Joint coalition test environment receives Federation of Net-Centric Sites Accreditation

By Army CIO/G-6July 31, 2014

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1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Jeffrey Phipps (right), the U.S. Chair for Coalition Interoperability Assurance and Validation receives accreditation for the Coalition Test Evaluation Environment lab at Indian Head, Maryland, from Steven Roscoe, the Army CIO/G-6 lead for coaliti... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

WASHINGTON (July 31, 2014) -- The Joint Interoperability Test Command's Coalition Interoperability Assurance and Validation facility in Indian Head, Maryland, was recently added to the Army's Federation of Net-Centric Sites or FaNS by the Army Chief Information Officer/G-6. The Coalition Test Evaluation Environment is now accredited to test coalition interoperability for Army systems.

The Indian Head facility is the first accredited coalition FaNS site for the Army. A second Coalition Test Evaluation Environment or CTE2 lab at Fort Hood, Texas, was also recently accredited. They join a list of other sites leveraged for distributed Army Interoperability and Certification testing.

"The team supporting coalition interoperability assurance and validation is making significant contributions to coalition compatibility," said Steven Roscoe, the Army CIO/G-6 lead for coalition interoperability assurance and validation or CIAV. "They are also enhancing performance beyond Joint and Coalition environments by solving real-time information-sharing issues with our partners."

FaNS is a federation of existing Army and Joint facilities networked together to execute Army interoperability and certification testing and configuration management in support of Army and Joint information technology/national security systems across all mission area/domains.

With coalition interoperability at the forefront of warfighting requirements, the U.S. national lead for CIAV has required FaNS accreditation for all U.S. CIAV CTE2 sites to ensure rigor and standardization. FaNS requires strict adherence to published Army standards, specifications and procedures to ensure the reliability of materials, products, methods, and/or services. FaNS also supports the acquisition community by providing a venue for realistic developmental and risk reduction testing prior to AIC testing and deployment.

The FaNS network has allowed the Army to grow its real-time integration and interoperability testing capabilities by leveraging existing testing facilities inside and outside the Army. It also provides the Army with an agile, efficient, flexible and persistent interoperability testing capability.

The Central Technical Support Facility or CTSF on Fort Hood, Texas, was the first site to receive a FaNS accreditation in 2009. As the hub for testing in the warfighter mission area, the CTSF originally provided a location for the rapid integration, testing and deployment of the Army Battle Command Systems or ABCS which digitized the Army's battle command and control capability. As digitization of the Army's warfighting capability grew and matured, the CTSF mission expanded to integrate and test more than 200 systems and evolved into the FaNS concept.

The Army continues to streamline interoperability testing through partnerships with Joint, DOD, and federal agencies through the FaNS environment. For more information on FaNS, contact Mr. David Brumlow, the CIO/G-6 FaNS compliance officer, at (254) 624-5091, david.g.brumlow.ctr@mail.mil.

Related Links:

What is CIAV? (video)