Event Coverage

When it comes to the transition for C4I systems to cloud computing architectures, both the challenge-and the promise--boils down to "getting the right information to the right individual at the right time--and doing it securely," according to Teri Takai, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks, and DoD Chief Information Officer (CIO).

Being successful in the era of irregular warfare will require a focus on new ways of building and preparing the force.

Ships and submarines being built by the U.S. Navy today will be in service 40 to 50 years from now, according to the commander of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Adm. John T. Harvey, USN, explained that the Navy cannot afford to re-procure its fleet, so it must ensure that its platforms last for several decades.

The future threat may be a hybrid threat.

Cyberspace security experts no longer can afford the luxury of traditional security.

Cyberspace is seeing the beginnings of the development of new types of destructive tools.

Biometric technology capabilities continue to grow, and so do government data sharing efforts.

Creating a national strategy for deterring cyber attacks faces difficult challenges, according to Gen. Keith Alexander, USA, U.S. Cyber Command commander and director of the National Security Agency.

The U.S. Coast Guard is facing the dilemma of its traditional threats combining to pose a synergistic danger to U.S. homeland security. Longtime menaces such as drug smuggling, alien immigration and terrorism may be merging their organizations and their tactics to pose an even greater threat to the nation. Stopping these threats will require data sharing and consolidation. Unfortunately, even organizations willing to share information often find legal and technological roadblocks in their way. Rear Adm. (S) Stephen Metruck, USCG, chief of staff, Eleventh Coast Guard District, told the Thursday breakfast audience at West 2011 in San Diego that the Coast Guard is striving to head off threats before they near the homeland. "Goal defense" is not an effective way of stopping adversaries, he explained. The Coast Guard is working to develop new methods of detecting and identifying threats before the marauders launch their plans into action. Operation Focused Lens, for example, looks at places from where attacks may come. The goal is to detect anomalous activity before a smuggling or terrorist boat is launched. Marina operators would be engaged through an outreach program to report suspicious signs such as boaters practicing illegal activities. Combining data may be harder. Adm. Metruck allowed that many firewalls prevent government agencies from linking their databases, even within the Department of Homeland Security. In some cases, the only solution is to place people from different agencies side-by-side so that they can share views on their computer displays.

The U.S. Navy has killed some programs and accelerated others as it restructures its budget priorities. Robert O. Work, undersecretary of the Navy, gave the West 2011 Wednesday luncheon audience a bluntly candid assessment of which systems worked, which didn't and were canceled, and which are on probation. One of the key systems killed was the Marine Corps Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. While it had a troubled history, it was going well recently, but the Navy-acting on a recommendation from the commandant-killed the program because it was going to eat up too much of the Corps' budget in the future. Work reported that it would have consumed 50 percent of all Marine Corps procurement funds-100 percent of Marine Corps historical vehicle expenditures-between 2018 and 2025. Work was much harsher in his explanation of why the Navy canceled the ALQ-99 jamming pod for the EA-18G Growler aircraft. "The Growler is a good aircraft, but the ALQ-99 is a piece of crap-the polite thing to say is that it's reaching the end of its service life," Work declared to an attentive audience. "Instead, we'll have something better for the Growler." The F-35B short takeoff vertical landing aircraft program is having problems, and it has been put off two years so that its problems can be fixed. Work expressed confidence in that decision, saying, "We are absolutely convinced that we will fix the problems in the F-35B." But Work waxed eloquent about the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, which is proceeding with two vastly different production designs. Calling it "one of the most misunderstood ships in the Navy," he nonetheless praised both its capabilities and its program structure. Having two companies concurrently producing LCS ships at the current schedule has saved the taxpayer $2.9 billion, Work stated. Three missions that used to require different classes of ships have been combined into one, and he is confident it will work well.