The Army announced late last week Lt. Gen. Susan Lawrence will take over as Army chief information officer/G-6, filling the Armyâs top information technology post, which was vacated in November.
As the serviceâs CIO, Lawrence oversees a $10 billion annual IT budget and a military service that is increasingly looking to leverage technology in service of the modern warrior.
In her new role, she reports directly to Army Secretary John McHugh and will advise him on setting the Armyâs strategic direction and objectives in addition to directing the Armyâs C4 operations: command, control, communications and computers.
The role of a G-6, a particular military classification, is to support Army leadership in information management, network operations, network defense and equipping signal forces.
At the time of the announcement of her appointment, Lawrence had already zeroed in on top goals for the service.
âRight now, the network is the Armyâs No. 1 modernization effort,â she said. âWe want a network that can provide soldiers and civilians information of all categories and forms, as well as a means to collaborate in real-time, at the exact moment required, in any environment, under all circumstances.â
Lawrence previously served as the commanding general of the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Signal Command at Ft. Huachuca, Ariz.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson retired as Army CIO/G-6 in November, and, in January, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates nominated Lawrence, who joined the Army in 1972 to fill the Armyâs top IT post. Sorenson was hailed as a “champion of IT” in the Army and led initiatives such as the serviceâs smartphone pilot study, efforts that have ramped up recently.