WASHINGTON, June 30, 1998 The Year 2000 problem is not something that just concerns "technogeeks." It affects every member of the Department of Defense, and so everyone must be aware of the problem and help solve it.
William A. Curtis calls the Year 2000 problem "the first major engagement of the information warfare age." He is director of DoD Y2K oversight and contingency planning in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence. The Year 2000 problem is a readiness issue. If a military system is not ready, it will fall on thousands of service members to fill the gap manually. If a military computer system fails because of Year 2000 problems, the mission must continue. Curtis said commissioned and noncommissioned officers must ensure service members can perform missions equally well without computers as they can with them. He urges all leaders to be creative in looking for workarounds and for them to use their initiative and common sense.
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