The single box includes a distributed and modular architecture so that it can run different types of applications and handle different levels of security classifications. “We use standardized backplanes and COTS plug-in cards, but we can mix and match them and create different kinds of configurations MIT 18.5 | 5

TeraStar design also emphasizes ease of use. “The with single or dual processors depending on the military often rotates out staff, so you don’t want to applications that are going to be running on the train personnel every time there is a staff change. We server,” said Renehan. “We use standardized hardware studied the simplest way of doing things while meetin custom configurations to suit the unique applicaing the lowest size, weight and power requirements tions needs of the individual end-user.” we tested the system against the lowest common In one particular application, a military end-user denominator.” needed to support a large array of storage drives for EMC recently announced that next year it will data-gathering missions. “They needed a way to supintroduce a OneFS version for tactical deployments port RAID 60,” a type of redundant drive array, said that can run on a basic personal computer. “The Renehan. “We provided a combination of internal system can operate independently and then sync itself drives to carry critical operating system and appliJim Renehan with theater-based and strategic systems upon better cation information, along with an array of 48 front connectivity to the network,” said Hittle. access drives in a box. If the mission experienced some catastrophic The new product will be particularly applicable to ISR operations, failure, they would have lost no more than a minimum number of he added. “We are able to apply industry-leading COTS technologies drives in the array, and could still go forward with the mission.” to help drive ISR transformation by providing a very simple and agile The modularity of the box architecture allows for the collection capability. It will offer a very simple user interface so that junior of a variety of different types of data in a single unit. “Users can move enlisted personnel can be involved in managing data storage.” the configuration around based on the operational needs of the misIn addition, all of the processes, such as ingestion and distribusion,” said Renehan. “One of the configurations within the box might tion of data and the configuration of additional nodes in the network, be gathering video information from a variety of video sources, while will be automated. “Data is distributed automatically across the another might be collecting signals intelligence. Depending on the network depending on the file level and the security and protection demands of the mission, users can change the configuration of the required,” said Hittle. “Another important factor for ISR users is that system on the fly. The modularity of the architecture allows them to the new product will have a high ingest rate. Large volumes of data do that.” will be able to be ingested, analyzed immediately and disseminated One of the biggest technology drivers enabling the innovations as required.” incorporated by Trenton Systems is the advances in data throughput and speed of the serial connectors incorporated in the box. “Hand in hand with that is the evolution of processor core technology. More Flash Storage processors allow segmentation down to the core level. This allows more applications to exist in smaller boxes, and the ability to run Future big data storage solutions are expected to make increasmultiple applications within the same box,” Renehan explained. ing use of flash storage, according to Russette. “Military customers want to have as much storage density as possible, but also to retrieve data as quickly as possible,” he said, “Flash storage provides a much Hyperscale Solution higher throughput than standard hard drives.” Flash storage is a solid-state medium that offers a very high level When BAE Systems began to design its TeraStar small form of data storage density, but at higher prices than disk storage. factor data storage system, it threw away 20 years of legacy design HDS Federal is focusing on developments in optical storage and started from scratch. “We have heard from our customers that media because, among other reasons, storage density will continue they want these solutions to be enterprise grade and at hyperscale,” to grow while power demands will remain flat. “We are taking the said Russette. “They want low power consumption, low cost and low lead from optical technology manufacturers, who are responding weight, but with the ability to handle high volumes of data.” to requirements in the movie and video industry,” said Houston. To minimize weight, BAE uses all-aluminum construction with “In a year or two, 50 to 300 petabytes will be able to be stored in a TeraStar. Power consumption is managed very tightly, so that there single server quartile. But no matter the density of the optical disk, is no waste. The company also designed the orientation of the box in the power requirements will not change. This provides the ability to order to increase the storage density. grow out without affecting power requirements and costs.” “We use a side loading bay as opposed to front loading, which Renehan sees more big data storage solutions moving out of the allows us to double the number of disks we can fit in the box,” he back room and into the kind of portable boxes that Trenton Systems noted. and others are fielding. Russette has seen a surge in interest in the NAS architecture “The kinds of technology and architecture innovations that among BAE’s military customers. “NAS systems can function indemade possible our military mobile servers will only accelerate in the pendently,” he said. “You don’t need a central system to control total future,” he said. “We will see more big data capabilities pushed down disk storage. The box can be moved to another location where a to smaller computer platforms. We will have data concentrators or controller might not be accessible. Portability has taken a front seat. gatherers using these smaller platforms to push data back to the big Storage area networks and cluster accessibility have moved to the iron servers back mission headquarters.” O background.” By contrast, all of the disk arrays in storage area networks “are slaves to one master system,” Russette added. “Many chassis can be For more information, contact MIT Editor Harrison Donnelly attached to one master, but they don’t function without the controlat harrisond@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives ler present and attached. NAS systems can function on their own for related stories at www.mit-kmi.com. because computing capacity is incorporated in the unit.” 6 | MIT 18.5

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Analytics in Operation

Automated, embedded analytics processes provide useful insights in the timeframe required to make the decisions that need to be made.

By Harrison Donnelly, MIT Editor have algorithms running to identify that certain terms or topics are As military and intelligence analysts increasingly rely on big data being used, and putting it all in context. analytics to understand the present and predict the future, there is “The more you have algorithms that highlight points of interest growing interest in systems that will take that to the next step by probased on the analysis being done, while telling the analyst to ignore viding useful insights in the timeframe required to make the decisions other information, [the more] you’re helping focus people. It’s hard that need to be made. for people to look at hundreds of emails, but the computer doesn’t get Known as operational analytics, this concept of real-time or tired. It can continue to run the same procedures again near-real-time understanding of events as they occur and again with precision. The key, of course, is to build offers unique potential value to the military for everyprocedures that achieve the objective,” he said. thing from vehicle maintenance to cyber-defense, But while the emphasis is on immediacy, operaaccording to Bill Franks, chief analytics officer for Terational analytics is more about decision time than real data and author of the upcoming book, “The Analytics time. “There are a lot of cases when you don’t necesRevolution.” sarily have to have it in real time. What you need is the While organizations in the military, intelligence information in the timeframe required to execute the and other fields have been using analytical processes analysis and make the decision that needs to be made,” to improve their operations for some time, Franks Franks observed. contends that they now need to transition to embed“You can over-engineer systems, aiming for truly ded, automated analytics processes that can support Bill Franks real time, and that could be more costly and complex timely actions. For example, it’s the difference between bill.franks@teradata.com than it needs to be, if you don’t need to make the decireacting to a truck engine problem once it occurs and sions in real time,” he said, while adding, “It’s hard to think of other seeing the problem developing in advance and moving to prevent it. examples where things change as fast as they might during a military “It’s not that organizations have failed to apply analytics to operaoperation, and where those changes can be as unexpected and serious.” tional issues,” Franks said. “However, in most cases it is what I call the operational application of traditional analytics. This is where I run something in batch mode over a weekend to identify which vehicle Deployment Challenges looks like it may need some tuning or maintenance work, for example. The results of that can lead to getting the vehicle serviced. The good news about operational analytics is that it doesn’t have “Operational analytics, by contrast, are about starting to embed to be invented from scratch, Franks said, although there is still plenty the analytic processes within the business processes. If you’re talking of hard work involved. “You start with the analytics that are already about maintenance of a vehicle, operational analytics is when you have adding value, which organizations should have. The analytics you are sensor data being captured in the vehicle as it’s running, and you’re making operational are typically going to be the analytics that you also analyzing the data as it’s running, so that you can have an alert have already built and deployed in a traditional batch fashion. When that the engine is going to overheat within 10 minutes if you don’t do you want to make them operational, the additional challenge is to take something,” he explained. a finding that was done in batch form and was not necessarily scalable, “That’s where you get into operational analytics,” Franks continand rewrite it to get the algorithms embedded in the systems that have ued. “It’s something that is embedded, is occurring automatically, to take action. and is causing something, such as an alert or preventative engine “Making analytics operational goes further than traditional proshutdown, to happen. Historically, to capture that data, you would cesses, but doesn’t replace them,” he added. “You still have to design, have to upload it at night, when the vehicle was back in base, and then prototype and test physical products before you turn on the assembly analyze it. We might have been able to see a pattern that showed that line. With operational analytics, you still have to identify the problem, the engine was going to overheat, but we wouldn’t know that until build and test the analytics process, and figure out how to scale the later when we got the data and it was too late. That’s one example of analytics before you turn them on to run automatically.” the distinction that organizations are starting to have to make to get Developing operational analytics is an iterative process requiring the maximum impact.” constant adjustment, he noted. “In the case of a cyber-attack, if there is The concept can work as well in tracking social movements as in something brand new and unexpected that happens, the processes you maintaining engines, Franks suggested, provided the processes are had in place weren’t prepared to handle that scenario. The algorithms well-designed and automated. “If you replace the concept of sensors you had for fighting a traditional attack might have to be adjusted in an engine with collecting information from social media, you could or replaced. 8 | MIT 18.5

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“If you’re lucky, a new attack is the same type of cyber-attack, and the algorithms you have can turn it off. If not, as you learn what the cyber-attack is, you have to build new operational processes to ward it off in the future. But it would be more of a hands-on fight the first time,” Franks said. The challenges of deploying operational analytics lie not only in creating the optimal algorithms, but also in winning support within an organization. “Another big component is [adjusting to] the cultural and political issues around making people comfortable with having algorithms automatically making decisions on their behalf. People may not be fond of having algorithms make decisions on things they had decided before,” he said. Franks continued: “You have to get the organization used to doing things in a different way, and educate people on why this is a good thing. For example, if you can automate some decisions for me, then I can concentrate on other decisions that can’t be automated and solve new problems. Rather than going through pieces of intelligence manually, wouldn’t it be better if you could spend your time looking at the handful of things that were found through analytics to be potentially worthwhile, and have time to think about and investigate them?” Looking ahead, Franks used another automotive metaphor to describe the future progress of operational analytics. “You start out with some simpler problems, and when you figure out how those work, then you can start to ramp it up. When you think about cars, for example, they have had anti-lock brakes for some time now, and some

are now getting automatic braking capability, so the car applies the brakes when it senses an obstacle ahead. “That’s a form of operational analytics. You have a car sensor collecting data on your speed and that of the object in front of you, and whether you can stop in time. If not, it will start to apply the brakes— it’s pretty simple analytics, but has a high impact,” he said. The next level is like a self-driving car, he added. “Now you are talking about how to stay in a lane, which is pretty easy when it’s a nice day and you can see the lines—an algorithm can do it now. But if it’s night, rainy or the road isn’t in good condition, you have to have the automated car enabled with sophisticated analytics to figure out how to stay in the lane. So instead of just a sensor looking at speed, and how far a barrier is, now you’re talking about having multiple image processing algorithms running against images of the road ahead in real time to identify which of the paths forward appears best to keep the car in lane. “That’s much more sophisticated than an anti-lock braking algorithm. But without having gone through the process of getting some of the basic things, like the braking algorithm, in place, it would have been hard to get there. What we’re going to see is the increased sophistication of approaches,” Franks said. 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.

Making

BIG DATA

Actionable

Harvard Business Review and Bill Franks, well-known author and Chief Analytics Officer for Teradata Corporation, teamed up in a recent webinar titled Making Big Data Actionable. Read this webinar summary to learn how new tools are the key to finding real value in your data. Powerful visualization tools make data actionable…by embedding analytics into agency processes for automated, real-time, decision-facilitating insights. In addition to this webinar summary, look for Bill Franks’ new book this fall, The Analytics Revolution.

Download the webinar summary at www.Teradata.com/HBRandTeradata

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MIT 18.5 | 9

Smallsats for the Tactical Edge SOCOM launch highlights tiny orbiters’ potential for supporting warfighters in field operations. By Harrison Donnelly, MIT Editor long relied on satellite capabilities, including GPS or imaging. But With their promise of on-demand communications capabilities smallsats bring dedicated sensors that units can use at will and get and near-real-time ISR, small satellites are emerging as potentially near-real-time data in response. Tasking a satellite to image an area key tools of the future for special forces and others operating at the over the next hill and getting that data back in near-real time will extreme tactical edge. really give them an advantage on the battlefield,” said Victor Gardner, Comparatively cheap and easy to launch in large numbers, small satellite project manager, Kratos Defense and Security Solusmallsats are attracting growing interest throughout the satellite tions, which recently introduced a lightweight, portable C2 system world, which is busily sending up a cloud of the lightweight devices designed specifically for small satellite missions. for research and commercial purposes. But some of the biggest benIn addition to the appeal of relatively low-cost satellites during an eficiaries may turn out to be small-unit warfighters who gain access era of constrained budgets, another major driver for smallsats is the to satellite capabilities previously available only to larger commands. booming popularity of satellite technology around, or rather above, Smallsats can be of varying size, including nano-satellites (up to the globe. “Space is no longer the exclusive arena for a few major 10 kilograms) or micro-satellites (10-150 kilograms). The best-known world powers,” said Robert Zitz, an intelligence community veteran format is the CubeSat, which has a standardized volume of 1 liter, who currently serves as senior vice president and chief systems archiweighs up to 1.3 kilograms and generally uses COTS components. tect for Leidos. “There are now over 60 nations in space, and 12 that The level of interest in smallsats for a variety of security uses, can potentially launch systems into space. It has become congested, including tactical operations, was evident in the launch late last contested and competitive. year of a total of 29 CubeSats by the Department of Defense Office “Therefore our systems do not just need to be more affordable; of Operationally Responsive Space (ORS). The devices included eight they must have assured availability, which requires more resilient U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Prometheus CubeSats constellation designs and the ability to reconstitute developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory as part capabilities. To accomplish this, we need to disaggreof a program exploring their potential value for spegate capabilities, fly these on more affordable buses cial operations forces missions. and have the ability for ground and on-orbit spares. The Prometheus satellites, with a price tag of To enable this, we need smaller, simpler payloads less than $100,000 each and a service life of up to and more affordable commodity buses.” five years, will be tested for their ability to transmit “One can imagine a day,” Zitz continued, “when audio, video and data from remote field units to U.S. forces rapidly deploying into a crisis region rely ground stations using over-the-horizon SATCOM. on on-demand launch of small satellites to provide “The Prometheus CubeSat demonstration will them with eyes and ears on target, with revisits, provide the information needed to evaluate the sensor selections and communications capabilities innovative management, design and development Victor Gardner tailored for the particular situation. These tailored processes utilized; new technology developed; potential concept of operations for a tactically controlled victor.gardner@kratosdefense.com capabilities will be supported by tasking, processing, exploitation and dissemination systems that put direct space system; the operational utility of a CubeSat control of these assets in the hands of the combatant system; and potential costs and capabilities associated forces.” with various operational configurations to determine Along with using smallsats such as Prometheus, whether or not USSOCOM will transition the effort field operators also could use imagery and services to operational use, continue development of future from the growing number of private companies in CubeSat systems, or invest in other emerging techthis field. Skybox Imaging, for example, plans to have nologies,” Major Ethan W. Mattox wrote in a recent a constellation of 24 satellites in orbit in five years, issue of The Space Review. Mattox is currently a space enabling it to revisit any point on Earth up to five to integrations officer, Headquarters SOCOM, where he seven times daily. oversees space capability requirements development for special operations mission areas. Robert Zitz Industry observers see smallsats as a major operaField Communications tional advantage for tactical users, as well as a promising new market of products for those users. Given their reduced size, smallsats are only able to offer limited “The biggest impact will be bringing the technology to the fincapabilities, such as lower image resolution, compared with larger gertips of the tactical user. Special ops and Army tactical users have units. Their advantage is that it is financially possible to build a 10 | MIT 18.5

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constellation of smallsats—perhaps for no more than the cost of a single large satellite—that is large enough to dedicate individual devices to meet the needs of specific units. In communications, a major use will be to enable point-to-point communications between units engaged in fast-moving field operations, especially in rugged conditions where line-of-sight connections are rare. “Other uses could be store-and-forward communications and being able to support mission areas such as data exfill/infill, where you may be storing signals when you are over an area of interest and then downloading that data later to a tactical user,” Gardner noted. Another potential use with particular applicability to special operations could be to support tagging, tracking and locating suspected adversaries. “In terms of ISR, tactical users have traditionally had to request the data that they are interested in through national technical means, which could mean waiting for days for the data. But dedicated smallsats allow the tactical user to request an image 15 miles away and get a response in near real time, so they would know what sort of enemy territory they were walking into,” Gardner explained. Still, even the strongest advocates of smallsats acknowledge the tradeoffs, particularly in the area of image resolution. The advantage of big, expensive satellites is that they have large apertures and can capture very high-resolution images, while a smallsat can only accommodate a smaller camera. “So you’ll get more of a mediumresolution image, which is probably fine for most needs, but definitely not all,” he added. Another disadvantage concerns persistent coverage. “Smallsats traditionally operate in a low-Earth orbit, which means they are only going to be overhead for 15-20 minutes at a time,” Gardner noted. “That means only 90 minutes to 2 hours every day, so the rest of the time you are out of view. You can overcome those disadvantages, however. In terms of persistence, a constellation of smallsats solves that problem, because if you have a dozen or two dozen satellites that you are communicating with, one will be overhead at any point in time.” In addition, the whole idea of tactically-responsive smallsats depends on the ability to get the devices into orbit on short notice, which in turn requires a fleet of small, on-demand launch vehicles. “Without dedicated launch systems, small satellites must wait for a ride on a larger launch vehicle, which may be months to years away from launch and may place the small satellite in a sub-optimal orbit,” said Zitz. A number of initiatives are underway, including those developed by SpaceX and the European Vega project, to provide faster and cheaper launch capabilities. Another challenge involves ensuring that smallsats fit into users’ enterprise architectures in order to avoid stovepiped data feeds that are not interoperable and therefore not useful to as many users, Zitz said. “To address this, the future of ground systems is changing, with open systems architectures and service-oriented architecture systems becoming the next generation. One key in disaggregation and use of small satellites will be the ability to share data from a variety of space systems into various ground systems architectures.”

Ground Control The paradox of smallsats for tactical operations is that while small units stand to gain the most, they are also less likely to include www.MIT-kmi.com

QuantumCMD’s web interface is designed to allow non-technical and tactical users to easily get the data they need and task the satellite to support their mission needs. [Image courtesy of Kratos]

a satellite specialist or have the ability to transport heavy ground equipment to take full advantage of the benefits. “One of the biggest challenges we saw in operationalizing smallsats to the tactical user was in being able to create a CONOPS that allowed the user to reap all of the advantages of the technology. Some of the major challenges included tasking: How does the tactical user not have to be a satellite operator, and instead simply focus their time on what they need to do in the field? So simplified or automated tasking was one of the major areas that we tried to put a lot of development into,” said Gardner. “Another challenge to operationalizing smallsats is the housekeeping tasks that all satellites have,” he said. “If you have an issue on the satellite and need to make adjustments to reaction wheels, solar arrays or power subsystems, the tactical user isn’t the one to do that. So that needs to be automated, and to happen behind the scenes.” In response to those needs, Kratos earlier this year released quantumCMD, which consolidates telemetry, tracking and command functions in a single off-the-shelf product. QuantumCMD includes all needed hardware and software for small satellite operations, with features such as complete automation capabilities that support a dynamic CONOPS or even fully-automated “lights out” operations if desired. Additionally, the built-in HTML5-based Web server and browser-based interface enable anywhere access and operations. “The backend is based on the command and control systems we have built for big satellites. It takes the same core technology, but pulls out the requirements for telemetry display, sending commands and automating, and integrates those into a single software solution that can be deployed easily to a smallsat user, whether for tactical or strategic use,” Gardner said. QuantumCMD is already being used by a company called Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, which purchased quantumCMD to perform C2 functions for its two Endeavor product line nano-satellites launched as part of NASA’s CubeSat Proximity Operations Demonstration (CPOD) mission. The CPOD mission will demonstrate the ability of two small nano-satellites to remain at determined points relative to each other, as well as precision circumnavigation and docking using imaging sensors and a multi-thruster cold gas propulsion system. 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 18.5 | 11

Network Extension Offers Versatile Tool Army’s mobile network hotspot supports deployed soldiers with communications and command capabilities. It’s a mobile network hotspot, the bird’s eye view of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or a command post on wheels. The Soldier Network Extension (SNE) is becoming the Army’s chameleon of network communications. Originally designed to provide communication and network extension capabilities down to the company level, the SNE showed its versatility in Afghanistan, where deployed soldiers adapted these network-equipped vehicles to support their evolving and oftenunique mission requirements. “We used SNEs a little bit differently in Afghanistan,” said Specialist Christopher Glenn, a nodal network systems operatormaintainer for 2-30 Infantry Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team (BCT), 10th Mountain Division. “One of the ways we used the SNE was as a mobile tactical operations center (TOC). If we were moving to a different forward operating base, we would park it beside the building and run wires into the building and actually run laptops off of the vehicle itself. So we used it both mobile and standing still.” Using the SNE as a mobile network hotspot became common among soldiers in Afghanistan, who used the capability to provide reachback connectivity for multiple personnel. They plugged in several laptops and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones without the need of cell towers or cable lines, which was essential in Afghanistan given that the Army is drawing down its forces and dismantling its network infrastructure. During Operation Enduring Freedom, “commands would roll out with the SNE and have sure communications,” said Sergeant 12 | MIT 18.5

By Amy Walker

Cody Lotter, multichannel transmission systems operator-maintainer for 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 4/10 MTN. “Instead of having to carry out a lot of equipment, deploy it and set it up, you are already set up; you have everything you need right there.” Soldiers are also using screens inside the SNEs to view UAV feeds. Instead of just seeing the battlefield directly in front of them, soldiers on the move inside the SNE have a 360-degree bird’s eye view of their entire area of operations and any potential threats that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. “While they were out on patrol [in Afghanistan], soldiers were using the screen that would monitor the UAVs, which is amazing because if you can watch something from over top of you, it saves you a lot of trouble—say you don’t notice something out of the window,” Lotter said. “That is a great improvement. You also had fires guys in the vehicle watching the feed, so they could have a point of view as to what was going on and if they were going to get or need calls for fire.” All of the SNEs are equipped with network ports that fires and intelligence soldiers can plug their specific hardware into, which provides them instant connectivity to the larger networks. This capability will enable forward observers and fire support officers to execute operations at the maneuver platoon to brigade levels. The SNE retransmits that data to the command post to support decision making. The SNE and the Point of Presence (PoP), the SNE’s sister capability that enables mission command on-the-move at the battalion www.MIT-kmi.com

Warfighter Information Network-Tactical Increment 2 was installed on High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles rather than the larger, heavier mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles platforms for units like the 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division, which have unique transport requirements. [Photo courtesy of U.S. Army/CPT Keith Jordan, SoSE&I]

level and above, are both elements of Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 2, the Army’s mobile tactical communications network. WIN-T Increment 2 optimizes advanced satellite and radio capabilities to provide mobile, high-capacity voice, video and data anytime, anywhere. For most units that have been equipped with WIN-T Increment 2 to date, the network communication capabilities of the SNE and the PoP are integrated onto variants of the mine-resistant, ambushprotected (MRAP) vehicle fleet. Several HMMWV variants, which are smaller and lighter than MRAPs, are also being integrated with the capabilities to meet the needs of units with unique transport requirements. SNEs and PoPs are also being integrated onto Strykers to support Stryker BCTs. WIN-T Increment 2 is the mobile network backbone of the Army’s capability sets (CS), a collection of advanced network equipment that provides integrated tactical communications connectivity across the BCT. BCTs fielded with the first network package, CS 13, deployed to Afghanistan as Security Force Assistance Brigades. These unique units operate in different configurations than a typical BCT to help the U.S. execute advise-and-assist missions and retrograde operations. “During route clearance patrols, soldiers would use the SNEs to stay in touch with the TOC to coordinate what was going on,” Lotter said. “On patrol, they would talk to the locals and work with the Afghan army that was over there and exchange information with the TOC.” Soldiers also use the SNE to retransmit radio signals. Its Combat Network Radio (CNR) Gateway allows users to connect disparate radio networks over vast distances and terrain obstructions such as mountains, greatly expanding the operational reach of the network. Additionally, the system’s radio cross-banding capability enables different radio networks to talk to each other so everyone can communicate regardless of which radio and waveform they are using. “The CNR Gateway in the SNE is going to allow commanders in the rear who are not geographically located with the forward elements to communicate with dismounted units,” said Second Lieutenant Michael Bouchard, an assistant operations officer with www.MIT-kmi.com

These Stryker vehicles were integrated with the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical Increment 2 Soldier Network Extension capability in preparation for Network Integration Evaluation 15.1 this fall. [Photo courtesy of U.S. Army]

1-325 Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division, whose unit is being fielded with WIN-T Increment 2. “You can use any VoIP phone to call the SNE to get on the CNR Gateway and it will put you through to the dismounted FM or short-range radio frequency.” Since necessity is often the mother of invention, the Army expects to see many more innovative uses of these adaptable network capabilities as soldiers continue to use WIN-T Increment 2 and face new challenges in both training and future operations. Although the WIN-T Increment 2-equipped units in Afghanistan are returning home as the U.S. draws down its forces, the Army is continuing to leverage user feedback to improve network capability in support of the full range of military operations. “We took the SNE and the PoP out in Afghanistan, but most of the time it was the SNE,” said Sergeant Kenneth Dunbar, Bravo Troop 3/89 Cavalry, 4/10 MTN. “Having Increment 2 in Afghanistan made operations very versatile, no matter where we were.” O Amy Walker is a staff writer for Symbolic Systems, supporting the Program Executive Office Command, Control, and Communications-Tactical PM WIN-T and Miltech Solutions.

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 18.5 | 13

DATA BYTES Cockpit Upgrade Features Software-Only Solutions

Redstone Defense Systems has selected Northrop Grumman to supply and integrate mission avionics equipment for a digital cockpit upgrade of the U.S. Army’s UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters. Northrop Grumman will provide a scalable, fully integrated mission equipment package for the UH60L cockpit and will replace the older analog gauges with digital electronic instrument displays. The new designation for this upgraded aircraft will be UH-60V. The system virtually replicates the newer UH60M pilot-vehicle interface, providing a common training environment. Northrop Grumman’s design solution has already been demonstrated through a flight test on a UH-60L helicopter. The system features a centralized processor with a partitioned, modular operational flight program with an integrated architecture that enables new capabilities through software-only solutions rather than hardware additions. The architecture maximizes the UH-60L platform performance and reliability while minimizing total life cycle cost. The system is also smaller in size, lower in weight and requires less power than legacy processing systems.

Containerization Solution Gains Security Approval Secure Work Space for iOS and Android, a multi-platform containerization solution managed through BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 (BES10), has received Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) approval from the Defense Information Systems Agency. In addition to BlackBerry 10 smartphones, Department of Defense customers can now use iOS and Android smartphones and tablets connected to the BES10 Enterprise Mobility Management solution. The STIG approval provides additional confidence for government agencies considering a more open mobile environment with a selection of devices and operating systems. The approval solidifies BlackBerry’s security capabilities for the transfer of sensitive data on third-party devices. With Secure Work Space, BES10 protocols for data-at-rest and data-in-transit are extended to iOS and Android devices, including smartphones and tablets. This means sensitive data remains protected and secure while being transmitted through vulnerable channels.

Joint Solution Combines Search, Scale-Out Storage Quantum has announced the integration of the FireEye Network Forensics Platform with Quantum’s StorNext scale-out storage. Combining high-speed packet indexing and search from FireEye with scale-out storage from Quantum, the joint solution provides organizations with access to months of network traffic data to quickly conduct incident response in the event of a breach. The joint FireEye-Quantum solution utilizes the FireEye Network Forensics Platform to capture, index and store connection and packet information at up to 30 million packets per second. Quantum’s StorNext 5

provides the high-performance, scale-out storage repository for forensic data generated by the FireEye platform along with policy-based tiering that enables organizations to match the cost of storage to their need for data access during forensic analysis. This ability to capture network traffic data in real time and preserve it for network forensics is critical to resolving a cyber-attack. Examining full packet data allows investigators to understand attackers’ tools, techniques and procedures, enabling them to improve their network defenses and assist others via threat intelligence sharing.

New Features Enhance Network Control Suite Riverbed Technology, a provider of application performance infrastructure, has announced new features to the Riverbed SteelCentral Network Planning and Configuration Management (NPCM) product family (formerly OPNET Network Engineering, Operations and Planning). SteelCentral NPCM helps ensure the availability of business-critical network services by detecting network device configuration errors before an outage in business-critical services. In addition, NPCM helps with

14 | MIT 18.5

security standards compliance by discovering and highlighting network configuration errors and differences. SteelCentral NPCM products are part of the Riverbed SteelCentral product family, the only performance management and control suite that combines user experience, application and network performance management to provide the visibility needed to diagnose and cure issues before end-users notice a problem, call the help desk to complain or jump to another website out of frustration.

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Compiled by KMI Media Group staff

Satellite Services Include Network Architecture, Monitoring Artel has been awarded a COMSATCOM Transponded Capacity task order by the Defense Information Systems Agency Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DISA-DITCO), under the Future COMSATCOM Services Acquisition contract. The total contract value of $43.4 million includes one base year of performance and four oneyear options. Artel will provide Ku-band space segment to a Department of Defense customer. Other services include network architecture; contingency support; real-time monitoring; and host nation approval support for terminal licenses for operations in host countries. DISADITCO is utilizing this important procurement vehicle to deploy satellite bandwidth to the DoD customer in support of their mission needs in select global regions.

Upgraded Radio Offers Modern Cryptography In a recent software demonstration at the Army’s Redstone Arsenal Engineering Lab in Huntsville, Ala., Raytheon’s newest RT-1987 radio successfully interfaced with the multiple flight management systems that control the radio and provide status updates to the aircrew. Along with supporting all of the legacy capabilities of the existing radio, the upgraded version will include two significant features—modern cryptography capabilities that offer data security and seamless support of the Mobile User Objective System satellite communications network, providing more than 10 times the capacity of the legacy system it replaces. The RT-1987 radio is the newest member of Raytheon’s SkyFire family of software-defined radios for rotary and fixed wing, manned and unmanned aircraft. It meets the requirements of Joint Tactical Radio System software standards. The SkyFire radios implement the Software Communication Architecture, making it easy to port a waveform from the government repository. SkyFire radios support numerous additional capabilities, including the new Soldier Radio Waveform, which was demonstrated to the Army last year.

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Multi-Mission Aircraft Shows High Mission Availability Textron AirLand, a joint venture between Textron and AirLand Enterprises, has announced that its Scorpion aircraft has completed operations in support of Vigilant Guard 2014, a Northern Command and Kansas National Guard training exercise demonstrating the capabilities of emergency response agencies at all levels of government, both military and civil. With over 2,000 local, state and federal personnel participating, Scorpion

provided color high-definition multi-spectral aerial reconnaissance full-motion video and communications with other aircraft and ground stations. Demonstrating a 100 percent mission availability rate, Scorpion supported rapidlychanging events on the ground, providing the Joint Task Force Commander crucial incident awareness to dynamically re-task surveillance and first responder teams as the complex disaster relief scenarios evolved.

Contract Supports Navy SATCOM Station The Navy has awarded Rome Research Corp., a subsidiary of PAR Technology Corp., a five-year firm-fixedprice contract with a potential total value of $23.5 million to operate and maintain the Navy Satellite Communications Facility (NAVSATCOMMFAC) Northwest, located in Chesapeake, Va., and a component activity of the Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Atlantic, Norfolk, Va. NAVSATCOMMFAC Northwest is a premier information gateway supporting the Defense Information Systems Agency Global Information Grid, and is one of seven Department of Defense

Teleport facilities worldwide providing both satellite and terrestrial connectivity for voice, video and data to ships, submarines, aircraft and ground forces operating worldwide in support of Naval and Joint Forces Missions. Under the contract, RRC will provide 24/7/365 operation and maintenance of 27 satellite terminals operating in both the military and civilian satellite communication frequency bands. Specific program support includes the Defense Satellite Communications System, Teleport Program Office, Mobile User Objective System and other voice, data and video programs.

Maritime Test Bed Designed for Limited Bandwidth Using a newly-developed advanced maritime test bed, Lockheed Martin has demonstrated how continually evolving technologies such as data fusion and predictive analytics can be used to share intelligence quickly and securely, even in limited-bandwidth naval settings. This new software test platform, designed to mimic different naval environments at sea and on shore, allows Lockheed Martin to validate sophisticated intelligence, communications and sensor systems before they are introduced in an operational setting. In its recent demonstration, Lockheed Martin used its test bed to illustrate how the Navy could fuse simulated Aegis radar data with other integrated ISR sensor data to provide a comprehensive picture of the battlespace. Throughout the scenario, the test bed

collected, analyzed and processed the data, then distributed the data to simulated platforms at sea and on shore. This collaborative atmosphere allowed users to operate more efficiently, since all units had access to integrated ISR-related activities, which in turn improved situational awareness and battle management planning. MIT 18.5 | 15

Network Modernizer

Q& A

Synchronizing Operations and Maintenance with Network Defense Major General John B. Morrison Jr. Commanding General Army Network Enterprise Technology Command Major General John B. Morrison Jr. received his commission through ROTC at James Madison University, where he graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, majoring in marketing. He also holds a Master of Science degree in telecommunications management from Webster University and a Master of Strategic Resourcing from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Morrison’s previous assignments include service as platoon leader and assistant S-3 in the 1st Signal Battalion, 7th Signal Brigade, in Kaiserslautern, Germany. He later commanded B Company, 1st Signal Battalion and deployed as part of the 93rd Signal Brigade, VII Corps, during the Persian Gulf War. In 1992, he was assigned to Fort Bragg, N.C., as assistant brigade S-3, 35th Signal Brigade (Airborne) and then as the assistant operations officer for the 50th Signal Battalion (Corps, Forced Entry, Airborne), where he participated in the Hurricane Andrew relief effort in Florida and provided support for Operation Uphold Democracy. In 1995, Morrison served as an intern in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and as an action officer on the Army Staff (G-8) in the Pentagon. He also served as the deputy G-6, 1st Cavalry Division and Multi-National Division (North) in BosniaHerzegovina and later as the Battalion S-3 for the 13th Signal Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. He then served in the Command, Control, Communications, and Computers Systems Directorate (J-6), Joint Staff, and later commanded the 13th Signal Battalion (Task Force Mercury) supporting the 1st Cavalry Division and Task Force Baghdad in Iraq. In 2005, Morrison served as the signal branch chief, Human Resources Command, in Alexandria, Va., and later commanded the globally-deployed Joint Communications Support Element from 2007-2009. At the Pentagon, he was the executive officer, Army CIO/G-6 from 2009-2010, and LandWarNet/Mission Command director in the Department of the Army G-3/5/7 from 2010 to 2012. Most recently, he served as commanding general for the 7th Signal Command (Theater) from 2012-2014. Morrison was interviewed by MIT Editor Harrison Donnelly.

strong, in about 20 different countries supporting 1.5 million users on Army networks every day. I have two roles: commanding general for Network Enterprise Technology Command and deputy commanding general for Second Army. As commander of NETCOM, my responsibilities are to ensure that we provide reliable communications across the Army LandWarNet. This represents the majority of the Army networks across the globe. In my role as deputy commanding general for Second Army, I support Lieutenant General Edward Cardon (commanding general, Army Cyber Command/Second Army) in operating and defending not only the LandWarNet, but the rest of the Army’s networks as well. Over time, I see a lot of synchronization between those two roles as we continue our efforts to collapse and standardize our various networks onto a common, more defensible architecture. Q: What are your top priorities over the next fiscal year?

Q: How would you describe the overall mission and responsibilities of NETCOM, and what is your role as commander? A: Our mission is pretty straightforward—to operate, maintain and defend our Army’s networks daily. We have other specified missions, and support national missions or other contingency operations as directed. We are a global command, about 16,000 16 | MIT 18.5

A: We have a number of exciting things that are happening inside the command. It’s a dynamic time to be part of Second Army and NETCOM team. Our near-term focus is building and setting the team, which includes integrating with Second Army, our higher headquarters since March. However, I would put our real main effort into two buckets. The first is continuing to build www.MIT-kmi.com

momentum on our comprehensive network modernization effort. The second is to rapidly build and employ cyber-mission forces and capabilities. What we’re trying to get after is synchronizing operations and maintenance with defense of our Army networks. Q: How is NETCOM working to modernize installation networks? A: Our network modernization is a comprehensive plan with three components. One is a Single Security Architecture (SSA). We are teaming with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and the Air Force to establish this. It’s an inherently joint endeavor, and the lead component for that is the Joint Regional Security Stack. Building that SSA is absolutely critical for a more visible and defensible network. The other components are increasing bandwidth onto installations and creating redundancy. Many of our installations lack either, so when one pipe going onto an installation breaks, the post is essentially isolated. We want to maximize bandwidth and provide the level of redundancy needed to ensure continuity of operations so when something breaks in the network, it’s transparent to our supported commands. The third aspect is that we have allowed our Army installations over time to become antiquated. We’re using legacy telephone systems, and in many regards we have equipment on our data networks that is at the end of life/end of support. On our installations, and standardizing all the way down to the desktop, we are now modernizing the infrastructure to ensure that the increased security we are providing through the SSA, and the increased bandwidth and diversity coming onto the installation, reach all the way down to the user sitting in an office. You can’t separate these three components because they are inherently linked together if we are going to build an end-to-end network architecture that is operationally effective while being defensible for our supported commands. For the installation-level modernization component of the triad I just mentioned, we’re using a new acquisition and fielding approach that is quite novel. We are teaming with PEO EIS and our supported commands to field new network capabilities faster. The old way, we had stovepiped engineering and fielding efforts focused on one installation at a time, which resulted in a slow, costly fielding effort and little common understanding of the fielded capability. Working with all our teammates, we’ve flipped that paradigm. Now, we have an ‘integrated team approach.’ We do shared engineering, and then leverage our own people as well as personnel from our supported commands to assist with the installation of the equipment on each base, post, camp and station. This approval has an added training benefit; it allows our troopers to retain perishable IT skill sets. Now, the Army is leveraging commodity buys and we are using our own personnel and intellectual capabilities to move much faster. As an example, we completed the modernization of Joint Base San Antonio, Texas—a project that was scheduled to take between two and three years to complete—and we did it in about four and a half months. That’s a real operational capability—increased bandwidth and increased security—that we’re putting into the hands of our supported commands far faster than we would have under our previous fielding approach. It has an added benefit, too. If you help build the network, you are in www.MIT-kmi.com

a much better position to operate and defend it. It’s linked with the other two pieces I mentioned—the SSA and the diversity, redundancy and increased bandwidth coming onto the installation—and we’re doing it at a significant savings. Under the old acquisition paradigm, we would contract out for those modernization activities, spend millions of dollars, and take years to accomplish. Q: What do you see as the key challenges in installation modernization? A: We’re like the rest of the Army [in that] we are in a period of transition. One of the things we have to be very mindful of is the fiscal pressures the entire department will face. How do we balance our modernization efforts against those fiscal pressures? I will tell you that there is still a strong recognition within the Army that network modernization is the Army’s number one modernization priority. We’re going to have to work with Headquarters Department of the Army, Second Army and the Army CIO/G-6 to make sure we balance our approach as we move forward. Our modernization efforts will make the Army much more effective and efficient because we’ll be able to provide a level of capability at home station as well as to our tactical formations that we frankly haven’t been able to provide in the past. Once we build out this network ‘highway,’ it’s also going to enable us to get more efficient; we will be able to start providing more enterprise-type services, both in garrison and while deployed, rather than having to spend our limited resources on fielding a capability to each installation or formation. The key investments being made in backbone infrastructure and the SSA concept will posture Army installations many years into the future. While end components may change over time, the backbone will provide fundamental and lasting capabilities that will permit us to grow and operate. Q: How are overall changes in U.S. and Army strategy changing NETCOM’s role? A: I see many of the challenges that are facing the department as opportunities. This is an unprecedented time in our Army, no doubt. However, if you look at what has happened with network modernization, and what is happening in the cyber-domain and all the progress the Army is making in a short amount of time in these areas, and you bring those two together, I would say the sky’s the limit for what this command can provide to our Army. I do not see our base role changing significantly. We’re still going to be responsible for operating, maintaining and defending the Army LandWarNet. Where I do see our role changing is that we are going to start taking on other aspects that we haven’t in the past. A key part of our network modernization effort is to standardize and collapse many of the stovepiped networks across our Army; this will actually increase our ability to support the Army in total, not just the portion that is on the LandWarNet. Another key difference, and I cannot emphasize this enough, is that our modernization effort is inherently joint, considering our work with DISA and our sister services. Then if you build in our role establishing a Cyber Protection Brigade, where we’re getting much more effective in defending MIT 18.5 | 17

our networks, I think you will start seeing a different NETCOM in the future. You will see a NETCOM with a much more expanded role than we had in the past, not just limited to operating and maintaining a subset of the Army’s networks, but also operating and defending all networks with a new level of awareness and effectiveness. Q: How will budget constraints affect Army networks in the future, and what are you doing to make sure what needs to be done still gets done? A: This is another area where we have an opportunity not only to get ourselves more efficient, but also much more effective. If you look at the history of many of our installations, they were brought up as stovepipes and almost independent operations. As we modernize the network and flatten it and go to a more joint and regionally-based approach, we have an opportunity to break down many of the stovepipes that we had in the past. We want to leverage that, not only to improve our operational processes, but also to improve our business processes. This means we have to take a new look at how we provide capabilities. If we can collapse many of the individual, stovepiped approaches that are independently developed, managed and paid for, and provide capabilities from a joint and regional perspective, I have to believe that we will provide better communications at a better cost to our Army. Q: Do you see the developing Joint Information Environment (JIE) as leading to significant changes in how the Army develops and operates networks? A: If you buy into the network modernization approach that I’ve been discussing, it is key to note that it is an inherently joint network. It is not something the Army is doing in isolation. We are partnering with DISA and the Air Force, and as we start to migrate to this new network infrastructure, we’re going to do it as a team. What I think we are really building is the highway that

18 | MIT 18.5

will lay the foundation for the JIE. The SSA that we are getting ready to turn on in the fall timeframe is going to be the SSA that the JIE will be founded upon. That said, as we move toward an inherently joint network, it is going to force changes in the way we all collectively operate. We are working hard with our joint teammates to put in a centralized management, decentralized execution network operations and defense construct, which will allow us to ensure that we are operating with common joint tactics, techniques and procedures on a common joint infrastructure that allows us to take care of service-unique requirements. It is a culture shift for everyone across the community, but it is absolutely the right thing to do for the Department of Defense and our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and civilians. Q: NETCOM recently was involved in overhauling the network at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. What did you learn in the process, and what results do you expect to see from it? A: Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston is our test case. Our experiences and what we saw there exceeded expectations. The biggest thing that we learned was that our integrated team approach works, and does so from a couple of different perspectives: primarily, training and the subsequent operations and maintenance of the new architecture. Since it was an integrated team with everyone pitching in, when we were done with the fielding, the folks who were left to operate the network had a much better understanding of how to maintain it and keep it up and running, and how to employ it to better support the operational capabilities we provide our supported commands. It was absolutely huge. There are some installations we have been at for years, and we’re still not done modernizing them. You know intuitively that you’re wrong when by the time you get done with our previous approach that technology has changed in the five or six years since a post’s modernization had begun. The way technology changes today, we knew we were going to have to turn around and replace the equipment that we thought

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Army NETCOM

2014

U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command

Maj. Gen. John B. Morrison Jr. Commanding General

Command Sgt. Maj. Stephfon Watson Command Sergeant Major

Daniel Q. Bradford (SES) Deputy to the Commander/ Senior Technical Director

Richard A. Davis (SES) Deputy for Cyber/ Director of Operations

5th Signal Command (Theater)

7th Signal Command (Theater)

311th Signal Command (Theater)

335th Signal Command (Theater)

335th Signal Command (Theater) (Provisional)

Col. Jimmy L. Hall Jr. Commander

Brig. Gen. John W. Baker Commanding General

Maj. Gen Lawrence W. Brock Commanding General

Brig. Gen. Christopher R. Kemp Commanding General

Brig. Gen. Garrett S. Yee Commanding General

Command Sgt. Maj. Harry Mercado Command Sergeant Major

Command Sgt. Maj. Patrick Brooks Command Sergeant Major

Command Sgt. Maj. Darris Curry Command Sergeant Major

Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy J. Smith Command Sergeant Major

Command Sgt. Maj. Michael A. Crespo Command Sergeant Major

we were modernizing. When you look at what we did at Joint Base San Antonio, it was in ‘one fell swoop,’ trying to stay joint from stem to stern, that we were able to modernize the infrastructure. We got great teaming from all of our supporting commands that are at Fort Sam Houston. That was not just Army North, Army South, and the 7th Signal Command team on the ground, but also included some of our Air Force teammates, because it is a joint base. We put them all under the operational control of our local Network Enterprise Center director, and it worked; we truly operated as an integrated team and not individual service components. It is very promising, and we rapidly accelerated our fielding efforts as a result of this unique approach. Based on what we learned at Fort Sam Houston, we are currently at five other installations, executing them simultaneously, and we anticipate completing them by the end of the calendar year. Q: What is your command’s role in combating cyber-attacks on Army networks? A: We have three main efforts ongoing in the area of cyber. The first, now that we are assigned to ARCYBER/Second Army, is integrating with our cyber-teammates to ensure that we get roles and responsibilities right and establish unity of effort. The second main thing we’re working hard on is establishing our regional cyber centers (RCC). A year ago, we had theater network operations and security centers (TNOSC) focused on network operations and running the network, and we had computer emergency response teams (CERT) focused on cyber-related events. They sat inside the same building but worked through different operational channels and responded to two different organizations. Following a decision from Lieutenant General Cardon, we have merged the TNOSCs and CERTs into one integrated organization. The RCCs now work in direct support of our theater signal commands under operational control of ARCYBER/Second Army. It’s really starting to establish unity of effort not only for operations and maintenance of our networks, but also defense of the networks, at both the global and theater levels. We’ve only just started this effort, but it is already showing great operational benefit. Now we’ve got to go back in and do three things—first, make sure that we’ve got the RCC structure right to do operations, maintenance and defense of the network in an integrated manner, and second, make sure that we are giving them the right capabilities, so that they can go out and do what we’re asking them to do effectively. The third component is to standardize our RCC efforts across all theaters, so that we operate in a global context. If you buy into a SSA that is inherently joint, we’ve got to start operating in a global fashion, and we can’t operate as independent theaters—it has to be one global approach, because the network is inherently global. The other main effort that we’re working on is building our Cyber Protection Brigade, which will reach its initial operational capability (IOC) in September. Underneath it, we are building 20 cyber protection teams (CPT), the first five of which have reached their IOC and are now in the throes of either executing defensive operations or planning to start executing defensive operations. We’re on a glide-path by the end of fiscal 2016 to a full operational capability. It is a great team effort across the Army to rapidly build this critical capability. The cyber protection teams will be in several bins. One is national-level missions 20 | MIT 18.5

or to support civil authorities in the event of a contingency, if requested. Another one is what we’re calling DoD Information Networks Operations, which is in support of DISA supporting the wider Global Information Grid component. We are also building teams to meet designated regional combatant commanders’ requirements. Several of the teams will also focus on serviceunique missions. We’re working through exactly how to employ these teams, but the good news is that we now have an initial capability to start employing, and we are able to learn by doing and figure out exactly what we want these CPTs to do. It will allow us to improve our capability, as well as adjust our training requirements moving forward. Our goal is to nest all these capabilities—RCC and CPTs—so we have integrated defensive operations across our global network. Q: How does the process of issuing certificates of networthiness (CoN) work, and what value do you see in it? A: The intent of the CoN process was very good—to make sure that we weren’t putting something on the network that would decrease our ability to defend the network, and that the capability would be sustainable once we put it on the network. That said, it’s time for a change. One of the things that you’re going to see a lot of at NETCOM is change, whether network modernization or building and employing cyber-mission forces. What we are working on now is eliminating stovepipe processes that make folks work harder but not necessarily smarter, and putting everything we do into an operational context. We would sign a CoN, but then would never go back a year or two later and re-evaluate that certificate to see if something had changed. Inside this dynamic environment, where the threat is emerging and very capable, you always have to be able to go back in and look at what you have approved to be on the network, and have the means to ask if it should still be on the network or if we have applied the appropriate patches or security measures to it to mitigate emerging risks. We are working hard with ARCYBER/Second Army and the CIO/G-6 to establish a new process, which will collapse the CoN effort and the DoD Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process into a single-process, operationally-based, risk management framework. More importantly, once we’ve established a more streamlined and effective business process, we’ll be able to turn around and operationalize it and make sure that we are going back in and doing periodic assessments to ensure we’ve got it right. We plan on running a pilot with that new process in the autumn timeframe, with full implementation, assuming the pilot goes like we think it will, sometime in the next calendar year. Q: Is there anything else you would like to add? A: I am honored and humbled to be part of such a great team. It is a time of change for our command, and I doubt we will look the same in five years as we do today as we assume new mission sets and bring the operations, maintenance and defense of the network together in a joint, not strictly Army approach. That is something we are working hard on, and I think our efforts will fundamentally change how our Army operates, whether at home station or deployed. It’s an exciting time to be at NETCOM! O www.MIT-kmi.com

Modernization Competition Multibillion-dollar DoD effort to acquire an up-to-date electronic health records system draws industry heavyweights.

By Harrison Donnelly, MIT Editor

A closely-watched competition to provide a new electronic health records (EHR) system for the Department of Defense has reached a key turning point, following release of a final vision of a modernized system for the departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health care enterprise. A final request for proposals (RFP) was issued in late August for the Defense Healthcare Management Systems Modernization (DHMSM), under which the department will acquire an off-the-shelf EHR system to replace its legacy infrastructure. The goal of the multibillion-dollar modernization effort is to take advantage of the latest IT in order to strengthen information sharing and improve clinical decision making for patients. The contract is part of a three-part strategy by the department that also includes closer data integration with the Department of Veterans Affairs and private care providers, as well as coordination with evolving EHR standards throughout the medical sector nationwide. With 9.7 million beneficiaries, including active duty military members, retirees and their dependents, DHMSM will replace and modernize the Military Health System clinical systems. www.MIT-kmi.com

Industry observers have identified at least three major teams seeking the contract, which is targeted for award in the third quarter of fiscal year 2015. Reflecting the size and complexity of the task, each team is composed of several heavyweights from the defense, IT and health care information industries. The teams are made up of IBM, Epic Systems and consulting firm Impact Advisors; Computer Sciences Corp., Allscripts and HP; and Leidos, Accenture and Cerner. The Department of Veterans Affairs has its own EHR system, the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA), and it is expected to be among the off-the-shelf EHR systems considered by DoD. Officials have stressed the importance of selecting a system that could provide interoperability between VA and DoD. However, the DHMSM program represents a decision by DoD officials last year to pursue their own modernization course. Earlier, the two departments had considered developing a joint system that would track the medical information of military personnel both during and after their service, but eventually elected to pursue separate courses. VA recently approved a contract to upgrade the VistA system. MIT 18.5 | 21

Business Transformation

New Vista on Veterans’ Care

The Department of Veterans Affairs recently The DHMSM contract is being managed by a awarded a three-year, $162 million contract to program office within the Defense Healthcare ManASM Research, an Accenture Federal Services agement Systems Program Executive Office (DHMS company, to support the Veterans Health PEO), which is in charge of the overall EHR modernInformation Systems and Technology Architecture ization campaign. The PEO also includes the Defense (VistA) Clinical Application and Enterprise Core Medical Information Exchange office, which focuses Services. on technical solutions for information sharing, and VistA is the VA’s health information technology system, providing an integrated inpatient and the DoD/VA Interagency Program Office, which outpatient electronic health record to optimize coordinates between the two departments. quality medical care for veterans and their famiThe DHMS PEO was only established last year, Jim Traficant lies. The VistA Core project work is designed and some of its role and mission are not fully to strengthen and expand veteran health care understood, acknowledged Army Colonel Nicole services. Work under the contract enables greater interoperability of systems and Kerkenbush, who serves as the military deputy prohealth care records and will meet the highest security standards. gram executive officer. “People are still confused, ASM will also update VistA’s Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS), because the office was set up just a year ago. It’s providing a modern, Web-based access to patient records. CPRS is a critical been a fast transition, with a lot of changes that not component of VistA that provides clinicians, managers, support staff and everyone understands,” she said. researchers an integrated patient record management system, with a single interKerkenbush works under Christopher Miller, a face for physicians to manage patient care and records. The program is aimed at taking the integrated framework of the current veteran IT acquisition official who serves as PEO. system and making it more modular in order to allow access to a broader set Navy Captain John Windom is program manager of information and have that delivered to the clinician, explained Jim Traficant, for the DHMSM. president of ASM Research and a managing director at Accenture Federal Services. But while the current office structure is new, “Historically, both VA and DoD have been pioneers in electronic health records. the DoD effort to deploy health care IT goes way So the issue we’re facing is that the systems they’re trying to connect are all tied back, Kerkenbush noted. to a legacy architecture,” Traficant explained. “At the Department of Health and “We’ve been working to be innovative and utiHuman Services, they are creating the standard across health care that will govern lize health IT in the DoD health care environment how data is to be exchanged. What we’re embracing as part of this program are for more than 20 years,” she said. “If you look back those standards, and compliance with those standards will facilitate information at our history, we started utilizing health care IT in sharing across the patient’s continuous care.” a forward-thinking way in 1988, when we installed Modularity also offers substantial benefits, he noted. “The current system is a tightly integrated framework. With the legacy systems and local care being delivand started to deploy our Composite Health Care ered, if you make a change in any one part, it has implications for the rest of the System (CHCS). software. We’re building a foundation, and on top of that, you’ll be able to plug in “Back in 1988, that was not something that the modules for aspects of care, and those modules will be able to share information. health care community was doing much with— It’s like building blocks—we’re creating the undergirding for that integration. they weren’t looking at the EHR market, but we “This will allow VA to continue to innovate, either internally or by taking advanwere, given that we have a transient population tage of best practices in the private sector, and innovate inside the VA framework that is spread out across the world and moves and that we are creating,” Traficant continued. “It’s a way to take the system from deploys on a moment’s notice, as well as family being tightly integrated to modular, so that when I work on one part of the system, members and retirees. So we needed something it’s only that part that is impacted. That allows a more cost-effective way of that would help us deliver care in a more efficient integrating and maintaining the system, and the VA over time will be able to take way, as well as making sure that we were focused on advantage of innovations that are occurring both within its enterprise and outside it, and to do it in an efficient way.” quality and safety,” Kerkenbush said. Improvements continued to be made in the outcomes, as well as the Obama administration’s system over the years, including development of Affordable Care Act. the more patient-centric CHCS 2 program, which “We started looking at whether we should conwas subsequently rebranded as the acronym-only tinue with CHCS or AHLTA, which were developed AHLTA. However, several factors led DoD leaders to within DoD, or if we should look at changing our look at more comprehensive change. strategy and go after an off-the-shelf product,” For one thing, the technology was falling behind. Kerkenbush said. “We looked at industry trends and “We’ve come to a point in our journey where we are what was happening at facilities when they used not able to continue to satisfactorily enhance the these products. We don’t want to fall behind the systems that we have, and the sustainment of those standard that is being set in the commercial sector.” systems is becoming onerous,” Kerkenbush said. “So we started to look at how we would modernize Col. Nicole Kerkenbush the system, and make sure we didn’t fall behind the Off the Shelf commercial sector in implementation of health care IT.” Policy changes also contributed, including 2009 legislation A key decision was to seek an off-the-shelf solution, rather than encouraging providers to use health care IT to improve patient internal development. “We have had challenges and concerns from 22 | MIT 18.5

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our provider community about the usability frustrations they have had from our current system, and we determined that we couldn’t solve those problems as quickly or efficiently as the off-the-shelf market,” she explained. “We want to make sure we are doing everything we can to utilize the most state-of-the-art information technology to ensure that our patients are getting the best care they can. The bottom line really is improving care. We can be a catalyst for that effort, but it is not going to be IT alone that improves the care—it is how you implement the IT and how you use it. We don’t see this as just an IT project, but as a business transformation project,” Kerkenbush added. Looking ahead, Kerkenbush sees particular benefits from the modernization in the areas of usability and decision support. “The big difference will be the usability of the system compared to what it is today,” she said. “We want our providers to be able to navigate the system and get the information they need at the right point in the care process, and put that together with other information in the system to ultimately make the proper diagnosis and treatment decision quickly and safely. “The other big thing that we want to enhance is clinical decision support, which is something that we don’t have as robustly in our current system [compared to] the off-the-shelf market. It’s a way of bringing data points together to help guide decision making, transferring that data from a point that sits in one place on a patient’s chart, and making those data points into information that the provider can use to inform their decision,” Kerkenbush added.

Transparent Process Another significant aspect of the DHMSM process, with implications for other IT acquisitions, is the extent to which officials have emphasized openness and transparency. The office staged four “industry days” to solicit feedback, for example. “We want this to be a very open and transparent process, and one of the ways we have done that is through our industry day engagements, which is not something you have seen with every IT acquisition,” said Kerkenbush. “We’ve taken this strategy to obtain a couple of things, including the ability to gain information from industry that we may not be aware of. It helps inform the process as we go through the RFP process, and it helps industry know what the federal government is looking for in order to target their efforts. “The other piece is an iterative RFP process, which is also something that has not been traditionally done. We put out three draft RFPs, and with every version we provided industry with a feedback option,” she added. The office also made a significant push to be engaged with commercial health care providers who have performed or are contemplating an EHR implementation. 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.

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DISA Looks Ahead Forecast to Industry event highlights agency reorganization, contract consolidation and changes in security standards. By Harrison Donnelly MIT Editor

“We’re posturing the organization of DISA to be better preWhile acknowledging the prospect of significant funding pared for what we see as our future,” Lynn said during a briefing reductions in the future, officials of the Defense Information with reporters. “We have a lot more collaborative work with the Systems Agency (DISA) have outlined an ambitious agenda for services, so we’re bringing on more work. We’ve always been in the the months ahead that includes agency reorganization, contract cyber-business, but that keeps increasing, so we see ourselves more consolidation and security changes designed to ease the move to involved in that. We have a great collaboration with Admiral Rogers commercially provided cloud services. already, and we see that increasing. The organization was not best The agency’s annual Forecast to Industry event, held in late postured for that in the way it was organized, so that is what has August, brought an estimated 750 industry representatives to prompted us to go into a reorganization. DISA headquarters at Fort Meade, Md. Although the focus of the “The services are doing a great job protecting their networks. event was on contracting opportunities for vendors, the presentaWhat we want to have better capabilities and visibility on are the tions also offered a valuable window for agency customers into its data feeds they have,” he continued. “They can all see the attack agenda for the year ahead. vectors that are coming against them individually. We would have Lieutenant General Ronnie G. Hawkins Jr., DISA director, greater impact if we could see the total picture of the attacks so that and other leaders made clear that their plans were developed we could do the large data analytics. If there was a within the context of the budget situation, and new attack, we could spread the word to all the serwould lead to substantial changes in how the agency vices that we have seen it at one service.” does business. “If you say, ‘Let the services, DISA and NSA Pointing to the prospect of “significant budget each do a defense mission,’ and we each have our decreases,” for example, Major General Alan Lynn, own view of what is going on, we’ve created seams vice director, observed, “Competition is good for us, in our defense approach that don’t make any sense, so we’re going to try to compete as much of the conand have given an adversary an opportunity to walk tracts we have coming out as possible. We’ve found through those seams undetected,” said Mark Ornthat if we compete them, it drives down prices, dorff, program executive officer for mission assurwhich is good for us in light of sequestration. ance and NetOps and chief information assurance “We’re changing our organization to be betMaj. Gen. Alan Lynn executive. ter at preparing ourselves for what we expect in “Getting the visibility required, and a consistent security archithe future,” continued Lynn, who recently became DISA’s senior tecture, and still enabling the services to do their core cyber-defense procurement executive. In that role, he added, he planned to responsibilities, is what we are trying to do. DISA is not going to personally review all procurements with a value of more than do it for the services, but working with them will provide the infra$10 million. structure to enable each of us to more effectively do our assigned Even so, perhaps the most intriguing, if still unclear, change roles,” Orndorff added. being considered at the agency would focus less on the budget than Citing command and control and other issues that still need to on its growing mission in the area of cybersecurity. That could be worked out, officials did not release details of the reorganization, involve not only internal shifts in structure, but also changes in but indicated it would begin to go into effect with the start of the how it works with U.S. Cyber Command and the military services. new fiscal year in October. The changes are expected to be in line with proposals voiced recently by Admiral Michael Rogers, who heads Cyber Command and the National Security Agency. Rogers has urged that DISA Contract Consolidation become more integrated into cyber defense under an organization to be known as Joint Force Headquarters Department of Defense DISA officials also discussed several steps being planned to Information Networks. prepare the agency and its customers for a tight fiscal future that 24 | MIT 18.5

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includes the possibility of a return of sequestration in fiscal year 2016. Key DISA Contracts Dave Bennett, director of Enterprise Information Ser(Following are some of the key contract programs planned by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) for the coming year, selected from a much longer list released by vices and chief information officer, raised the possibility of the agency at its annual industry forecast.) consolidating some of DISA’s many contracts with industry, particularly those that apply only to specific sites or projects. Award Project Description “We are looking for opportunities to combine contracts Schedule when it makes sense. The reality is that we have developed Pathfinder effort to explore contracts over a period of time, based on specific needs, and Enterprise Unified Capabilities Unified Cloud capabilities using 2Q, FY 15 as a Service existing commercial cloud as we go through changes and evolve, we’re trying to figure services out if we have contracts with the same time of opportunities Requirements validation, soluand needed skill sets, and combine those so we can cut down Virtual Desktop Infrastructure 4Q, FY 14 tion architecture design, testing, on the amount of time and effort associated with putting (VDI) (Architecture) validation, accreditation contracts out,” he said. Stateless devices, mobility Bennett also noted the broader movement within DoD to VDI (Hardware, Software) 3Q, FY 15 devices, persona management have the military services migrate their applications to core and VDI broker solutions data centers. To do that, they will first need to rationalize VDI (Integration & Integration, accreditation, impletheir applications, and he raised the prospect of an application 3Q, FY 15 Implementation) mentation rationalization contract vehicle that would enable organizaGlobal Electromagnetic tions to acquire outside services to assist them in the process. Comprehensive support for Spectrum Information System In another key area, the shift to using commercial cloud 1Q, FY 15 program capabilities (GEMSIS) Program Office computing services, Orndorff outlined possible changes in Support the security standards that providers have to meet in order Develop and deliver ISD softto be certified to store government data. Cloud providers curGEMSIS Integrated Spectrum 1Q, FY 15 ware and provide initial sustainDesktop (ISD) rently must comply with the government-wide Federal Risk ment Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), but DoD Joint Regional Security Equipment and services in providers must meet additional security standards. FY 14-15 Multiple Awards, Stacks support of implementation Although four companies have been certified to house Support for Acropolis, the DODIN unclassified, publicly-releasable DoD data, only one (Amazon Acropolis and Sensor 3Q, FY 15 computer network defense Web Services) recently received clearance for the next level Operations sensor architecture of security, which covers DoD business information and perSupport for design, developsonally identifiable data. Officials now hope to expedite the Cyber Situational Awareness Multiple awards, ment and implementation of Analytic Cloud FY 15 process by easing the “above FedRAMP” standards. capabilities “We built the DoD security model so that it brings in Licensing support for future Host Based Security Next additional factors that we look at,” said Orndorff. “But we’re TBD enterprisewide host security Generation revisiting that, because we think we’ve made it too hard Capabilities potentially, with the process too hard and the criteria too IT solutions for all functional ENCORE III TBD high.” requirements Five pilot programs—one within DISA and the others in the military services—are currently seeking to help answer some questions that will drive revisions to the criteria and process, levels, including AWS Direct Connect routing to the DoD’s Orndorff explained, adding, “In parallel with that, we’re doing a network, comprehensive computer network defense coverage, detailed scrub of every above-FedRAMP requirement we have to and Common Access Card integration. make sure we haven’t put something on that doesn’t make sense.” • Selected Harris to provide support for the Crisis Management System, under a contract of up to 10 years and $450 million. The system provides video teleconferencing and other secure Cloud Security communication services for the president and other national leaders. In other recent actions, DISA: • Gave mobility provider Good Technology Secure Technical Implementation Guide approval for its products for the Apple • Awarded Amazon Web Services (AWS) the first DoD provisional iOS 7 operating system. The action will enable defense and authorization under the DoD Cloud Security Model at other federal agencies to securely implement Good on iOS 7 security impact levels 3-5. AWS previously received a DoD for mobile device, email and application management. O provisional authorization for security impact levels 1-2. The new authorization covers AWS GovCloud (U.S.), and DoD customers can now move forward with their deployments of applications processing controlled and for official-use-only For more information, contact MIT Editor Harrison Donnelly unclassified information. As part of the Level 3-5 authorization, at harrisond@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives customers will be able to implement a wide range of for related stories at www.mit-kmi.com. DoD requirements necessary to protect their data at these www.MIT-kmi.com

MIT 18.5 | 25

COTSacopia

Compiled by KMI Media Group staff

Solution Extends Power of Open-Source R Analytics

Aster R from Teradata extends the power of open-source R analytics by lifting the memory and processing limitations. Teradata Aster R offers the R analyst an enterprise-ready business analytics solution that is massively scalable, reliable and easy to use. Analysts are challenged as they try to gain the maximum benefit from R, an open-source statistical language and software for data miners and data scientists, when it is deployed on a single server and only runs

Platform Enables Central Management of Security

Operations Fusion Kit Offers Complete Communications Mutualink has introduced a new mobile operations fusion kit (OFK) for use by military personnel, coalition partners and first responders in the field. The kit, known as OFK 2.0, enables users to connect anywhere and anytime with the most flexible, agile and secure communications and interoperability “go kit” available on the market today. It enables secure voice, full-motion video and information sharing on a global, real-time basis. The OFK 2.0 is a complete multimedia communications system bundled into a compact, lightweight, waterproof, ruggedized carrying case. The kit is equipped with a military-standard 810G multimedia portable laptop (with microphone and speaker headset), an on-board rechargeable power supply and connectivity for up to four different radios and communications assets in the field. Equipped with a MIMO mesh radio, OFK kits can be automatically linked together and provide robust broadband data connectivity with speeds as much as 40 Mbps over distances up to 5 kilometers, enabling secure in-field broadband device access.

in-memory. The single-server, in-memory environment restricts the amount of data that can be processed in memory and can lead to slow performance of complex analytics. Teradata lifts the processing and memory limitations by offering parallel, in-database execution for R analytics. Executing R in-database allows for high-speed processing of massive quantities of data to meet the analytic needs of the organization.

The Bivio 8000i Series Advanced Cyber Security Platform is the latest addition to Bivio Networks’ line of high-performance programmable cybersecurity platforms. The product leverages Intel x86 architecture to extend the performance of cybersecurity applications up to 40 Gbps full duplex, allowing organizations to centrally manage multiple security applications on a high-speed platform without sacrificing speed, performance or flexibility. The Bivio 8000i Series supports all standard Linux applications, as well as open-source security and deep

packet inspection (DPI) applications that allow for unprecedented scalability in today’s dynamic threat environment. The new platform complements the company’s current product, the 7000 Series DPI Application Platform, which will continue to support networks up to 10 Gbps. Organizations such as federal civilian, defense and intelligence agencies with demanding cybersecurity requirements will greatly benefit from the Bivio 8000i, an efficient, single-device interface that consolidates management and reduces human error.

Unified Communications Solution Manages Performance Riverbed SteelCentral UCExpert 5.0 is the latest version of Riverbed Technology’s unified communications (UC) performance management solution, with added support for Avaya UC solutions. SteelCentral UCExpert 5.0 ensures the performance of business-critical VoIP communications and identifies

26 | MIT 18.5

problems before users notice, reducing downtime through proactive management of a company’s UC environment. Call center managers need to ensure that customer-facing, critical numbers are always available and to route calls properly to prevent disruption to the business.

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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 AT&T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 www.att.com/gov/cloud Teradata Operations Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 www.teradata.com

Riverbed Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 www.riverbed.com UMUC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 http://military.umuc.edu/cyberleader

Calendar September 9-11, 2014 TechNet Augusta Augusta, Ga. www.afcea.org

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October 13-15, 2014 AUSA Annual Meeting Washington, D.C. www.ausa.org

September 15-17, 2014 Air and Space Conference National Harbor, Md. www.afa.org

October 6-8, 2014 MILCOM Baltimore, Md. www.milcom.org

December 1-14, 2014 I/ITSEC 2014 Orlando, Fla. www.iitsec.org

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MIT 18.5 | 27

INDUSTRY INTERVIEW

Military Information Technology

Mark Mills Vice President and DCO Program Manager Carahsoft Q: Can you describe one of the most significant programs your company is currently working on with the military? A: Carahsoft and our technology partner Adobe are privileged to support and enable the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) Defense Connect Online (DCO). Since 2007, servicemembers, contractors and Department of Defense civilians from all services, organizations and commands across DoD have been using DCO-enabled collaboration to support tactical operations, real-time communications, team meetings, webinars, virtual operations centers, telework, emergency response and virtual conferences. DCO features Adobe Connect’s Webconferencing technology, integrated with a user portal and chat capability. It is used by all branches of service around the globe on both classified and unclassified networks. As the use-cases and usage continue to grow, there are now more than 1 million registered DCO users, making DCO—in our opinion—DoD’s best example of an enterprise service. To provide more context as to the magnitude of the growing usage throughout DoD, in fiscal year 2012 DCO Webconferencing minutes totaled more than 518 million. In FY13 that number grew to more than 673 million minutes, and we’re on track to surpass that mark in FY14. David Bennett, DISA’s chief information officer, was recently quoted at FedScoop’s Lowering the Cost of Government with Information Technology Summit as stating that the “department’s enterprise collaboration capability has offered financial savings, as well as significant operational benefits.” We’ve also seen feedback on social media about DCO’s value, as shown in tweets from General Paul Selva (then commander, Air Mobility Command, now commander, TRANSCOM). Selva cited savings of $11.9 million in travel costs, and also mentioned the related increases in productivity based on being able to eliminate 24,000 trips. 28 | MIT 18.5

While there have been different estimates as to the cost savings organizations are realizing by embracing enterprise collaboration capabilities, conservative estimates are that $1 is saved for every minute of Web-conferencing used. We think this will equate to nearly $2 billion savings to DoD in FY12-14. The exponentially fast growth of our user base has proven that we have created an indispensible communication solution that provides effective collaboration experiences across devices for those serving our country. We are extremely proud to be helping organizations continue to connect, share and disseminate information under increasingly tight budgets where travel for meetings, trainings and conferences may not be an option. Q: Are you currently developing new products or enhancements and services that you hope to bring in the future? A: We are continually enhancing DCO and adding new capabilities to enable users to collaborate anywhere, anytime. For example, we have worked with DISA on our DCO mobile offering and have been doing a lot of work in our innovation environment to make cloud offerings a possibility for DCO as well. Our work on improving mobility resulted in DCO apps for Android and iOS devices to fully drive collaboration and fulfill the many different use-cases DoD personnel have for collaboration while operating in a mobile environment. Adobe’s Connect mobile app was part of DISA’s initial offering in the first mobile

app store rolled out in January. We’ve also been working to complete deployment of our DCO mobile chat so that users will be to use DCO chat on all of their mobile devices. Additionally, we’ve been educating users on Adobe Connect’s e-Learning/ training and Large Meeting capabilities. Users are familiar with Connect’s Webconferencing capability, but the robust e-Learning/training capabilities have also been very well received by end-users looking to create their own training content. In times of increasingly constrained TDY budgets, users have also embraced the Large Meeting capability of Adobe Connect for virtual conferences, warfighter forums and unit/organization town halls. For users who want to experience these enhancements, we’ve stood up a DCO Cloud instance that has the latest enhancements, upgrades and tools. We’ve used DCO Cloud as our innovation environment and it has long been an effort of ours to show users future potential capabilities and solicit their feedback. With continued progress on FedRAMP and satisfying impact levels 3-5A, cloud offerings for DoD customers are rapidly becoming a realistic possibility. We feel that our work on DCO Cloud to add new enhancements will provide the collaboration capability that meets users’ current and future demands. Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add? A: It’s been an absolute privilege for the entire Carahsoft|Adobe team to serve our DCO users. Being retired military myself, with sons who have served or are still serving, I am impressed every day at the commitment that our team has to the mission of supporting DoD users across the globe. We are thankful to all of our uniformed servicemembers who continue to serve our country and we remain committed to providing them with first-class products and support. O www.MIT-kmi.com

NEXT ISSUE

October 2014 Volume 18, Issue 6

The Voice of Military Information Dominance

Cover and In-Depth Interview with:

Lt. Gen. Robert S. Ferrell Chief Information Officer/G-6 U.S. Army

Special Report: Cybersecurity Directory

Features

 Virtualization  FedRAMP Certification  Hybrid Clouds  Navy Network Update

Insertion Order Deadline: September 23, 2014 Ad Materials Deadline: September 30, 2014

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