STRATCOM

Communications Labs JOIN Forces Remotely

March 1, 2013

By Robert K. Ackerman

Racks of gear provide Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) capability for the JOIN facility. The network can debug software upgrades as well as resolve interoperability issues.

The whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts in a networked software engineering realm.

A network built after its major move to a new base is allowing the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command to link diverse communications systems into an overarching network. This enables capabilities ranging from debugging software updates before they are sent to the front to a multinational exercise for validating operational activities.

When the Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) relocated from Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, under the Base Closure and Realignment program (BRAC), it used the opportunity to consolidate capabilities and build new facilities from the ground up that would allow the command to take advantage of the latest technologies. Among these facilities is the Joint On-demand Interoperability Network, or JOIN. This network connects with other laboratories and communications facilities, including some in theater, to share resources and solve problems by using all of their capabilities.

The network has existed in some form for more than two decades. Today’s JOIN community includes research, development, testing and evaluation as well as life-cycle support. JOIN serves as the nexus for these diverse elements. It provides two capabilities: services and interconnectivity as a technical hub.

John Kahler, chief of JOIN, allows that the network was established to integrate the entire command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C⁴ISR) community and to provide a technical hub so that organizations could exploit each other’s resources as well as work in “a collaborative, common operating environment.” Participants can conduct research, development, testing and engineering along with life-cycle support.

Departments:

Defense

Integral Systems Snags U.S. Cyber Command Contract

November 3, 2010

By George Seffers

Integral Systems Incorporated recently announced that it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Strategic Command to provide worldwide interference geolocation services. Under the terms of the contract, the company will provide U.S. Cyber Command, a sub-unified command, with commercial satellite geolocation services. The geolocation services contract provides Cyber Command's Global Satellite Communications Support Center at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, access to actionable information via Integral's global network of advanced digital signal processing monitoring sensors, geolocation systems and tri-band (C-, X- and Ku-band) antennas.

View of Space Just Got Clearer

October 29, 2010

By Beverly Schaeffer

Whether for military ops, standard communications or a lofty connection linking nations together during crises, space systems are critical. Enhancing the ability to monitor space assets-and to augment them with newer, better equipment-is a major STRATCOM mission. The command continues to move forward and to seek commercial support, but are the requirements clear? Is the acquisition process easily navigable? Share your thoughts here.

Lacquement To Direct CYBERCOM Ops

September 3, 2010

By Beverly Schaeffer

Maj. Gen. David B. Lacquement, USA, has been assigned as director of operations, J-3, U.S. Cyber Command, Fort Meade, Maryland.

Schmidle Assigned To Cyber Command Position

July 26, 2010

By Henry Kenyon

Maj. Gen. Robert E. Schmidle Jr., USMC, has been nominated for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general and assignment as deputy commander, U.S. Cyber Command.

Computing Rules Change, Security Concerns Still Remain

May 7, 2010

By Beverly Schaeffer

Security is the lifeblood of Defense Department operations, and the department is making strides to improve connectivity and to keep pace with technology. But can such a far-reaching organization relax its protocol even slightly and still trust that rules will be followed? Will the people involved buy in to the new culture and make it work? Tell us your thoughts, give us your suggestions.

Network Situational Awareness Looms Large in Cyberspace

May 2010

By Robert K. Ackerman, SIGNAL Magazine

The key to prevailing in a hostile cyberspace environment may lie in the ability to generate a comprehensive picture of that environment. Both the military and the public sector rely heavily on cyberspace assets that are intertwined, and effective threat detection and response will need to encompass both realms.

Center Looks for Trouble

May 2010

By Maryann Lawlor, SIGNAL Magazine

The team that provides combatant commands with lean, agile, responsive and collaborative thinking has taken on a mission of assessment and analysis of an operational and strategic magnitude. Its goal is to integrate information and analysis into the common operational picture quickly enough to get inside a commanding officer’s decision-making cycle. To achieve this objective, the group is relying on expertise that is available not only in the military but also in industry and academia.

Permission Granted for Some Removable Media

May 2010

By Henry S. Kenyon, SIGNAL Magazine

Although the U.S. Defense Department has lifted its ban on the use of thumb drives, the new rule greatly restricts their use and empowers unit commanders with final authority over the application of removable data storage devices. The ruling also reflects an ongoing effort by the military to change its operational culture by raising awareness of cybersecurity issues.

SIGNAL Says: Stacy Furcini

January 29, 2010

By Katie Packard

"Once you put that information into a PowerPoint format, that plan is almost immediately stale. Weather continues to change; intelligence updates might continue to come in; there might be impacts to some of the sorties suggested. All of those cannot be captured in a manual PowerPoint presentation unless you have someone there constantly updating it."--Stacy Furcini, ISPAN division chief

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