An ongoing U.S. Navy realignment is uniting defense and intelligence tasks to permit missions based on both service-specific and national capabilities. The changes are accelerating the convergence of the service's command, control, communications, computers, information operations and space asset capabilities. This will enable component commanders to be more proactive in hunting down maritime threats.

The U.S. Navy has affirmed its dedication to improving communications networks aboard ship and ashore by reinstating the position of deputy chief of naval operations for communication networks (N-6) on the staff of the chief of naval operations. The vice admiral tapped to fill the position plans to consolidate systems, reallocate funds and help the Navy deliver on the promises it makes to its sailors.

The U.S. Navy cannot become fully network centric quickly enough to be able to carry out its new diverse mission slate, according to its top military officer. Adm. Michael G. Mullen, USN, chief of naval operations, states that new missions and the potential for a greater number of nations to participate in them add up to increased reliance on the network and its capabilities.

The U.S. Navy, master of the seas and leader in net centricity, faces an uncertain future in the very information technology applications it has led for years. If the Navy does not change its personnel system and its education system, then it will be a Navy that can maintain only information tools that are developed elsewhere and modified to fit the maritime role. Without a change in direction, our Navy will not be able to build and support the tools designed to serve the maritime warfighter from requirements development to acquisition.

Command and control systems used by the U.S./Republic of Korea Combined Forces Command, the 15-member United Nations Command in Korea and U.S. Forces Korea have transformed significantly over the past two years. These improvements in the region were made a priority by the former commander of U.S. Forces Korea, Gen. Leon J.

In the past few years, the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) has participated in several operations that required the sudden U.S. collaboration with a range of unexpected partners. These operations repeatedly highlighted the same point: PACOM must be capable of rapidly standing up new communities of interest (COIs) for specific

Both warfighters and their first responder counterparts depend on handheld radios to maintain small unit connectivity. These radios are lighter and less awkward than manpack systems, allowing more flexibility for users who must coordinate activities in adverse and chaotic situations. The disadvantage is that the range of handheld radios limits their effectiveness in areas with little or no infrastructure.

Disaster areas are chaotic, demanding, challenging environments for both the survivors and the organizations trying to help them. A recent international demonstration examined ways to develop new applications and technologies to coordinate disaster recovery operations better. The event also focused on building social networks between the participants to streamline and accelerate future relief efforts.

U.S. troops in Iraq are performing investigative fieldings of instant speech-to-speech translators as a result of efforts by several government organizations and private companies. The language barriers faced by U.S. forces and Iraqis inhibit training and routine operations. As operation Iraqi Freedom continues, the need for better communication between U.S. troops and Iraqi soldiers and civilians is becoming increasingly important.

The U.S. Marine Corps is assessing a technology that will allow troops to assemble aviation command and control centers anywhere they can take a high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV). The new system is more agile, mobile and dynamic than the systems it replaces, and it gives Marines the ability to engage the enemy more quickly and effectively.