SPAWAR, the Navy's information dominance provider, proved to be a stellar participant in two of the year's most popular technology conferences – the Department of the Navy Information Technology Conference, hosted by the DON Chief Information Officer, and West 2012, co-sponsored by AFCEA International and the U.S. Naval Institute.
The conferences are designed to provide a venue for government and industry to discuss best practices and for government leaders to convey their vision for IT efficiencies and warfighting effectiveness to the workforce.
The conferences were held simultaneously at the San Diego Convention Center Jan. 23-26 providing attendees with multiple opportunities for learning and sharing information. The DON IT Conference featured topics that focused on the DON's IT efficiencies and savings initiatives, such as data center consolidation, cloud computing and naval enterprise networks.
The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command's chief technology officer and the DON's director for data center consolidation, Robert Wolborsky, joined Robert Harden from the office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance, and other distinguished panelists in a spirited discussion about data center consolidation (http://www.doncio.navy.mil/PolicyView.aspx?ID=2504). SPAWAR is playing a pivotal role in the Navy's plan to close excess data centers and consolidate resources into three regional sites in Charleston, S.C., New Orleans, La., and San Diego. SPAWAR is also the Navy's single authority for IT procurement approval to achieve greater economies of scale and better support programming, planning and budgeting in accordance with the DON IT Expenditure Approval Authorities memorandum (http://www.doncio.navy.mil/ContentView.aspx?ID=2538) to meet the DoD's budget reductions.
SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific's Suzi Ellison, who is a Navy software product manager for the DoD Enterprise Software Initiative (http://www.esi.mil), participated in multiple DON IT Conference panel discussions aimed to showcase the advantages of enterprise-wide licensing to obtain better pricing and terms and conditions that will also yield significant savings for the department.
SPAWAR Commander, Rear Adm. Patrick H. Brady, and Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence, Rear Adm. Jerry K. Burroughs, served on West 2012 panels and spoke about warfighter needs and the dimensions of weighing security risks and costs.
The conference drew about 9,000 attendees, and the SPAWAR exhibit was one of the most popular destinations on the technology floor featuring an impressive slate of speakers, including Capt. D.J. LeGoff, program manager for the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) network, Rear Adm. James Rodman, SPAWAR Chief Engineer and the commanding officers of Systems Centers Pacific and Atlantic, Capt. Joe Beel and Capt. Mark Glover, respectively.
During the conferences, a former commanding officer of SSC Atlantic, Capt. Cloyes R. (Red) Hoover, major program manager for the command and control program office under PEO Integrated Warfare Systems, was presented with the prestigious Copernicus Award by AFCEA International and the U.S. Naval Institute Jan. 25 at an awards banquet. The Copernicus Award recognizes individual contributions to naval warfare in C4I, information systems and information warfare. (See the sidebar for more information.)
Because of their expertise in acquisition planning and execution, C4I engineering and communications, and scientific research and development, SPAWAR leadership and personnel proved to be in high demand throughout the dual conferences. With more than 8,000 military, government and contractor support professionals working around the world, SPAWAR builds the right solutions at the right price.
Capt. Cloyes R. Hoover, Program Executive Officer for Integrated Warfare Systems
Capt. Hoover is assigned as the major program manager (MPM) for the command and control program office. He is the Navy's expert on sensor netting and tracking with extensive experience in C4I engineering, interoperability, and acquisition. As the MPM for the IWS 6.0, Captain Hoover led the initiative to conduct system interoperability testing throughout 2010 and 2011 which resulted in the collection of important interoperability related data and a subsequent three-phase solution plan. In December 2010, Captain Hoover began a cross-PEO, cross-program initiative to develop a plan to correct the Navy's most serious interoperability issues, correcting track identification issues for the USS John C. Stennis (CVN- 74) Carrier Strike Group prior to deployment. This near-term solution was complete in just 18 months and is scheduled for installation in all carrier strike groups by March 2012. Captain Hoover and his team are also on track to deliver the first "core solution" across six programs that will correct the Fleet "Big 6" interoperability issues. The core solution will be demonstrated during the Trident Warrior Exercise in 2012, 18 months ahead of schedule. At the joint level, Captain Hoover led the Navy's effort in developing the Joint Track Management Capability (JTMC) bridge between Navy Integrated Fire Control and Army Integrated Fire Control systems. This is the first Single Integrated Air Picture at the fused track management level for use by the joint services.
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