DISA Drives Deeper Into the Battlespace

Signal, May 2008 by Ackerman, Robert K

Information agency aims to move new capabilities to the tactical edge.

Not content with being a global service provider, the Defense Information Systems Agency is striving to extend its network to take advantage of new capabilities that it is introducing into the force. Many of these new capabilities magnify the power of the network as it reaches the tactical edge, and they may change the nature of communications and information flow.

At the heart of these new capabilities is the private sector. Whether leasing commercial satellite bandwidth or adapting Web 2.0 capabilities, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) will be relying heavily on the commercial world to help feed its customers' hunger for connectivity. And, companies that want to sell capabilities and services to DISA must demonstrate how they are using those very capabilities and services.

"The commercial world has speed and agility," observes Lt. Gen. Charles E. Croom Jr., USAF, DISA director and commander of the Joint Task Force for Global Network Operations (JTF-GNO). "We're watching that, we're learning from that and we're trying to emulate it. We don't have to think about what's out there -we already know. Now the trick is how to get it onto government networks and into government capabilities."

DISA's two major ongoing software applications-Net-Centric Enterprise Services (NCES) and Net-Enabled Command Capability (NECC)-are fundamental to bringing Web 2.0-type services to Defense Department functions, Gen. Croom says. They apply to diverse areas ranging from command and control (C2) to business areas, and they must be matured and implemented across the defense community.

The agency is moving ahead with its computing and storage services, and it continues to seek to provide these services at the lowest cost possible. Gen. Croom allows that DISA has increased capability and reduced personnel and operational costs over the years. It strives to be the provider of choice for its defense customers, which requires that it continually upgrade its capabilities.

"The commercial world is the model for our providing computing services," he says. "They [in industry] are our benchmark for computing service in terms of price."

One innovation is storage on demand. Instead of the traditional way of buying boxes, DISA has arranged with several vendors to have computing and storage services available at its computing centers. This storage effectively is a utility that can be turned on by the user, who pays only for what actually is used. DISA has been able to cut the time of delivery for these services from as long as six months to an average of two weeks, the general reports.

DISA also is pushing for everything over IP (EoIP) across the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN). This extends across the core to services at the tactical edge.

The agency soon will be introducing its Secure Mobile Environment Portable Electronic Device, or SMEPED. Similar to a BlackBerry, SMEPED will include both classified and unclassified e-mail and voice. Two vendors-General Dynamics and L-3-are providing the device, and the National security Agency has brought together the initial network. DISA will take over and operate that network.

For the JTF-GNO, directing network operations will require new tools, the general points out. He is looking for machine-to-machine interfaces that would give JTF-GNO the speed and agility to defend against the new types of intrusions that threaten the network. These tools would move the human out of the loop and automate network defense. The JTF-GNO also is striving to provide a global common operational picture (COP) to all of its partners -the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps along with more than 50 agencies.

Scans against the defense network run in the millions, the general reports. Defending the network is a risk management effort, and the JTF-GNO achieves this in a number of ways. The organization is defending the network "moderately well," he offers, but it also has great room for improvement.

With more than 5 million users, the network touches 88 nations worldwide. The JTF-GNO has "a lot of work to do" to modernize capabilities both for managing the network and for defending it, Gen. Croom states.

The overwhelming majority of military satellite communications traffic travels over commercial satellites. New military satellite programs underway aim to shift that percentage more toward military carriers. The wideband global satellite communications system, or WGS, will replace the venerable defense satellite communications system (DSCS). One WGS satellite already is in orbit, and more are slated for launch.

But Gen. Croom does not see DISA abandoning commercial satellite service as more military satellites reach orbit. Defense requirements far outweigh the agency's ability to provide services from military sources only.

Under the current acquisition system, a user approaches DISA, which has established a competitive bid system among three vendors. The agency offers commercial satellite services at 25 percent below market price, the general states. Process improvements have dropped service times from several months to 21 days or less, and the agency can respond to emergency requirements within four hours.