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Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific Participates in Armed Forces Communications Symposium

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS120510-04
5/10/2012

From Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- "Optimized Total Ownership Cost (TOC) with affordable and sustainable Information Dominance" was the theme of this year's Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Reconnaissance and Surveillance (C4ISR) symposium held May 1-3, at the Hall of Champions in San Diego, Calif.

Industry, academia, government, and military representatives participated at this event, co-sponsored by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific) and the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), to explore issues, exchange information, and increase knowledge related to the topic of TOC.

The three-day event centered on panel discussions and included keynote speeches from Rear Adm. Patrick Brady, commander, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command; Rear Adm. Jerry Burroughs, program executive officer for Program Executive Office (PEO) C4I; Rear Adm. Charles Rainey, deputy commander for Fleet Readiness, SPAWAR; and Capt. Joe Beel, commanding officer, SPAWAR Systems Center, Pacific (SSC Pacific).

"Today's Navy is smaller, leaner, and operationally superior, with an increased presence in the Pacific and an increased focus on operational excellence, total capability, and continuous improvement," said Beel. "We have to think differently in today's environment, if we focus on capabilities and not the technology, we will get those base hits."

The Navy's data center consolidation (DCC) effort was addressed at the symposium, with a panel of experts providing information and answering questions. At the heart of the panel discussion was the formal data center consolidation guidance issued by the Department of the Navy's chief information officer directing a moratorium on the purchase of additional data center capability and the closure of up to 55 centers in 2012.

Rob Wolborsky, the director of Science and Technology at SSC Pacific, pointed out the unified goal is to improve the capability of what currently exists in order to make the Navy more efficient.

"Reducing legacy systems can save the Navy billions of dollars in efficiencies," said Wolborsky. "The taxpayer is a major stakeholder. Using cloud capability, we're not going to forklift any of these systems, we are going to virtualize all of them into the enterprise."

Panelists agreed that the ultimate goal is to make sure the warfighters get what they need, when they need it.
Another panel focused on new technologies, with awareness that research and development possesses tremendous leverage.

Quentin Finney, Google's Navy/Marine Corps sales manager, said, it's important to "build the right 'it' before we build it," noting the importance of exploration and understanding before the development process, and highlighting the need for a more joint development practice between industry and government.

When the panelists were asked where they thought the direction of future technologies was headed, Rear Adm. James Rodman, SPAWAR chief engineer, said, "Artificial intelligence, creating pattern recognition, and algorithms," while Greg Shaffer, head of ISR/Information Operations at SSC Pacific, highlighted cloud computing along with new analytics and rapid development capability.

"Technology saves lives," said Shaffer. "I'm not driven by a profit or specific project; I'm looking to support and protect the warfighter."

There were nine additional panels throughout the three-day symposium, highlighting various topics including energy, fleet readiness, contracting strategies, budget and acquisition, with the TOC component highlighted in all.

The symposium concluded with remarks from Carmela Keeney, the executive director of SSC Pacific, who noted that the "theme for this symposium was right on the mark."

She stressed the importance of trust and being good stewards of taxpayer funds, and congratulated all who were willing to "take the gloves off" in order to better create a free exchange of ideas with the goal of creating new opportunities.

Keeney also reiterated the other, unofficial theme of the symposium, noting "it's all about the warfighter," and the growing importance of ensuring that the U.S. Navy is able to maintain its forward presence and be ready for action when called upon by the nation.