There is no shortage of topics to engage with you on starting with the continuing events in Libya and whether Colonel Gaddafhi will go into exile, die at his post as he claims he is ready to do, or prevail. In the meantime violence engulfs the country and has driven oil prices to over $100 a barrel. Then there is the drama and trauma of the US Government being at least partially shut down because of the inability of the White House and both houses of the Congress to come together on spending cuts so an appropriations bill can be passed to fund government operations for the rest of FY 11.

Military and private-sector participants are attempting to replicate the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)-led Afghanistan Mission Network (AMN) for CWID 2011 with an emphasis on joint fires and coalition interoperability.

Commercial smart phone capabilities have found their way into the classroom and the battlefield, and the U.S. Army’s Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications initiative is using pilot programs to determine how these mobile platforms will change the way soldiers communicate and access information in the next 10 years.

Dual-use U.S. technology may be improving other nations’ militaries as a result of efforts by foreign technology workers in the United States, according to a U.S. government report. U.S. government agencies should tighten their processes and monitoring of visas and foreign workers’ access to controlled technologies, the report recommends.

A memorandum to federal officials about information sharing during government acquisition processes is opening the lines of communication between agencies and vendors. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo includes guidelines for comprehensive communication plans, awareness campaigns, education modules and discussion forums, all of which aim at facilitating dialogue.

I am -- yet again, amazed at who I run into at various networking events. I am tempted to go into "listen-only" mode, sometimes when I spend too much time in my cave (i.e., home office) so… occasionally, I have to remind myself to open up a bit and talk at these events. I usually come away with another valuable contact.

Your mouse may no longer be a friendly. That goes for your keyboard as well. Cyber security researchers have reportedly found a way to create peripherals that can be programmed to steal and transmit data when certain actions or keystrokes are performed.

U.S. Army developers have installed in Afghanistan the first technology that permits radio communications to continue while soldiers use jammers to defeat improvised explosive devices (IEDs).