TECHNOLOGY AND THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT

Playing nice. That's the take of Brig. Gen. James Ferron, director general for information management for the Canadian Forces, who told the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association's MILCOM conference in San Diego Nov. 17-19 that he was both surprised by and pleased at the readiness of the United States to share intelligence with partners and allies during his tour as NATO intelligence chief in Afghanistan.

In fact, Ferron said, alliance countries could learn from the willingness of the United States to share with and trust its partners. Other NATO countries do not come to the table with the same level of trust as the United States, Ferron said.

Everyone Must Play Nice in Cyber

Reiterating a point that ought to have sunk in by now: Vice Adm. Nancy Brown, director of command, control, communications and computers for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told attendees at the MILCOM conference that operations in cyberspace do not belong to any one organization or service, and everyone needs to cooperate to counter threats.

The services' various cyber organizations, such as the Air Force Cyber Command and the Naval Network Warfare Command, plan to develop capabilities to operate in cyberspace and to create a new class of cyber warriors. The Strategic Command and the Joint Forces Command then will develop mission tasks that the operators must execute, Brown said.

It was good to hear in person the structure, neatly laid out, by a three star, but I have a hunch that cyber turf battles will continue.

Need Windows NT? The Navy Has Some

Microsoft introduced its Windows NT operating system in 1993, and most users tossed it into the digital junkyard years ago.

Not the Navy. Christopher Miller, Navy program executive officer for command, control, communications, computers and intelligence told the MILCOM conference that the service still runs some applications on Windows NT.

That's probably a good idea because Miller also said it took the Navy just shy of a decade to develop and deploy its maritime variant of the Global Command and Control System.

But there's hope. Miller said the service has developed applications for the new Maritime Domain Awareness system.

See the above link if you want to know more about the "overarching guidance" for the maritime awareness system. I know everyone in What's Land just loves overarching guidance documents.

A Good Hire, Huh, Boss?

I spent some talking with John Grimes, the Defense Department's chief information officer, at MILCOM, and I asked him what he planned to do when the Bush administration turns over power to the Obama administration in January.

His quick answer: "Go to work for Government Executive."

I hope this is not an idle threat like the one made by Air Force Lt. Gen. Charles Croom when he still served as director of the Defense Information Systems Agency. Croom told me he wanted to be a columnist for Government Executive when he retired. Instead, he opted for a job with Lockheed Martin Corp., choosing the big bucks over the glamour that comes with a Gov Exec gig.

Navy Nets Chiefs, From Godwin to Goodwin

Rear Adm. James Godwin, a naval aviator, ran the Navy Marine Corps Intranet program office from 2004 to 2006. Now the service has tapped another aviator to run the program that will replace NMCI.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead said he assigned Rear Adm. John Goodwin to be assistant chief of naval operations for the Next-Generation Enterprise Network System Program. Goodwin currently serves as commander, Naval Air Force, for the Atlantic Fleet.

I sure wish Roughead had chosen an admiral named Smith for the network job. The Godwin/Goodwin replacement is the kind of stuff that gives copy editors -- and writers -- heartburn.