Category Archives: DISA

DISA, Policy, tech

DISA aims for smooth operations across business lines

(The following is excerpted from an interview I recently did for Defense Systems magazine)

With John Garing’s elevation from Defense Information Systems Agency chief information officer to director of strategic planning, Bobbie Stempfley has stepped into the CIO role. While Garing focuses on long-term strategy and developing program objectives within DISA’s budget, Stempfley has taken on what she calls the more finely defined role of managing the agency’s ongoing information technology operations. Defense Systems contributing editor Sean Gallagher spoke with Stempfley about her role at DISA and the top challenges she faces.

DS: How has the CIO role at DISA changed since you took over for Mr. Garing?

Stempfley: He’s been given a great opportunity to be an even more significant part of the agency’s leadership team. Influencing strategies for how to help in this time of receding budgets and increasing mission demand — it’s a really a great opportunity for a service provider. And John Garing has to be a part of helping us do that. So the role of the CIO is just more finely defined now than it was before. The strategic planning and the out year [program objective memorandum] development activity are where Mr. Garing is focusing, and are things he’ll be able to do. I’ll be focused on how the information and the technology support those activities. We still work very closely together, and we will continue to work closely together. But you can never lose sight of either problem.

For the full article, see DISA aims for smooth operations across business lines — Defense Systems.

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DISA

DISA to deploy new command-control software suite

DISA to deploy new command-control software suite

By Sean Gallagher

Sep 02, 2009

The Defense Information Systems Agency has cleared the last hurdle for full deployment of Global Command and Control System–Joint (GCCS-J) Block V, the last planned version of the suite of software that gives the national leadership and joint commanders tools to analyze situations and direct military units in the field.

Cheryl Roby, acting assistant secretary of Defense for networks and information integration, signed off on Status of Resources and Training System (SORTS) Version 4.2 Aug. 28, completing the development and testing program for GCCS-J. The other two elements of Block V — the Joint Operation Planning and Execution System (JOPES) 4.2 and Global 4.2 — had already been approved for deployment, and DISA’s GCCS team has begun deployment to the 53 sites worldwide where GCCS-J is used.

Block V is a departure from previous versions of the GCCS platform in that it relies heavily on commercial software for much of its architecture. It replaces the Defense Information Infrastructure (DII) Common Operating Environment (COE) used by previous versions of GCCS-J. The system relies on software from Oracle, including the BEA application server, and Java, and it also supports integration with other commercial software, including Google Maps support.

“The move to Block V has marked the movement away from the DII COE,” said Kim Rice, deputy program manager for GCCS-J. “We’re no longer doing segmented-software releases, which means…we’re able to get [enhancements] out to the field much faster than we were able to before.”

See the full story at : DISA to deploy new command-control software suite — Government Computer News.

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