While information technology is furnishing combatant commanders with situational awareness in current operations, cutting-edge capabilities now provide overall situational awareness to the commander in chief. Like the transformation that is taking place throughout the military services, the technologies that support the president have evolved into a system of systems at breakneck speed.
Col. Michael D. McDonald, USAF (Ret.), saw a lot of changes in presidential communications systems during his three-year tenure as the commander of the White House Communications Agency (WHCA), changes that went into high gear after the terrorist attacks.
The WHCA, located in Washington, D.C., is truly a joint agency. It is staffed by members of all of the armed forces as well as by guardsmen and reservists. To fulfill its mission to provide the commander in chief with situational awareness and collaborative capabilities, the agency operates in both the .mil and .gov domains. Its responsibilities include providing the president and his staff with information systems both at the White House and on the road so he can communicate with the military forces at every level.
Col. McDonald relates that today the WHCA’s technologies mirror those found throughout industry and the civilian world. “Previously, the communications setup was designed as a single system that met the needs of the president. Now, it is a system of systems, and we’re in the process of incorporating an Internet protocol [IP] supported network,” the colonel shares.
“What September 11 did was underscore everything that the DOD had noted. We had already begun a massive effort, and by 9/11 we had a good idea of what we needed to do. And then the terrorist attacks happened, which created an even greater sense of urgency.
“We started looking system by system at each one of the stovepiped systems….We hit everything from the office phones to the mobile systems that travel with the president on the road to the aircraft and have been moving down that road,” the colonel explains.
The assessment revealed approximately 41 projects that required work. The WHCA singled out 11 of the largest and most complex to hit first. Known as the Pioneer Project, it included upgrading all the IP networks supporting WHCA’s portion of the White House operation. “It’s a long-term plan that will continuously upgrade the president’s communications and keep them upgraded,” Col. McDonald states.
Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security must determine how to link all the people in different areas of homeland defense and security, such as local fire departments and emergency personnel, by applying the right technology. “Circuit switch technology is not going to cut it,” he states.
A huge amount of innovation has emerged from the events of September 11, he adds. For example, videoconferencing onboard
Air Force One, made possible by IP networking, will allow personnel to send and receive e-mail as well as take advantage of voice over IP communications.
“The challenge we now face is that we have to move faster and not just in the military but in the White House as well. Now, whenever the president goes somewhere, 20 to 25 people have to deploy to the destination five to seven days in advance of the president’s arrival. We need to expand the use of IP so that only 10 people are needed, and they can deploy only 72 hours in advance,” Col. McDonald offers.
According to the colonel, industry must be both a driving force and the facilitator of the evolution of communications capabilities. One area that needs continued development is solutions that allow actions to take place at the client level rather than higher up the network chain. Col. McDonald suggests that end-to-end security has been replaced with the need for multilevel encryption. For instance, the White House communications physical infrastructure used to be protected by material that shielded against fires and detected tampering. Today, encryption is in place at the device level so communications are protected immediately.
Collaborative tools that lead to knowledge management are another item the WHCA needs from industry, the colonel says. The Defense Collaborative Tool Suite is one example of a solution that can help decision makers inundated with data pull out relevant information that is useful.
As a huge proponent of Internet protocol, the colonel notes that devices that secure voice over IP are needed. Although the WHCA currently uses high assurance Internet protocol encryption (HAIPE) devices, they are large and bulky. One area that requires additional research and development is how to make these devices smaller so they can be plugged into a communications device easily.
One reason much of the work in these areas has not moved forward is that companies are waiting for the government to state its requirements and develop a standard, the colonel maintains. However, once a company develops these types of solutions, they will become the de facto standard. “If a company is bold and visionary and steps out there, they will win the case. They’ll produce the killer ap,” he says.
Additional information about the White House Communications Agency, including available billets, is available on the World Wide Web at www.disa.mil/whca/index.html. The full version of this article is in the September 2004 issue of
SIGNAL, in the mail to AFCEA members and subscribers September 1, 2004. For information about purchasing this issue, joining AFCEA or subscribing to
SIGNAL, contact
AFCEA Member Services.
