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Not Your Grandfather’s National Guard

To support today’s Guard, the right technology and interoperability are needed.

A CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the Nevada Army National Guard receives a fuel up at the Sacramento Mather Airport in Rancho Cordova, California, to join the California National Guard’s aerial assets in support of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s wildfire response to multiple large-scale fires in July. With a demanding dual state-federal mission, the U.S. National Guard needs the right kind of information technology. Credit: U.S. Army National Guard photo by Amanda Johnson

The U.S. National Guard Bureau, with Army and Air National Guard components, has to modernize its information technology with fundamental and innovative capabilities to support the service’s unique dual state-federal mission and the 430,000 Guardsman serving both domestically and overseas.

For example, today’s National Guard features the State Partnership Program, which sends cyber experts domestically and worldwide to aid other militaries and countries in their cyber development. In May, cyber experts from the Florida Air National Guard went to Barbados in support of U.S. Southern Command’s and Air Forces South’s effort to grow cyber defenses across the Caribbean, Central and South America.

In Arizona, the Air National Guard at Morris spent the last year training Ukrainian fighter pilots, first on the English language and then on F-16s.

“This is definitely a different National Guard,” said Kenneth McNeill, chief information officer (CIO) and J6, National Guard Bureau, in an interview with SIGNAL Media. “We’re leading technology innovation in the Department of Defense when it comes to information technology and cyber. It is certainly not your grandfather’s National Guard anymore. We’re on the cutting edge.”

The CIO’s office is pursuing four key efforts: information technology modernization; command, control, communications and computers technologies; data management; and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI). In addition, they are working to improve interoperability with interagency partners and first responders, upgrading satellite and network capabilities, and streamlining executive communications, McNeill reported.

The National Guard Bureau’s Chief Information Office has added both a chief data officer and a chief technology officer to help the Guard stay on the cutting edge of technology and maintain strong relationships with industry partners, says Kenneth McNeill, the chief information officer and the J6, National Guard Bureau. Photo Courtesy of Master Sgt. Erich Smith, National Guard Bureau

The National Guard Bureau has created a central repository of data and is applying artificial intelligence to full-motion streaming video to disaster relief operations, such as predicting potential hot spots during wildfires. Pictured is a screenshot from a video demonstration of the platform. Credit: 518th Software Engineering Squadron

A former Signal officer with 27 years of service, McNeill’s work with the Guard as a civilian CIO/J6 has him seeing firsthand the capabilities and flexibility needed, especially with domestic operations. During natural disasters, Guardsmen work alongside first responders. Increased interoperability and specialized information technology are needed so that Guardsmen can integrate with the various emergency systems in states and local areas across the United States.

And naturally, cybersecurity is a key priority. “If we don’t get that right, all of the technology, AI, everything that we’re trying to do, [won’t] work if we don’t have the cybersecurity piece,” he emphasized.

Even the National Guard’s implementation of zero trust is tailored to the service’s unique operations. Since the Army and Air National Guard units fall under their active-duty component’s zero-trust architecture, the National Guard Bureau has built its own zero-trust plan for its domestic operations.

The connections with non-Department of Defense (DoD) entities during those operations require specific protocols, the CIO/J6 said.

“Those services are not talking to civilian, local non-DoD responders on a daily basis,” McNeill noted. “We are. And before we are connecting, the proper protocols [have to be] in place. Just because you have to communicate with the local fire department in Maryland, it doesn’t mean that as you’re exchanging information or you’re bridging radios ... that you’re allowing nongovernment agencies and DoD agencies to connect on the DODIN [Department of Defense Information Network] with a capability that has not been through cybersecurity or not met the standards of the Department of Defense.”

McNeill cites their Bring Your Own Device program as another innovation designed to support Guardsmen, as the majority are part-time, have civilian day jobs and do not have cellphones or tablets furnished by the government. The CIO’s team developed a secure solution that allows warfighters to use their personal devices to access necessary Guard platforms and systems. The program may also save costs, as far as software licenses, with mobile versions being less expensive.

“Whether it’s a phone, whether it’s an iPad, whether it’s an Android product, it doesn’t matter,” McNeill stated. “This capability allows you to do everything you do on your [work] desktop on your personal device.”

In addition, the Guard’s Bring Your Own Device solution has been adopted by both the Army and Air Force, with the Space Force considering the program, the CIO/J6 shared.

The Guard is also applying artificial intelligence to disaster response through Project Theia. The capability harnesses full-motion streaming video to predict potential hot spots during wildfires. The data is then fed into a common operating picture available in all 54 states and territories. It allows the Guard’s leader, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, to make quick, smart decisions. And it provides the data and the situational awareness needed for him to support resources going from one state to another state or to a territory.

Moreover, the CIO/J6 is grateful for the Guard’s workforce. Their thought leadership and civilian-acquired skills are second to none, he said.

“You may work for Company X during the day doing cybersecurity and IT, and now we have that expertise when you put on the uniform to serve your nation,” McNeill emphasized. “It’s all about people. If we don’t have the people, everything else becomes a dream. You can have money, you can have the technology, but if you don’t have smart people to implement it and put it in place, it’s just a good idea.”

And to support his workforce’s innovation, McNeil added a chief data officer and a chief technology officer. These specialists will help the service stay on the cutting edge of technology and maintain strong relationships with industry partners, the CIO/J6 noted.

The CIO’s shop could not succeed to the extent it has without the support it receives from DoD senior leaders, including Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and the previous DoD CIO, John Sherman, who retired from government service in late June. “Honorable Sherman ... has been such a tremendous battle buddy that words can’t describe,” shared McNeil. He also praised Deputy Secretary Hicks for her engagement with the information technology community. “We get a chance to meet with Deputy Secretary Hicks and talk policy,” McNeil stated. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Lastly, McNeill encouraged industry to engage with the CIO/J6’s office about potential capabilities and to understand the Guard’s unique mission.