Net-centric warfare is focus of S.L. meet

Though their objectives differ, the military wants the same thing from technology as folks in the private sector — to allow people to access the information they need anytime from anywhere.

But as a Department of Defense official said Monday, the ramifications differ widely.

"Security is a big deal," said Priscilla E. Guthrie, deputy assistant secretary of defense and deputy chief information officer for the department. "You can talk about doing your stocks and such and doing your online banking or paying your gas bill. That's not the same as national security. So it is a big difference, and it is a big deal. Security also means safeguarding people's lives, which is, again, different."

Guthrie's comments came during the opening general session of the 17th annual Department of Defense Systems and Software Technology Conference at the Salt Palace. Much of the conference focuses on "Net-centric warfare" and getting the correct technology to America's fighting forces, including those on "the edge."

"The 'edge' is not a place," Guthrie said. "The 'edge' means anyone who needs information they don't have."

She said the military has done well establishing the vision for technology for fighters.

"The idea was . . . that people can access the information he needs anytime and anyplace, asynchronously, and where people are recognized for the information they supply. So it's been a change from what has been very much a supplier-dominated environment where 'I decide what you will get, and I'll give it to you when I think you need it,' to one where you decide what you need and you get it when you need it," she said.

The goal is "to enable good choices and good decision-making," Guthrie said. "Certainly, everything we've done in Iraq and Afghanistan says access to information can save lives."

Still, instituting the vision faces challenges, including technical issues such as quality of service — always a challenge when the military finds itself in such wide-ranging environments — as well as governance and cultural changes, including having people willing to share information.

Maj. Kurt Warner, information and knowledge management officer for the XVIII Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division, said a program called FusionNet wants to provide a "one screen, all things" capability to fighters. It involves an integrated suite of applications available from the computer desktop to anyone "from fort to foxhole and back" via an easy-to-use interface.

"That sounds hard, but it's probably not as hard as we think if we put all of our noggins together and just get to it," Warner said.

The conference continues through Thursday. More than 2,200 military personnel, contractors and academics are attending to participate in workshops and view exhibits.

The event is hosted by the Ogden Air Logistics Center and the Air Force Software Technology Support Center at Hill Air Force Base. It is co-sponsored by the U.S. Army, the U.S. Marine Corps, the Department of the Navy, the U.S. Air Force, the Defense Information Systems Agency and Utah State University Extension.

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com