Interview with Robert J. Carey DON Deputy CIO

CHIPS, Fall, 2004

Mr. Robert J. Carey serves as the Department of the Navy Deputy Chief Information Officer for Policy and Integration. Reporting directly to the DON CIO, he is the principal adviser to the CIO. Mr. Carey is responsible for managing and leading the DON CIO staff and developing strategies for achieving information management/ information technology (IM/IT) enterprise integration across the DON.

CHIPS: What is the DON Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) Strategic Plan 2004-2005? Why is it important, and who should read it?

Mr. Carey: The importance of the plan can't be understated because it lays out the high level roadmap as to where the Navy and the Marine Corps will be going in the broad context of information technology.

Navy and Marine Corps Deputy CIOs contributed heavily to the plan, and careful attention was paid to ensure the goals and objectives of the plan support the Department's larger vision for the warfighting capability of the future. So the goals and objectives in the plan are aligned with our warfighting capabilities documents like Naval Power 21, Marine Corps Strategy 21 and Joint Vision 2020.

We linked these documents to the IM/IT Strategic Plan so it is clear that IM/IT is an integral enabler of every Naval program and initiative. So, for example, if you are in logistics, aviation or a Marine on the ground, the DON IM/IT Strategic Plan will help you understand the IM/IT capabilities the Department is building that will help you do your job.

The plan is also aligned with DoD's IT plans and with the suite of legislative statutes and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance that govern IM/IT. It is not an execution plan; it doesn't go down to the program level. But it is something that everyone in the Department's IT workforce should read to gain a fundamental understanding of the types of things the Department as an Enterprise is trying to accomplish. Because this is where we should be shaping investments tied to corporate management and functional objectives.

The next step is to strengthen the tie between the IT capabilities in the strategic plan, IT programs and investment decision making, and we are working with the Navy and Marine Corps to improve this linkage.

CHIPS: The list of DON IM/IT initiatives is extensive, how does the DON CIO prioritize these programs in order of importance?

Mr. Carey: Yes, the list is long. Because of the way programs are funded, we are not at a place yet where we can say: 'Let's fund

ATMs-at-Sea but not Enterprise Resource Planning.' Our greatest opportunity to influence IT investment decision making, lies in strengthening the alignment of claimant IT programs with the Department's vision for the Enterprise, and we are making tremendous progress. In the past, our major opportunity to influence the IT budget was just prior to its submission, but we now can influence the budget throughout the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process by releasing policy and guidance documents at strategic points throughout the PPBE cycle.

For instance, during the last budget review cycle we issued DON CIO IT Policy Guidance for FY 2004 Expenditures in coordination with the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller (ASN (FM&C)). This guidance tied programs' authorization to expend funds to specific national, DoD and DON IT policies and made every organization's comptroller office responsible for enforcement. Similar guidance for FY 2005 will help make sure that commands are working on things that are aligned with the Department's IM/IT strategy. Another example of progress in this area, is the continuing work by the DON's Functional Area Managers (FAMS) to rationalize and consolidate the DON's software portfolio.

Dave Wennergren, the DON CIO, co-chairs the FAM Council with Vice Admiral Albert Church, Director, Navy Staff. Together they help shape the guidelines about how applications are going to be examined, measured and renewed. Programs that are not meeting the goals and objectives that the Department has laid out can be modified. The Clinger-Cohen Act also helps shape the level of initiatives.

As acquisition programs come up for milestone decisions, Clinger-Cohen requires agency CIOs to review them for security and architectural compliance. As we move into net-centricity all of these programs and their applications and databases must work together. Requirements for security, interoperability, authoritative databases, collaborative environments, and efficient use of limited resources demand that agencies shift away from the traditional paradigm of decentralized IT decision making to Enterprise solutions.

CHIPS: What are some of the DON IM/IT capabilities that the DON CIO has fostered?

Mr. Carey: There are quite a few; I'll give you a short list, for example, cryptographic logon. We are the champions of smart card technology with Common Access Cards (CAC) in the Department. Since last summer, the DON CIO staff has been logging on to NMCI workstations with the CAC card. This eliminates the need to remember passwords. One of the benefits of the smart card is the ability to log on to the network securely using your PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) credentials contained on your CAC card. Once fielded, the Navy Marine Corps Portal will be your window to the world, and your CAC will be the key that authenticates your identity to the portal, giving you access to all of the applications that you need to do your job.