World Surveillance Group Inc (fka WSGI)

[nilremerlin]

The final day of West 2006, the annual conference and exposition sponsored by AFCEA International and the U.S. Naval Institute, was a star-studded event marked by a panel comprising high-ranking flag officers and a pair of speeches by two of the Navy’s highest-ranking admirals. Even though this was the shortest day of the January 10-12 event in San Diego, it provided some of the biggest news items and one of the most memorable moments.

The memorable moment came when Adm. Michael G. Mullen, USN, chief of naval operations (CNO), officially announced that DDG-106, the Navy’s next guided missile destroyer, will be named after the late Adm. James Stockdale, USN, a highly-decorated former prisoner of war in Vietnam and vice-presidential candidate in 1992. Adm. Stockdale’s widow was in attendance for the announcement, and she shared in receiving the standing ovation after Adm. Mullen announced the honor. “We name our destroyers after heroes,” he told the Keynote Address attendees, “and I can think of no better name for our next guided missile destroyer than the USS Stockdale.”




Adm. Michael G. Mullen, USN, chief of naval operations, gives the Keynote Address at West 2006.

The rest of the CNO’s address contained other important announcements of changes to come. He told the audience that he was going to reverse recent changes and stand up a separate N-6 directorate at the three-star level. Not only is the Navy ready for this, he said, now is the time.

Nor was Adm. Mullen shy about the importance of ForceNET. “ForceNET is the largest future force multiplier,” he declared. “It must be real,” as opposed to being merely theory, he emphasized.

The point that Adm. Mullen returned to repeatedly was that the Navy’s future must focus on capabilities, not platforms. Most challenges require intelligence and precise action, not mass and movement. While the fleet must encompass both networks and platforms, the Navy should built for capabilities first and the rest will follow.

“We must design the fleet to support the network, and we must design the network to empower the fleet,” Adm. Mullen declared. “And, to empower the fleet, the network must empower the sailor.”

Network-centric capabilities already have led to significant improvements in naval operations. One example that the admiral cited is that the time needed for a call for fire has been compressed from 20 minutes to just 2 minutes.

However, the admiral decried the existing procurement process. “We have spent a lot of time and money competing with each other,” he charged. “We cannot keep doing that.”

The Navy cannot afford every new gadget that comes out either, he stated. When it comes to funding, “we are at the edge” as budget cuts loom. The Navy currently has 281 ships—“the fewest I’m comfortable with,” the CNO offered, and only four ships are budgeted for construction in fiscal year 2006.

The new littoral combat ship is a good example of how the Navy can design ships from the keel up around networks and sensors, Adm. Mullen said. He wants the same approach taken for all future ships, aircraft and submarines.



Less than one hour after the CNO’s address, attendees heard from the unified commander responsible for the largest area of operations on the planet. Adm. William J. Fallon, USN, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, split his Thursday luncheon address between an assessment of the global war on terror and the requirements of his command over the vast Asia-Pacific region.




Adm. William J. Fallon, USN, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, gives the Thursday luncheon address.

Adm. Fallon began by stating that national will and perception are paramount features in the war on terror—and that is a real problem. The majority of U.S. people don’t understand the conflict. Emphasizing that this assessment was not a slam on the American public, the admiral explained that this conflict often is hard to understand because it doesn’t fit the public’s concept and vision of a war.

For one thing, it is not specific to Iraq or Afghanistan. The United States is facing a global non-state threat that is challenging the nation’s overwhelming conventional force asymmetrically. A key tool of the terrorists is the Internet. They use it to communicate ideas and thoughts while shaping public opinions.

However, the admiral emphasized that the United States is winning on the battlefield every day. He cited a growing confidence among U.S. military personnel in the field, and he pointed out that the enemy has weaknesses and it makes a lot of mistakes. But the war will not be over any time soon, Adm. Fallon predicted.

The Pacific Command is trying to help many Asian nations to build capabilities and the capacity to deal with terrorism and the conditions that feed it. However, many Southeast Asian countries distrust each other and have vulnerabilities such as insecure borders and rough economies. Growth with prosperity will not occur without security, Adm. Fallon declared.

On the battlefield, Adm. Fallon said that U.S. Central Command commander Gen. John P. Abizaid, USA, wants real-time continuous intelligence information fused for people to act on it. On the technology front, the admiral emphasized the need for open standards. “Suck it up guys; drop the body armor; let’s agree on standards,” he said in remarks directed at industry.

Adm. Fallon called for persistent surveillance technologies to help fight terrorists. “We need to be able to look at areas that are suspect, wait these bad guys out, and then [deal with] them when they pop out,” he emphasized.

Turning information into something that forces can act on is a top priority, he continued. Again addressing industry, he said that there are many ways that his command could benefit from industry’s brainpower.



The day’s only panel presented a star-studded lineup that included three vice admirals, one rear admiral, one major general and one retired admiral. Moderated by Adm. Leighton W. Smith, USN (Ret.), former commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, the panel featured type commanders suggesting measures that will lead the Navy well into the 21st century.




Adm. Leighton W. Smith, USN (Ret.), former commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe (r), leads a panel of type commanders discussing the way ahead. Panelists are (l to r) Vice Adm. James M. Zortman, USN, commander, Naval Air Forces and commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet; Vice Adm. Charles Munns, USN, commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet and commander, Submarine Allied Command, Atlantic; Vice Adm. James D. McArthur Jr., USN, commander, Naval Network Warfare Command; Rear Adm. Edward Masso, USN; vice commander, Surface Sea Warrior Enterprise; and Maj. Gen. Samuel Helland, USMC, commanding general, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

Rear Adm. Edward Masso, USN; vice commander, Surface Sea Warrior Enterprise, noted that the future Navy will include fewer sailors dealing with more diverse missions.

Vice Adm. James D. McArthur Jr., USN, commander, Naval Network Warfare Command, stated that command and control comprises elements such as sensors, networks and operational pictures that are presented to the commander for decision making. The Navy never will have the bandwidth that it needs, so commanders must develop doctrine and tactics, techniques and procedures for operating networks.

Vice Adm. Charles Munns, USN, commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet and commander, Submarine Allied Command, Atlantic, described how the Navy is building the submarine of the future—the USS Virginia—today. However, the challenge is to build enough of them, with the current rate running two per year. To save money, the Navy installed a common commercial off-the-shelf auxiliary diesel engine instead of purchasing a government-supplied unit. The new diesel is based on a widely used model that is reliable and is easy to use.

Maj. Gen. Samuel Helland, USMC, commanding general, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, asked industry attendees “What are your innovations to help us fight IEDs [improvised electronic devices]?” He added that the military does not own the laboratories any more, as they have migrated to the private sector. For the most part, information system solutions must fit everywhere across the full spectrum of joint and coalition operations.

And, Vice Adm. James M. Zortman, USN, commander, Naval Air Forces and commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, warned that keeping short-term fixes in place impedes long-term progress. This prevents full capabilities from emerging, he added.

View all 3 days of WEST 2006:

http://www.afcea.org/signal/westshowdaily.asp

_nilrem