TAMPA, Fla. Aca,!" Maj. Gen. Randolph P. Strong, commander of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, welcomed attendees at the recent 2010 LandWarNet Conference during the first of six C4ISR [command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] Materiel Enterprise track sessions.
Army Team C4ISR members briefed conference attendees about topics related to this yearAca,!a,,cs LandWarNet theme of providing global cyber-dominance to joint/combined commanders.
Strong opened the C4ISR Materiel Enterprise track sessions by summarizing the purpose, mission, organizational structure and challenges of the enterprise.
Aca,!A"Our aim is to help provide understanding of the C4ISR Materiel Enterprise, its members and how, together, we provide lifecycle management and support for current and future cyber capabilities in support of our nationAca,!a,,cs defense operations,Aca,!A? said Strong.
The C4ISR Materiel Enterprise is a subset of the ArmyAca,!a,,cs Materiel Enterprise; one of four Army Enterprises, which also include: Human Capital; Readiness; and Services and Infrastructure. The Materiel Enterprise is co-chaired by the Army Materiel Command and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, commonly referred to as ASA/ALT.
The C4ISR Materiel Enterprise is made up six primary organizations, three from AMC and three from ASA/ALT. AMC organizations include: CECOM; the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center; and the CECOM Contracting Center.
ASA/ALT provides three Program Executive Offices to the team including: PEO for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical; PEO for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors; and PEO for Enterprise Information Systems.
Aca,!A"The C4ISR Materiel Enterprise will optimize support for Warfighters and other customers by synchronizing materiel life-cycle functions in support of ARFORGEN [Army Force Generation],Aca,!A? Strong explained.
Representatives from Army Team C4ISRAca,!a,,cs diverse organizations briefed attendees about their roles in the partnership and the impact and challenges each face as their organizations come together to improve C4ISR capabilities.
Aca,!A"Together, these organizations develop, acquire, provide, field and sustain world-class C4ISR systems and battle command capabilities for the joint Warfighter,Aca,!A? said Strong. While providing C4ISR support for the nationAca,!a,,cs defense, each of these organizations is in the midst of implementing the 2005 BRAC law and relocating to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., and Fort Belvoir, Va. This move, according to Strong, will be accomplished while simultaneously providing uninterrupted services to the Warfighter.
Aca,!A"There will be no degradation to our mission as we move and reconstitute the team to APG,Aca,!A? said Strong. With more than 1,900 Army Team C4ISR members already on the ground at APG by early August 2010, the BRAC move is nearing its final implementation phases. CECOMAca,!a,,cs Logistics and Readiness Center personnel were the first to move into the new C4ISR Center of Excellence campus beginning August 2. Strong will officially case the commandAca,!a,,cs flag at Fort Monmouth, N.J., this September, and will then uncase the flag at APG in October.
PEO C3T
Jennifer Zbonzy, director of the PEO for C3T Tech Management Division, presented information about Team C4ISR support to the U.S. Central Command and others to enable and sustain the transition to the Afghanistan Mission Network, or AMN. She explained the purpose and way ahead in support of the AMN and broke down the systems that will migrate to the new network. According to Zbonzy, this effort will benefit deployed coalition forces in providing a common network to share theater- related operational guidance, information and intelligence. With Department of the Army support and resources, the PEO for IEW&S and the PEO for C3T will procure capabilities needed for the network migration of various systems.
Col. Chuck Hoppe, program manager for Warfighter Information NetworkAca,!"Tactical, discussed lessons learned from theater operations and how those lessons can help shape the execution of the acquisition process. Hoppe summarized successes, improvements and lessons learned in working with coalition forces.
Col. David Moore, program manager for Battle Command, presented the Battle Command "Collapse" strategy, which will shift the battle command family of distinct applications with unique data storing and sharing mechanisms to collapse these systems into a consolidated battle command product line. Moore informed attendees about worldwide battle command capabilities and strategies as well as the importance of application and infrastructure consolidation across the Army, a theme prevalent in each of the six C4ISR track sessions.
CECOM
The CECOM Logistics and Readiness Center and Tobyhanna Army Depot presented their roles in logistics support provided to the nationAca,!a,,cs expeditionary Army, providing an understanding of`mission requirements for sustaining C4ISR weapon systems in support of ARFORGEN and also discussing how foreign military sales support coalition partners.
David McClung, CECOM Central Technical Support Facility technical director, addressed overseas contingency operations, one of CECOMAca,!a,,cs top three priorities. He defined various operational challenges and solutions relating to Afghanistan operations. Among the challenges cited was the need for one network for coalition forces to share information in Afghanistan, as Zbonzy referenced in an earlier presentation.
One of the CTSFAca,!a,,cs major roles in the AMN endeavor is to provide the Army information technology environment to support this all-in-one system. Achieving interoperability to enable joint military forces to communicate effectively is essential to increase joint and coalition interaction and security to counter emerging threats, according to McClung.
Nelson Keeler, SEC director, proposed a multi-layered approach consisting of infrastructure, software application, transport and controlled interface security. This approach involves a collective effort between various CECOM centers including ISEC; the Software Engineering Center and the Logistic and Readiness CenterAca,!a,,cs Communications Security Logistics Activity.
CECOMAca,!a,,cs U.S. Army Information Systems Engineering Command also addressed cyber-protection capabilities available in an ever-changing environment.
Douglas P. Van Gorden, ISECAca,!a,,cs acting director for information assurance, discussed the security of the Infrastructure Security Layer and the risks and challenges faced as the army transitions to the net-centric environment. Access control and configuration management are critical components of net-centric security to ensure users and applications have the appropriate access, authorization and timing to data in the net-centric environment.
Farhat Shah, lead information assurance engineer in SECAca,!a,,cs Software Assurance Division, addressed the software application security layer in Army Team C4ISRAca,!a,,cs multi-layered approach. Shah explained the importance of software assurance in cyber-security and the precautions, risks and benefits to deploying secure software programs. Among topics discussed were common deficiencies, malicious code and the business benefits from quality and assurance in software products, to include reducing overall system life-cycle cost and security operations risk reduction.
Monte Hill, deputy director of CECOMAca,!a,,cs Communications Security Logistics Activity, presented the transport security portion of the multi-layered approach. Hill discussed current and future efforts relating to cryptographic key management and its role in net-centric security. He also discussed crypto key management challenges and capabilities.
The final security layer in the teamAca,!a,,cs cyber-protection multi-layer approach is controlled interface security. Chris Shin, SEC security engineer, presented information regarding two Army Team C4ISR-maintained systems that use controlled interface and software guards to protect information. Team C4ISR is maintaining several controlled interface efforts, including work on the AMN.
CERDEC
Cyber security was also addressed by the CERDECAca,!a,,cs Giorgio Bertoli, and George Brick. The two led a discussion on new technologies supporting cyber space operations They explained the environment, challenges and concerns in shaping the R&D portfolio and stressed the importance of security being considered in the R&D phase. The CERDEC is a subordinate element of the U.S Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, also headquartered at APG.
PEO IEW&S
Edwin Henry, PEO IEW&S deputy director for Operations, addressed the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities being fielded to units in the RESET force pool and sustainment of those systems, outlining acquisition and quick reaction capability fielding in support of the C4ISR enterprise. Sustainment challenges result from accelerating the fielding process but are being overcome through contractor logistics support, highly reliable systems and close coordination with CECOM.
The 2010 LandWarNet C4ISR Materiel Enterprise track encompassed the breadth and depth of the support, innovations and challenges faced by Army Team C4ISR as it maintains and sustains the C4ISR portion of the ArmyAca,!a,,cs Materiel Enterprise. For more information about Army Team C4ISR, visit www.armyteamc4isr.army.mil.
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