Intercepts

NMCI Mutterings

Internal opposition continues to mount against the $6.9 billion Navy Marine Corps Intranet. One source at Naval Sea Systems Command, among the first to receive NMCI, argues that although it was billed as a personal computer rental/seat management contract, it is really time share hosted on servers.

"Time share is a waste. NMCI is [a] fraud. And we are being abused," said the source, who has been there and done that. And another knowledgeable source says the folks who "have been 'NMCI'd'" have seen their information technology costs go up 150 percent to 200 percent. It appears that NMCI is becoming a four-letter word in some folks' vocabulary.

Simulated Unemployment

The U.S. military is likely to spend $1 billion on the Joint Sim-ulation System, ac-cording to Air Force Col. Gerard Ve-sho-sky, operations division chief at the Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation. JSIMS is a joint effort led by the Army's Simulation, Training and Instrumentation Com-mand (STRICOM) in Orlando, Fla. JSIMS is designed to provide "realistic training across all phases of military operations for all types of missions," according to the program's Web site.

Realism will be achieved in part by interacting with systems already in the field so trainees cannot distinguish between the real systems and simulations. If it's realistic enough, the sys-tem may help STRICOM eliminate the 400 positions it carries for actors who are used to conduct live training. We all know that Orlando needs a few hundred more waiters.

Supercomputing Lingo

The National Security Agen-cy, the Pentagon's we gotta say it super-secret spy agency, is leading an effort to write a new computer language known as Unified Parallel C. An extension of the frequently used C language, it is designed for massive parallel computers supercomputers that use large numbers of processors. Such com-puters break down tasks and assign mini-tasks to each processor so the processors can solve problems faster.

The new language is expected to be at "least as efficient as its counterparts and much easier to program in," which means applications can be developed faster and cheaper, according to The Daily Mason Gazette, a newsletter published by George Mason University, where some of the work is being conducted under a $250,000 grant.

Jobs-R-Us

The Air Force Research Laboratory apparently is searching for a new chief scientist for its information directorate in Rome, N.Y. L-Tech Associates recently sent a message to reporters and editors saying it had been hired to help fill the position and asking for "any referrals of possible candidates" in their search. The chief scientist "serves as the Air Force scientific and technical authority for the research, exploratory development and advanced development activities in the sciences and technologies of information systems and the transitioning of them into command, control, intelligence and combat systems," according to the message.

Could somebody please hire this firm when it comes time to replace Art Money, DOD's chief information officer? Reporters could use the advance notice.

Remember the What?

The Air Force has gone above the call of duty to make President Bush comfortable on Air Force One, according to Gen. Michael Ryan, Air Force chief of staff and a fellow Texan. At a recent symposium, Ryan showed a slide of the new president's plane with longhorns attached and slogans such as "Go Texas" painted on the side. Considering Bush was preparing for a trip to Mexico, however, the Air Force wisely decided not to include the phrase, "Remember the Alamo."

Intercept something? Send it to antenna@fcw.com.