Happy New Year!
The end of calendar year 2006 and the beginning of 2007 have been a period of transition but also one of continued accomplishment here at the DON CIO. As you are probably aware, after 26 years of service to the Department of the Navy, four as the DON CIO, Dave Wennergren has moved on to become the Department of Defense Deputy CIO as of Nov. 26, 2006.
Under Mr. Wennergren's tenure, the DON has made significant progress toward using information technology (IT) to transform our business and warfighting support processes. A few of the Department's many transformation successes include the full deployment of the Common Access Card with Public Key Infrastructure digital certificates on all NMCI computers, enabling secure cryptographic logon and Web site access; the elimination of outdated and duplicative software and the establishment of a single authoritative database for IT systems, applications and databases; and the development of a comprehensive strategy for transitioning the Department to an enterprise telecommunications management structure.
Secretary Winter has selected Rob Carey, the former deputy CIO for policy and integration, for the position of DON CIO. Mr. Carey is looking forward to taking the helm when he returns from his deployment with a Navy reserve unit in Iraq.
In the meantime, our successes continued in December with the signing of Secretary of the Navy Instruction 2075.1, Department of the Navy Use of Commercial Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Devices, Services, and Technologies; and the release of the DON EA-2006, a compendium of ongoing enterprise architecture efforts across the Department, which has been posted on the DON CIO Web site at http://www.doncio.navy.mil. We have also released a request for quotations (RFQ) for a Department-wide telecommunications recovery audit, which is expected, based on the results of a pilot project, to recover many millions of dollars for the Department.
In the coming months, we will be implementing Lean Six Sigma initiatives to optimize the certification and accreditation of IT systems, expedite the introduction of spectrally dependent innovative technology into theater in Iraq, and minimize and mitigate privacy spillages. Additionally, a core team was formed to aggressively pursue the Next Generation Enterprise Network, the follow-on to the Navy Marine Corps Intranet.
As we look back over the accomplishments of the last few months and plans for the upcoming months, it is evident that our efforts to provide the leadership necessary to align information technology and information management in support of the warfighter are moving full steam ahead. We look forward to continued successes as we move into the new year.