Lt. Gen. Robert Ferrell , the Army‘s chief information officer, and Navy Principal Deputy CIO Barbara Hoffman have detailed the measures that the Army and Navy are implementing for the Joint Information Environment, C4ISR & Networks reported Friday.During a roundtable discussion with reporter Barry Rosenberg, Ferrell and Hoffman said they agreed that JIE would support the Defense Department‘s efforts to streamline IT infrastructure and operations.
Ferrell said the Army has partnered with the Defense Information Systems Agency and the Air Force to implement the Joint Regional Security Stacks and Multiprotocol Label Switching technologies for managing network security and service delivery at Joint Base San Antonio as part of their JIE initiatives.
He added that the service’s own LandWarNet facilitates joint initiatives to defend the information environment from both internal and external cyber threats through identity management, data protection, situational awareness and other measures.
Ferrell said the Army continues to work on keeping its tools and applications up to date and building on its cyber workforce by establishing military occupational specialties, civilian work roles and functional areas centered on cybersecurity and partnering with academia.
“The new generation of military leaders must know how cyber shapes the current fight, and how to leverage IT — a key to success in future military operations,” he said.
Ferrell added that agencies need to keep track of industry, new technologies and knowledge and acquisition techniques.
Hoffman pointed to the Navy Marine Corps Intranet and Next Generation Enterprise Network strategies as supplementary to JIE’s objectives for standardization and consolidation and the collaborative Federal Risk Management Framework to help with the efficiency and security of operations.
“Military and civilian leaders must be innovative and open to new ideas while balancing investment in new technology with the current budget realities,” she said.
She also said partnerships across government and with industry and scientific groups can help develop new business methods that would also serve military missions.
Hoffman also highlighted measures to monitor, evaluate and invest in new technology when appropriate.
