President's Commentary: Military Bases and Cities Get ‘Smart’ Together

According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the term “smart cities” refers to communities that:  

• Integrate information and communications technologies, community-wide data, and intelligent solutions to digitally transform infrastructure and optimize governance in response to citizens’ needs.  
• Connect the operational technology managing physical infrastructure with networks and applications that collect and analyze data using information and communications technology components—such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and 5G.

U.S. military installations also are integrating smart technologies. The Defense Department has initiated multiple projects, including smart warehouse initiatives at Naval Base San Diego and Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany; distributed command and control at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada; and dynamic spectrum use at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.  

Smart technologies offer many potential benefits. A 2021 report from the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center explained that sensors integrated into barracks rooftops, for example, could provide data on precipitation, extreme temperatures and hail impact on roof materials. “With the right algorithms and a better understanding of the damage inflicted on a roof, engineers can decide exactly when a roof should be replaced.”

Large military bases can look, feel and operate like small cities and sometimes share critical infrastructure and public services with nearby communities. And we’ve seen cooperation between military installations and surrounding communities work well with the Jack Voltaic cybersecurity exercises, which I wrote about last month. The Army Cyber Institute at West Point initiated the exercises to plan for and help mitigate cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure.

And now, we’re seeing similar partnerships regarding smart technology adoption. The nonprofit US Ignite, for example, hosts a portfolio of smart base programs that help military installations implement technology projects in key operational areas, including advanced broadband and IoT networks, energy resiliency, connected and autonomous vehicles, public safety, drones and unmanned aerial systems.

“We try and make sure that the broader set of stakeholders from the community and the base are sitting around that table and talking with each other,” Nick Maynard, US Ignite CEO, explained.  

US Ignite projects include a smart sensor network for improved operations at Fort Moore, Georgia, where the Army Maneuver Center of Excellence is located. The Smart Installation and Community Dashboard is designed to test technologies that can be scaled to installations across the U.S. Army, providing a common operating picture, improved physical security, energy efficiency and public safety for the base and neighboring community.  

Additionally, US Ignite has managed projects at the 5G Living Lab, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. Pilot systems include energy communications with distributed energy resources, intelligent video analytics for public safety, automated vehicles for logistics support and operating automated vehicles through untrusted 5G networks.

Another US Ignite project, the Artificial Intelligence for Traffic and Weather program, is a $1.17 million effort to install and evaluate smart traffic and weather-related artificial intelligence applications to improve the safety and efficiency of traffic flow on and off the base.

While Jack Voltaic and US Ignite have differing missions—critical infrastructure cybersecurity and smart technology adoption—they take similar approaches by working with military bases and municipal leaders. This is comparable to AFCEA’s mission of bringing government, industry and academia together to overcome technology-related challenges.  

AFCEA has traditionally focused primarily on the national security and defense community, but we certainly see tremendous value in military base officials working with their local community leaders to resolve common problems and share lessons learned and technical solutions.

When industry and academia work with government at all levels—federal, state and local—American innovation thrives to the benefit of all.