Micron bests Dell on PC sales through Air Force BPAs
MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Micron Electronics Inc. has taken the lead over Dell Computer Corp. in sales through recent blanket purchasing agreements with the Air Force. Micron is outselling Dell more than 2-to-1, according to Col. Delbert Atkinson, commander of the Standard Systems Group at Gunter Annex, Ala. The Nampa, Idaho, company has racked up $7.6 million in business from its BPA, and Dell has secured just $3.1 million in sales, Atkinson said.
Defense IG calls DISA's date code work on mainframes inadequate
The Defense Information Systems Agency is not adequately preparing date code on its mainframe systems at Defense Department central data processing centers, the DOD inspector general reported late last month. The report, Evaluation of the Defense Megacenters Year 2000 Program, found problems in three areas: reporting, testing and contingency planning. "DISA year 2000 status reports for executive software were incomplete and could be misinterpreted," the report said. "As a result, DOD is at risk of classifying mission-critical
The Air Force vows to be 2000-ready, on time
MONTGOMERY, Ala.—By ensuring that systems are not disrupted in January 2000, the Air Force will disappoint doomsayers who predict catastrophic consequences for the service, said Lt. Gen. William Donahue, director of communications and information. "Your Air Force is going to fly, and we're going to be mission-ready," Donahue said last week at the Air Force Information Technology Conference. "It's going to be a non-event."
Donahue: Air Force is damaging its own nets
MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Hackers might be cybertroublemakers, but the Air Force ought to look within to pinpoint the most persistent threat to its networks, Lt. Gen. William Donahue said last week. The damage done to Air Force networks by hackers and crackers is next to nothing compared with the internal destruction perpetrated by service personnel, the director of communications and information said at the Air Force Information Technology Conference.
Smart Ship inquiry a go
All new apps must run under NT, Navy CIO Ann Miller says. The Navy's systems chief has begun an investigation into the computer failure that left the Aegis cruiser USS Yorktown dead in the water for several hours last fall. Navy chief information officer Ann Miller is conducting a detailed inquiry of the incident. The Yorktown is the Navy's test bed for its Smart Ship program, which seeks to reduce crew
Army finishes tests on two combat notebooks
The Army last month completed a test of ruggedized notebook computers for combat vehicles. The 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade at Fort Hood, Texas, evaluated computers from Litton Data Systems of San Diego, Calif., and Phoenix Group Inc. of Hauppauge, N.Y. The Army used the notebooks on about 230 vehicles, including Humvees, M-1 Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles.
AF test ranges fall behind in date code work
Systems officials at some ranges seek more funds to fix mission-critical systems, the report said. Managers at some of the Air Force's test ranges were unaware of year 2000 problems and failed to manage date code repair, the Defense Department inspector general reported this month.
CAD use helps AF bodybuild
An Air Force hospital is using computer-aided design and manufacturing to create 3-D models of human body parts so surgeons can practice complex surgical procedures before cutting real patients. Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, isn't the only medical facility to use stereo lithography, a CAD process of producing physical models from medical imaging. But it is the only medical center in the world, military or civilian, that has its own in-house
U.S. Transportation Command uses Web as a gateway to logistics data
A Web-based logistics system developed by the U.S. Transportation Command has only been in operation for a year, but it has already changed the way the Defense Department tracks and moves troops, equipment and supplies around the world. The Global Transportation Network, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., integrates command and control, transportation and logistics data so commanders can track the identity, status and location of cargo and passengers. The network also gives commanders airlift,
Air Force uses network system for flight operations
Don Snelgrove, a systems engineer and former Air Force pilot, plots a practice mission on the Air Force Mission Support System. The Air Force is using an automated mission-planning software developed from commercial technology and with an open architecture that lets air crews use software to organize flight operations.
AF sees push-pull apps as threat and keeps ban
Lt. Gen. William Donahue says push-pull applications consume bandwidth and threaten security. The Air Force's ban on push-pull applications will remain in effect indefinitely, the service's director of communications and information has decided. Concerned about potential security threats to Air Force networks, the service ordered the ban late last year. The threat still exists, and the applications put too much demand on limited bandwidth, said Lt. Gen. William Donahue.
Cohen: Fix date code or I'll halt new app efforts
Defense's William Cohen says DOD will study military progress in November and December. Defense Secretary William Cohen this month threatened to suspend software development in the military if the services do not repair date code quickly enough. In a Aug. 7 memorandum to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the services and Defense Department agencies, Cohen said he would impose a software development moratorium if DOD fails to make sufficient year 2000
Services try out cargo ID technology that would boost logistics operations
The U.S. Transportation Command is testing four automated identification technology prototypes to improve the data flow, timeliness, accuracy and reliability of its logistics operations. The tests began last month and will run through October, Gen. Walter Kross said. The former USTRANSCOM commander spoke at a June Freight Identification Technology Strategies Workshop in Reston, Va.
Dog tags get digital test drive
The Army this month completed testing on seven digital dog tag prototypes designed to carry a soldier's medical history into the battlefield. One of the products could be distributed to all Defense Department personnel and their dependents, service officials said. The 60-day test, which began June 15 at the Electronic Proving Ground in Fort Huachuca, Ariz., was designed to measure the performance of the devices against extreme heat, humidity and freezing temperatures, as well as vibration, shock,
DOD questions House's final '99 authorization bill
Provisions in the House Defense authorization bill would diminish the role of the Defense Department chief information officer, hurt interoperability efforts and hinder year 2000 initiatives, DOD officials told lawmakers recently. In an appeals package sent to Capitol Hill last month, Defense brass urged the House National Security Committee to delete provisions that they said would weaken DOD programs.
Air Force's DMS base rollout reaches halfway point
The Air Force is almost halfway to its goal of setting up Defense Message System sites at 92 active-duty bases worldwide by 2000, an Air Force official said. The service will have Defense Message System sites up and running at 35 locations in the United States, four bases in Europe and six bases in the Pacific by the end of the month, Air Force officials said.
Services duplicate telecom efforts, GAO says
The Army, Navy, Air Force and Defense Department agencies continue to run long-haul networks that undercut the Defense Information Systems Network, the General Accounting Office concluded in a recent report. The report, Defense Networks: Management Information Shortfalls Hinder Defense Efforts to Meet DISN Goals, said that networks operated by the services and DOD agencies continue to exist without the Defense Information Systems Agency's knowledge.
Sprint challenges DISA's choice of private ATM net
The Defense Information Systems Agency is committed to building a private asynchronous transfer mode backbone for the Defense Information Systems Network. But one major telecommunications carrier is trying to persuade DISA to use public ATM services to meet its DISN requirements. Sprint Corp. hired Data Systems Analysts Inc. of Fairfax, Va., to review the Defense Department's ATM security. The 82-page technical report challenges the DISA view that public ATM networks are more vulnerable to security threats
With Mozart, Army scores update of a big '60s-era business system
The Army is putting a modern face on one of the world's largest and oldest integrated business systems. The service is modernizing its Commodity Command Standard System, a big job by any measure, Army officials said. CCSS, managed by the Army Materiel Command's Logistics Systems Support Center in St. Louis, consists of more than 561 subsystems and 5,000 programs running 10.2 million lines of code, not to mention 20,000 PCs.
DOD revamps process for overseeing IT buys
Defense aims to settle IT buying issues at the lowest possible level, CIO Arthur Money says. The Defense Department is replacing a 20-year-old acquisition process for approving information systems buys with a process that delegates more authority to the services and Defense agencies. Deputy Defense secretary John Hamre signed a memorandum late last month that dissolved the Major Automated Information System Review Council and replaced it with integrated product teams. IPTs
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