DISA

Rear Adm. Nancy A. Norton, USN, will be assigned as vice director, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), Fort Meade, Maryland.

The Defense Information Systems Agency is expanding its offerings under the Department of Defense Mobility Classified Capability-Secret (DMCC-S) Program through a new pilot program that puts 8-inch tablet computers into the hands of designated senior leaders across the department.

The pilot expands the DMCC-S' support for smartphones and acknowledges the need to enable leaders to work with classified data in a mobile environment just as they would in an office. 

How many software engineers does it take to screw in a light bulb? None. It’s a hardware problem. That joke, though, soon might be on its way to becoming wrong with the speed of technology, joked Lt. Gen. Alan Lynn, USA, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and commander of the Joint Force Headquarters–Department of Defense Information Networks (DODIN).

New technologies are just about obsolete by the time they actually hit federal work stations and are put to use, a disruption that could threaten the future of federal information technology investments. Acquisition at times precariously hinges on the government striking a sustainable balance between agility and innovation on one side, and security on the other, according to acting federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) Margie Graves.

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is discovering and evolving disruptive technologies with the formation of its burgeoning Innovations Systems and Engineering Directorate (ISED). Evolved from the agency’s former Chief Technology Office and the Enterprise Engineering division, the directorate is to identify and develop future technologies and information sharing capabilities and apply them to innovative solutions, demonstrating proof of concept and operational utility for mission partners and combatant commands.

Innovative systems and capabilities may define U.S. military networks within a handful of years if the Defense Information Systems Agency’s work with industry pays the technological dividends the agency expects. Officials within the organization, also known as DISA, aspire to exploit not only the newest ideas emerging from the private sector but also technologies that have not been fully developed. This strategy would address the burgeoning demands of modern coalition warfare and protect against rapidly growing cyberthreats as budgets constrict, says the agency’s director, Lt. Gen. Alan R. Lynn, USA, and commander of the Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Networks (JFHQ-DODIN).

An extensive list of current contract vehicles available through the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is now online. The list includes contract titles and numbers, a description of available information technology, communications and other mission support products and services, contractor names and periods of performance.  

If they play their cards right, conference attendees can get much more out of attending an event than just listening to the who’s who of this career field or that. At this year’s Defensive Cyber Operations Symposium, or DCOS, open ears can also lead to open opportunities. Not only do attendees get the chance to listen to experts, they can enhance careers by receiving continuing education units.

Currently, 21 continuing education sessions will be offered during the three-day symposium, hosted by AFCEA International. It takes place June 13-15 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore.

The very qualities that define small businesses—agility, flexibility, inherent innovation—are driving the Defense Information Systems Agency to increase its efforts to bring their capabilities under the big tent of defense network services.

With the agency, known as DISA, tasked with providing warfighters and decision makers with the best in information technology, it must incorporate capabilities faster than is possible through normal acquisition processes involving large contractors. Ongoing efforts such as regular outreach and prime contract set-asides are being supplanted with new segmented contracts and drives to bring in nontraditional firms.