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The U.S. Defense Department is investing billions of dollars in new military satellite communications (MILSATCOM) systems such as the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF), Wideband Global Services (WGS) and Transformational Communications System (TCS) to transform the way U.S. forces communicate and operate in modern combat. Unfortunately, reliance on these expensive and delayed programs has hampered the networked capabilities of operating units. Specific programs

Misguided Policies Restrict Guaranteed Reliable Communications Cmdr. Gregory E. Glaros, USN (Ret.)

We humans are very resourceful creatures. When faced with a threat we are able to create innovative, effective ways of protecting ourselves. Back at the dawn of time when humans were stalked by prowling predators, they leaned to build a roaring fire at the mouth of the cave to keep the threat at bay. Yet that fire needed to be strategically placed and well maintained to be useful. Let it die out and there was a good chance someone became a midnight snack for a creature with very big teeth. That’s why it is always amazing when somebody decides that a proven security device is inconvenient and devises a way, sometime a very resourceful way, of circumventing it.

I was in Chicago the week after Labor Day for the DNI's "Analytic Transformation - Moving Forward Together - Symposium" where 400 Intelligence Community (IC) "dignitary" gathered to affirm their belief that information sharing and collaboration enabled by technology can now truly transform intelligence analysis.

Planning, Budgeting, and Execution

The New Africa Command: A Hedge Against Neocolonialism or a True Agent of Change? By Cmdr. Gregory E. Glaros, USN (Ret.)

My involvement with AFCEA goes back 38 years. I have been in a number of volunteer leadership positions at the chapter and international levels, and I am excited about starting out on this journey as your association's president and chief executive officer.

Finland's military is facing its own force transformation as it alters its structure and its mission. The Baltic nation is looking at broad-based equipment modernization, substantial personnel cuts and a network-centric architecture to define its armed forces.

Long-neutral Sweden faces major defense changes as it shifts its military emphasis from homeland defense to coalition operations. A force built around defending the territory of a single Scandinavian nation now must open up to interoperate fully with other nations in distant locales. This is bringing about changes in funding, logistics and force size.

In the near future, robot warplanes could autonomously take off, navigate to their targets and identify them—all before contacting human operators for clearance to attack. This operational independence is the promise of a new program underway in the United Kingdom. Building on experience gained from several other recent technology demonstrations, the project emphasizes systems development and integration. The aircraft's situational awareness will rely on its ability to process and translate flight and sensor data without human interaction.