One of the Army’s most ardent proponents of reforming the service’s procurement system, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, predicts that the exercise, known as “network integration evaluation,” will become a paragon for a new way of doing business.
The NIE has “exceeded my expectations,” Chiarelli told National Defense June 28 during a tour of operations of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, at a combat outpost in White Sands designed to replicate combat conditions.
“I think this is going to change the acquisition process,” said Chiarelli. “It has to.” One of the NIE priorities is to figure out what pieces of hardware and software will be needed to create a wireless network that can support the communications and data-sharing needs of an entire brigade -- from high headquarters down to platoons, squads and dismounted soldiers.
The Army so far has been unable to put together a cohesive network because each component is designed, developed and tested in isolation. A network, by definition, doesn’t work that way. "
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Cyber Defense
The US military is preparing for 21st Century electronic warfare and cyber terrorism. A joint US Cyber Command and four service cyber commands have been set up.
Their mission is to defend American military networks and civilian American infrastructure from cyber terrorism and from foreign government hackers.
The officers leading these cyber commands explain how they are organized, how they operate, and how they will protect the United States from foreign military hackers, intelligence agencies, and cyber terrorists.
