Lt. Gen. Ted F. Bowlds, USAF, commander, Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, delivered the luncheon speech at MILCOM 2009. Gen. Bowlds stated that the world is changing so fast that it is impossible to predict what innovations will develop as well as threats the U.S. will face in the next 10 to 15 years. “Five years out is about all we can go,” he said.

Although irregular warfare is the buzzword today, in the spectrum of conflict, it doesn’t represent any more than 10 percent to 15 percent of the threat today, he said. Despite this low percentage, it is consuming a lot of the U.S. military’s time. “I tell people if you get three individuals with an attitude and an explosive, you’ve got a problem on your hands. They can go anywhere they want to and take that problem and make it your problem these days,” he stated.

Adding to the challenges are budget realities. The way the U.S. Defense Department does business with industry is going to start to change very drastically, he said. The top priorities for the fiscal year 2012 budget will be influenced by “a lack of appetite for spending for DOD” and other pressures, such as the economy and health care. As a result, the military budget is going to come down, the general noted. “The spending spree that we all got to enjoy for the past five or six years is going to evaporate away from us. So, we’re going to have to be smarter in doing what we can with what we’ve got, or we’re going to have to be very, very smart in buying what we need,” he added.

At the heart of the next generation in the military is creation of data, systems and ideas, the general noted. Gen. Bowlds noted that if the military is not careful, its acquisition process is going to go the “way of the dinosaur” because technology is moving so quickly. About 90 percent of what is used at ESC rides on commercial technology today. “So over the years, we’ve been trying to figure out how to tighten up our acquisition,” he stated. The goal at ESC is to get solutions into the hands of the warfighter within 12 months.

In terms of fighting threats in the cyberspace, virtualization of networks may hold the key, the general allowed. By creating a number of virtual networks, data can be stored in different locations, so it is a constantly moving target. “It’s like being a chameleon in the cyber domain,” he stated.

LandWarNet closed with a keynote address by Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff. Outlining his views on command and control, the general noted that the Army is in a critical time of transformation and conflict. He added that the service has undergone rapid change during the last eight years.

The general noted that a critical lesson learned from the past several years is that vital technological and operational changes are made on the ground by soldiers at the tip of the spear. More data is now available to warfigthers than ever before, but it must be made available to a variety of personnel across all echelons, he said. (more…)

Wednesday’s events at LandWarNet began with a talk by Gen. James N. Mattis, USMC, NATO supreme commander transformation, and commander U.S. Joint Forces Command. The general opened by saying he is passionate about command and control (C2), but added that C2 is an important capability that extends beyond technology. “No matter how brave your soldiers are, they’re going to catch RPG’s in the chest if you don’t get C2 correctly,” he cautioned. (more…)

The theme of this year’s LandWarNet conference and symposium is leveraging the global network enterprise to enable full spectrum operations to the warfighter. Gen Carter F. Ham, USA, launched the event by discussing the Army’s need to leverage the network and cyberspace to enable command and control. He explained that this was a historic time for Army signals as the service establishes a new unified command devoted to cyberspace.

Because this is a very dynamic time for the signals community, he said that communications personnel must be fully engaged in the enterprise from the beginning. Signals personnel help build and maintain the systems on which full spectrum operations rely.

The general cited the Berlin Wall as an example of how different nations approach information sharing. The Wall represented the Soviet Union’s attempt to control the flow of information and people while the United States shared information with its allies. Today, the United States is at a similar crossroads, he said. Does the United States want to build and sustain firewalls in the government and with its allies, or can more collaborative structures be examined, he asked.

Barriers to information sharing must come down while finding new ways to operate safely when sharing information, Gen. Ham said. Teamwork and coordination is necessary regardless of the service, department or nation. The general urged the audience to consider how to break down barriers and develop networks that can share command and control information.

Among the many tracks of the first days sessions, information assurance and cyber security highlighted some of the key challenges facing the service. Carol Assi, with the Army Office of Information Assurance and Compliance highlighted the service’s information assurance efforts.

Cross domain certification for personnel and data remains a challenge, Assi said. She adds that a complicating factor is the ongoing shift in technology. Newer chip based equipment is replacing older analog systems. The challenge of these newer systems is that they have greatly reduced lifecycles of five to seven years compared to 20 or 25 years for older technology.

In the tactical arena, Assi notes that there is a need for non Type 1 encryption. Operational security also extends to the keys and encryption systems in use throughout the Army.

Brig. Gen. Steven W. Smith, USA, chief cyber officer, Army CIO/G-6 noted that the Army is participating in several key initiatives such as the Comprehensive National Cyber Initiative (CNCI), the Defense Department Information Assurance Campaign Plan (DOD IACP), the standing up of U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), and Operation Gladiator Phoenix. Regarding the Army’s direct role in cyberspace, the general said that the service’s mission is to integrate efforts across the Army staff to provide policy, oversight and guidance for any cyberspace operations.

Regarding USCYBERCOM, Gen. Smith explained that the Army chief of staff is considering several courses of action to support the command. The first two are NETCOM and INSCOM centric proposals while a third, clean slate approach is also under consideration. A final decision will be made in November or December, he said.

Operation Gladiator Phoenix will be a major exercise where 71 percent of the activity will be oriented towards network defense. The remaining 30 percent of the event’s efforts will focus on sustaining exploitation and cyber attack capabilities.

The goal of the DOD IACP is to help commands prioritize how they spend money on information assurance. The general adds that the effort has some 20 end states. Several of these goals are accountability from the top, layered network defense, strong external perimeters, the capability of keeping a secret, and developing partnerships with industry.

Achieving and maintaining the Army’s Global Network Enterprise Strategy was the topic of a speech by Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sorenson, USA, CIO/G-6. The general outlined several of the key points to make the LandWarNet operational. Among the initiatives the Army has launched is to enhance connectivity by creating fixed regional hub nodes known as network service centers (NSC’s) to support operations. Another effort underway is making data and software applications available to warfighters at all echelons.

To support network operations, Gen. Sorenson described a recent experiment where an Army unit deployed overseas. The goal of the test was to maintain the unit’s network connectivity at the same level as it enjoyed in its home base throughout the deployment. The general noted that the only time the unit did not have connectivity was when its troops were flown overseas.

The general added that the Army has launched a three year plan to establish NSCs across the operational theaters. He explained that the goal is to establish an NSC in Europe in 2009, an NSC in Southwest Asia in 2010, and a facility in Asia in 2011.

One of the key issues at this year’s LandWarNet conference and symposium is cyber security and operations. Among the challenges to security is the use of military computer networks for purposes they were not originally designed for. Speaking at a panel on the state of Army cyber security and operations, Brig. Gen. Steven W. Smith, chief cyber officer, Army CIO/G-6, noted that “The NIPRNET was never designed at a command and control network, but it sure is now.” The service must facilitate cultural change and newly launched initiatives to ensure the security of its networks, he said.