The Refashioned Defense CIO

When Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday announced that the he would eliminate the Defense Department's Network and Information Integration unit, which is headed by an assistant secretary who doubles as DoD's chief information officer, he said the CIO post would be refashioned, but provided no details.

Some of the responsibilities handled by Network and Information Integration would be absorbed by DoD's Office Of Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, while operational responsibilities would be assumed by the Defense Information Systems Agency, the unit responsible for IT services that support America's warfighter.

James Lewis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says an alphabet soup of DoD organizations - NII, ATL, USD(P) (undersecretary of defense for policy) and USD(I) ((undersecretary of defense for intelligence) - has been involved in some aspect of the department's IT:

"Some of this is budget driven, some of it reflects the relative weakness of the NII job in the last few years, and some of it is an effort to reduce organizational confusion - you had NII, USD(I), AT&L, USD(P) all involved in these issues. Under a corporate model, the CIO would report to secretary. It sounds like they are moving away from that model. A focused definition of what the CIO was responsible for would be a good first step, and this definition should be only a subset of what NII tried to do."

Besides Lewis, I reached out to retired Air Force Gen. Harry Raduege, a former DISA director, who co-chairs the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency and chairs the Deloitte Center for Cyber Innovation, to get his take. I asked Raduege whether he thought elimination of Network and Information Integration was a good idea. His response:

"If the NII and Joint Staff J-6 (the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Command, Control, Communications and Computer System function that Gates also seeks to shutter) operational functions are eliminated, one has to wonder where and how these responsibilities will be performed. As a Senate-confirmed assistant secretary of defense, the ASD-NII provides direct advice and support to the secretary of defense on matters involving global command control of all military forces and the proper provisioning of information networks. The J-6 function is a central point of contact and support in the Pentagon for the combatant command J-6s who are located around the world. The J6 also provides advice and support to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. With all the announced changes, it's unclear, at this point, who will continue to provide these essential services.

"DISA's upcoming move to Ft Meade, Md., is also an important component in this equation as numerous, experienced employees recently have chosen not to relocate. More departures could be coming in the future. With growing operational demands for global network-centric operations throughout the DOD, and an increasing need for cybersecurity protections, what's really needed is critical war-fighting support along with innovative thought. With so many eliminated and moving organizational functions, one must be concerned that critical elements will never be absent in supporting our military forces?"

Next question: What impact would these cutbacks have on the way IT security is governed within the DoD? His answer:

"The importance of the mission of cyberspace and cybersecurity is growing. In the face of such a massive reorganization there are bound to be concerns about the proper future alignment of these functions in supporting critical mission areas.

"The new U.S. Cyber Command under Gen. Keith Alexander has just been established and is still in the process of standing up and defining its detailed mission dimensions. There are many moving parts in the total information dominance and support equation that involve critical functions in the strategic, operational and tactical communications arenas. These involve every area from the commander-in-chief to individual troops in foxholes. Success will depend on uninterrupted support to our military forces along with restructuring the Department for improved IT enterprise policy, governance and acquisition support."

Are AT&L and DISA the right organizations to absorb some of NII's responsibilities?

"AT&L is best positioned to affect long-needed IT acquisition reform in speeding the delivery of IT products and services to our military forces. DISA has a tremendous track record of operational success in providing advanced communications support to the president and to military forces worldwide. They are both up to the challenge of additional responsibility."

Finally, I asked, how should the CIO post be refashioned?

"The major questions are where and how the CIO responsibilities will be realigned. The Clinger-Cohen Act directs federal government agencies to establish a CIO position that in most cases reports to the agency head. One benefit that could result from a refashioned CIO posting would be IT acquisition reform where commercial products and services can be provided to our military forces in a more timely fashion."