Commentary

Periodically, we ask the senior leadership of the global security community to give us feedback on their top priorities in the command, control, communications, computers, intelligence and information technology domains. In the past couple of years, they have been fairly consistent in saying that their top priority is interagency and coalition information sharing.

As a result, AFCEA and its members have focused a good deal of attention on these issues. Not surprisingly, we have found that there are a number of crucial factors to address that can be grouped into the categories of technology, security and governance. But, in the end, we have found that it comes down to trust.

In 1986, the Goldwater-Nichols Act mandated jointness in the Defense Department. This affected training, doctrine, personnel management and assignments, force structure and operations. Joint operations and a joint approach to command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) have become fundamental to the way we fight.

Wireless connectivity is everywhere and is becoming a more important part of our personal and professional lives.

In the personal domain, Wi-Fi and WiMAX coverage has grown dramatically, and the number of devices to use this wideband coverage has grown even faster. Third-generation (3G) and fourth-generation (4G) cellular technologies have become even more pervasive, and the functionality of new cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) is truly impressive, empowering road warriors like never before.

A number of you in government and industry have told us that AFCEA should provide smaller, more interactive forums focused on critical issues. We have listened and created a new series of events called Solutions. You should have begun to see some communications regarding these new events. I think the introduction of this new series of forums is such a critical milestone for AFCEA and such an opportunity for our membership that I should explain why this series of events is fundamentally different from anything we have done before.

In an era in which commercial research and development dominates scientific progress, government research is important—particularly for the military. It is research in critical technologies that allows our national security structure to maintain the edge—to differentiate the United States from potential adversaries. This enables force projection, allows us to work more effectively with our coalition partners, and maximizes our force effectiveness while minimizing loss of life for the United States.

We are seeing a level of partnership and collaboration in information sharing that we never have seen before. The national security community, now expanded to include homeland security, long has recognized the need for information sharing, and we have had some interfaces among these elements for some time. But only in the past few years has this requirement received appropriate priority. Homeland security, the Global War on Terrorism and increased emphasis on nontraditional missions have placed a premium on information sharing. However, this remains a work in progress.

After five and a half years in which you have entrusted in me a leadership position at AFCEA International, it is now time for me to step down as president and chief executive officer.

These years have been eventful ones replete with challenges and opportunities. I assumed the helm of AFCEA less than three weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. That 21st century Day of Infamy changed the world forever, and our association and its members found themselves in the thick of the activities that followed.

Governments, militaries and businesses worldwide are in the midst of various types of transformations. AFCEA members can be pleased with their own association’s embrace of change. It always is important for an organization such as ours to transform as nations around the globe adjust to the dynamic information age as well as the changing nature of conflict and security amid the Global War on Terrorism.

The tactical level of the Global War on Terrorism is having a greater effect on the war’s strategic outcome than we ever would have predicted. Rather than being an issue of doctrine or force structure, this is largely an information technology issue. Today, information gathering and information transfer occur blindly from the tactical level to the strategic level.

AFCEANs always have prided themselves on looking to the future, especially with regard to change and transformation. An association cannot flourish and remain successful for six decades without its members and leaders maintaining a visionary approach to operations and planning.

But it also is good to take a look in the rearview mirror every now and then. AFCEA turns 60 this year, and all of us connected with the association are exceptionally proud of what its members have done to bring government and industry together as a team. While that team might have formed anyway, with AFCEA merely serving as a catalyst, nonetheless being a catalyst is an important role and one in which we all should take pride.

Back in 1946 when AFCEA and SIGNAL Magazine were new, the number-one technology problem vexing military planners was to provide mobile communications to the warfighter. Now, 60 years later, we face exactly the same challenge. Even though all of the other factors of warfare have changed, that problem still persists.

The U.S. Quadrennial Defense Review and the fiscal year 2007 defense budget submission were noteworthy for their focus on special operations forces. Both documents called for increased emphasis on small, highly trained, mobile units in the ongoing global war on terrorism. Our success in ridding Afghanistan of its Taliban rulers showed how effective coalition special forces can be in the shadowy war against terrorists.

Last summer’s Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) change of command was bittersweet for the information technology community, as we said farewell to one friend and welcome aboard to another. It also was a reflection of how blessed our nation is that as we make changes at the highest levels in our armed forces and their agencies, we continue to provide superb leadership and management. Even when styles and methods are different, the change almost always turns out to be healthy.

This year, AFCEA International marks its 60th anniversary. As with other successful organizations, the key to AFCEA’s future lies in its members. Our corporate, government and military members do more than just define the association; they also serve as the focal point of our activities, which are entering a new phase in the association’s storied saga.

As AFCEA embarks on a course into its seventh decade, I am very proud of the service that our association continues to provide to our members’ nations. This reflects well on the ability of our chapters and their regions to bring together government and industry to understand requirements and to develop solutions.

The recent disasters caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the Gulf Coast of the United States laid bare many long-overlooked facts. Among them is the importance of local communications interoperability. From individuals at home to emergency responders operating on a national scale, communications connectivity is vital during a crisis. The communications shortcomings experienced during that series of disasters contributed to the difficulties faced by the populace.

The U.S. decision to reduce the number of its forces in Europe has increased the need for interoperable systems among the militaries of the Continent. For decades European nations could focus on working with a large U.S. force structure, secure in the thought that “if it works with the United States, it will work throughout NATO.” Now the interoperability focus must shift to reach across the range of European nations.

This year will mark a watershed event for AFCEA International; one that we think will be very beneficial to all of our constituencies: government, military, industry and academia.

AFCEA International’s objective always has been—and will continue to be—to inform the public, to provide professional development opportunities, and to bring together industry and government with unquestionable ethics. As part of this thrust, for more than 50 years AFCEA has held its annual convention and exposition in Washington, D.C. Recently known as TechNet International, the event has served to consolidate association sponsors, members and their related technologies—in effect, AFCEA International’s identity—under a single roof.

Just one year after the Defense Department launched its Defense Reform Initiative, information technology is proving to be a vital player in this effort to bring the department into the next millennium. The U.S. military’s increasing reliance on information systems for operations and support has opened the door for the commercial sector both to enable change and to benefit from it.

This month, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) celebrates its 50th anniversary. In addition to preserving peace and freedom for members on three continents, NATO’s strength and resolve contributed to the collapse and dissolution of its adversary. With the alliance’s original task accomplished, NATO now stands on the cusp of a new era where its primary mission can be to extend freedom to those long denied.

Tradition permeates AFCEA International. Our roots are in the military, an organization that many affectionately refer to as “family.” And our heritage also stems from the government—the cornerstone of every country. Intertwining these two entities is industry that supports them, provides for them and depends on them. As we look toward the beginning of a new century, information technology has become the common language between these three organizations, and AFCEA has evolved into the conduit for communication.

If knowledge is power and information is a force multiplier, then security is the key to defense and commercial supremacy in the information age. Any kind of strength, whether military or economic, represents a target for adversaries or competitors. Information, however, is to modern civilization what fire was at the dawn of humankind: an unlimited asset that, if not controlled, quickly can be turned against its user.

The U.S. intelligence community must take the initiative in developing a broad, cohesive plan for national intelligence. This effort must encompass specific funding requirements, new sensor and collection systems, information architectures and centralized authority over the intelligence community.

The sense of urgency comes from the uncertainty that is characteristic of the post-Cold-War era. This includes the lack of a single, easily defined threat and the explosion of information throughout cyberspace. International coalition operations add new requirements for collection, processing and dissemination. And, despite budget surpluses, significant funding increases are unlikely.

The military information revolution has been underway for many years now, but its outcome remains far from clear. Advances in communications and computing are teaming with promising materials developments to reshape the defense environment for decades to come. However, the defense community may be starting to suffer an Alvin Toffler-style “future shock” as it tries to embrace too many technology-enabled opportunities. It is absolutely vital that defense planners focus on their goals for the military and plan accordingly, rather than merely design future forces around new or anticipated technologies.