SIGNAL Connections

From their familiarity with technology to their eagerness to share information, the generation now entering the work force is wired differently than the generations before it. In fact, it’s more comfortable being wireless. Worry about security? Not a top priority for this group. Policy? What policy?

The millennials, as young adults born after 1980 have been dubbed, thrive on learning about and using the latest gadgets and programs. Most believe in a “no walls” approach and have been labeled risk takers. As a result, one security expert says government and commercial organizations need to start rethinking their approach to ensuring their data security, because simply issuing a policy probably won’t cut it anymore.

Littoral Combat Ship Era Begins
The U.S. Navy has commissioned the first littoral combat ship (LCS). The 378-foot USS Freedom features interchangeable mission packages so that it can be reconfigured for antisubmarine, mine and surface warfare on an as-needed basis. It is filled with advanced networking capabilities that enable it to share tactical information with other Navy aircraft, ships and submarines as well as with joint units. USS Freedom can operate in water that is less than 20 feet deep and can travel at speeds exceeding 40 knots. In addition to tactical and communications tasks, the new LCS will serve as the platform for launch and recovery of manned and unmanned vehicles.

Tracking Ships from Space

A concept demonstration satellite has been launched carrying equipment sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard Nationwide Automatic Identification System (NAIS). The project tests the feasibility and effectiveness of automatic identification system (AIS) message reception and reporting from space for ship tracking and other navigational activities. The satellite should transmit operational data in approximately two months. The satellite testing marks increment three of the project. The NAIS will improve U.S. maritime domain awareness by employing the integrated network of AIS equipment and user interface services that display and exchange AIS-equipped vessel information. Collected data will enhance security through collision avoidance and through detection, identification and classification of vessels up to 2,000 nautical miles from shore.

A New Spin on Electrons

Scientists have used a single-photon technique to observe the evolution of individual electron spins in semiconductor nanostructures. The work is contributing to the new field of semiconductor spintronics, which exploits the spin of electrons and makes them perform like miniature magnets. Experimentation is underway to assess the benefits of electronic devices using spintronics to power quantum computers made of diamond. The capability may allow the U.S. Air Force, which is funding the research, to reduce electronic power consumption by creating low-power electronic devices that feature massively improved processing speeds.

FCS Delivery Accelerates

Homefront Help is SIGNAL Connections’ effort to support U.S. service members, veterans and their families. The column highlights programs that offer resources and assistance to the military community ranging from care packages to benefits and everything in between. In that same spirit, Homefront Help presents opportunities for readers to donate time, offer resources and send words of thanks to those who sacrifice for freedom. Programs that provide services are listed in red. Opportunities for the public to reach out to service members are listed in blue. Each program description includes a link to the organization's Web site, when available. 

The Free World is seeing as great a revolution in military affairs as has ever been documented. That’s old news. New capabilities are being introduced so quickly that forces are learning how to use and exploit them in the midst of combat. That also is old news.

What is new is that the commercial sector is leading this revolution by pumping new information technologies into the military faster than anyone can plan for them. Individual warfighters and commanders alike are embracing the capabilities that these technologies bring. The largest military in the Free World, that of the United States, is built around the concept of using network-centric operations to prevail against any enemy.

The information technology challenge is to meet the higher expectations of warfighters and commanders. And, in another development that is not new, the more capability that is provided, the more its customers want.

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has greatly increased both the quantity and quality of services provided to the military over the past 20 years. It is taking advantage of the commercial information revolution with technologies such as the everything over Internet protocol (EoIP). Its own two key software applications—Net-Centric Enterprise Services (NCES) and Network Enabled Command Capability (NECC)—are at the heart of efforts to bring Web 2.0 services to the military.

To provide vital bandwidth, the agency has established a commercial communications satellite infrastructure through an extensive lease program that provides the overwhelming bulk of the military’s orbital connectivity. Plans for new high-capacity military communications satellites are moving toward fruition, but the reliance on commercial orbiters is likely to continue.

Dean Koppel, assistant director of the Office of Policy and Research, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), spoke to the AFCEA Small Business Committee and guests in February. The Office of Policy and Research falls under the SBA’s Office of Government Contracting and is responsible for assisting in the development of legislative initiatives used to strengthen and enhance opportunities for small businesses in federal procurement. The office also develops and implements the SBA’s small business program procurement regulations, initiatives and policies. 

Koppel focused on two recent regulatory issues pertinent to small business. First, he discussed an SBA Size Recertification Regulation (Volume 71, Federal Register 66434). The new rule was published on November 15, 2006, with an effective date of June 30, 2007. This rule addressed at which point in the process size is determined for long-term federal contracts such as Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts, the General Services Administration Multiple Award Schedule contracts and multi-agency contracts. Long-term contracts are defined as having a duration of five years or longer (including options). Under this rule, contractors are required to recertify after five years and at the exercise of every option thereafter. One notable exception to this occurs in the case of acquisition, merger or novation. Under these circumstances, the contractor must notify the contracting officer within 30 days, Koppel said. Recertification must be complete within 30 days of the action becoming final. The rule applies to prime contracting situations only and is not applicable to subcontracting, he added.

Carla Undurraga from the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) Corporate Small Business Development program addressed the AFCEA Small Business Committee in January. She shared her extensive knowledge in helping small businesses to be successful in marketing their company’s services, products and solutions to SAIC. Although Undurraga represented SAIC specifically, she explained that much of her commentary applies to other large primes as well.

Undurraga began her presentation with an overview of SAIC, including its organizational structure, core competencies and major customers. This overall knowledge is important, she stressed, because familiarity with the potential partner organization can provide a stronger understanding of where the small business would be a good fit and contribute to the partnership. This information is crucial for a small firm that is marketing to the prime.

According to Undurraga, to be considered a strong candidate for a partnership, the company should possess a clear business focus and a unique capability, and must clearly articulate potential benefits of the prospective partnership. All major primes receive a large number company marketing offers, she said; it is important to stand out from the crowd and communicate that exclusive aspect. One means of doing this is by focusing on a niche that is not widely available.

Not content with being a global service provider, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is striving to extend its network to take advantage of new capabilities that it is introducing into the force. Many of these new capabilities magnify the power of the network as it reaches the tactical edge, and they may change the nature of communications and information flow.

At the heart of these new capabilities is the private sector. Whether leasing commercial satellite bandwidth or adapting Web 2.0 capabilities, DISA will be relying heavily on the commercial world to help feed its customers’ hunger for connectivity. And, companies that want to sell capabilities and services to DISA must demonstrate how they are using those very capabilities and services.

“The commercial world has speed and agility,” observes Lt. Gen. Charles E. Croom Jr., USAF, DISA director and commander of the Joint Task Force for Global Network Operations (JTF-GNO). “We’re watching that, we’re learning from that and we’re trying to emulate it.”

DISA’s two major ongoing software applications—Net-Centric Enterprise Services (NCES) and Net-Enabled Command Capability (NECC)—are fundamental to bringing Web 2.0-type services to Defense Department functions, Gen. Croom says. They apply to diverse areas ranging from command and control (C2) to business areas, and they must be matured and implemented across the defense community.

One innovation is storage on demand. Instead of the traditional way of buying boxes, DISA has arranged with several vendors to have computing and storage services available at its computing centers. This storage effectively is a utility that can be turned on by the user, who pays only for what actually is used. DISA has been able to cut the time of delivery for these services from as long as six months to an average of two weeks, the general reports.

The U.S. Navy has made great strides in the communications field in the past two years, but the work is far from over. When the position of deputy chief of naval operations for communication networks (N-6) on the staff of the chief of naval operations was reinstated in 2006, the vice admiral who moved into the spot recognized naval needs and implemented measures to move the sea service forward both through technology and policy. Now, as he prepares to retire and pass the reins to a successor in June, he can see many of his plans coming to fruition and make recommendations for the path ahead.

Since Vice Adm. Mark J. Edwards, USN, took over the role as the N-6, the Navy has changed in several ways, from becoming more network-centric to finding new and better ways to partner with coalition and other friendly naval forces (SIGNAL Magazine, December 2006, page 23). One of the biggest adjustments, according to the admiral, is awareness at the senior leadership level of the critical nature of computer networks and the significance of networks to commanding and controlling operations. He explains that while the Navy has long understood the importance of afloat communications networks, it has come to a new realization of the critical nature of its computer networks, such as the Navy/Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI), and how important the intranet and overseas networks are to warfighting. Without those networks, the Navy’s ability to manage troops in the field would be significantly impaired. “Quite frankly, what [these networks] have morphed into is a warfighting command and control system,” Adm. Edwards explains.