Written by / Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
But while they describe the current system as working well, Navy leaders also made clear that they wanted to move away from the completely outsourced model adopted with NMCI, which was seen as a harbinger of a trend when created nearly a decade ago but has since had to contend with a variety of operational and financial challenges.
“We want to have control,” said Captain Timothy A. Holland, NGEN program manager. “Today, the level of influence and visibility in the network is not what we want.”
At the same time, Holland emphasized that planners were not looking to shift to an all-government system, but rather to have a division of responsibilities under which the Navy would exercise policy control, while contractors would provide services and carry out needed functions. Another major point of emphasis was that information assurance be “baked in” the NGEN network. “If you say ‘network’ without the word ‘secure’ before it, you’ve missed the boat,” observed Rear Admiral John W. Goodwin, the assistant chief of naval operations of the NGEN Systems Program Office. “If we’re not working toward a secure network, it’s all for naught.” The analysis of alternatives is expected to be completed in May, followed by approval of an overall acquisition strategy by the end of the year. The NGEN contract award is slated for the end of fiscal year 2011. ♦
