ssc charleston mrap integrators · 2020-01-28 · humvees and now on mine resistant ambush...

The ChronicleFall 2007 1

SECNAV praisesSSC Charleston

MRAP integrators

SECNAV praisesSSC Charleston

MRAP integrators

The ChronicleFall 2007 3The Chronicle2 Fall 2007

Captain’s Call ..................................4From the Technical Director................5Secretary of the Navy visits ...............6SSC Charleston wins big with FEA ..... 10DVB-RCS goes ‘platinum’ ................ 16Insulating fabric tested ................... 25Code 593 teams with AMC ............. 31Code 83A supports IHC ................. 32Innovation delivered by OX ............. 38Accountant embarks on Laboon ............40OPSEC Corner ............................. 44Why calibrate? ............................. 46The final word .............................. 62

18 Hurricane/disaster readinessSSC Charleston participates in severalexercises testing communications abilityduring catastrophic events.

24 MRAP C4ISR integrationSSC Charleston adds more capability towarfighters in tactical vehicles.

32 Camp Lemonier goes wireless... thanks to the efforts of SSC Charlestonand industry partners.

On the cover

SSC Charleston is add-ing C4ISR capability toMine Resistant AmbushProtected (MRAP) ve-hicles. See page 26.MRAP photo by HaroldSenn; SECNAV photoby Mass Communica-tion Specialist 2ndClass Kevin S. O’Brien.

InsideInsideFall 2007 Vol. 13, No. 3

ATC ‘to go,’ see page 12Photo by Harold Senn

ChronicleChronicleCommanding Officer .... Captain Red HooverExecutive Director................. James Ward

The Chronicle is a quarterly publication de-signed for SPAWAR Systems Center, Charles-ton employees. Its purpose is to inform, educate,entertain and generate new ideas. An official pub-lication, The Chronicle is printed using appro-priated funds in compliance with Document Au-tomation and Production Service regulations.Contents of The Chronicle are not necessarilythe official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S.Government, the Department of Defense, theU.S. Navy or SSC Charleston.

To view The Chronicle online, visitwww.sscc.spawar.navy.mil and click “AboutUs.”

P.O. Box 190022North Charleston, SC 29419-9022

TheThe

ChronicleChronicle

SSC Charleston’s MissionTo provide knowledge superiority to naval and

joint warfighters and peacekeepers through the de-velopment, acquisition and life cycle support of effec-tive, integrated Command, Control, Communications,Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Recon-naissance (C4ISR) systems.

Editor .................................. Susan PiedfortPhotographer ......................... Harold Senn


From the desk of

James D. WardTechnical Director

We have built our business base at SSC Charleston byresponding to the needs of the Navy, Marine Corps andother services and agencies. Requirements develop – oftenvery urgently – that fall within our C4ISR mission and areaof expertise, and we take on those requirements and findsolutions that work for our customers. Very often we an-swer the needs of our customers so well that we have a“customer for life.”

Our work for the Marine Corps, first on Up-ArmoredHumvees and now on Mine ResistantAmbush Protected (MRAP) vehicles,is a good example of cultivating a re-lationship by demonstrating our abil-ity to fulfill a customer’s need betterthan anyone else can.

A good deal of our business todayis in support of the warfighter. Ournation is presently engaged in a warthat will some day come to an end.What will happen to us then; will wesee a drop in business, or will our customers stick with usin the future? Are we cultivating customers for life, ensur-ing our command is prepared for the future? Connectingourselves and our solutions to other challenges and othercustomers gives us not only a larger return on our invest-ment today, but a business base for tomorrow.

I believe we enjoy the success we do today not becausewe are the best at writing glowing proposals but because ofthe relationships we build with our customers. Our cus-tomer relationships and our collaboration with our cowork-ers are vital to the continuation of our success in times ofwar and in peacetime. How well our business is connecteddepends on how well our people are connected. That’s whyI challenge each of you to think of yourselves as a node inour network and ask yourselves: “How well am I connectedto the other nodes in my network on which I depend themost to do my work? Where am I connected now? Whereelse could I be connected? Who depends on me?”

Each of us should ask ourselves regularly: what part do

I play at SSC Charleston? What is it I need to do to helpSSC Charleston carry out its mission – for what am I ac-countable and with whom do I need to work to get thosethings done? Each individual needs to find out where he orshe is supposed to be connected, make those connectionsand then cultivate those relationships. For example, I con-nect with SPAWAR Executive Director Rod Smith and SSCSan Diego Exeutive Director Carmela Keeney almost daily.I spend a good deal of time in San Diego working with

these folks because that’s where I needto be connected.

The concept of being proactive andconnecting yourself differently is notnew to us. In the future we will seethe standup of SSC Atlantic, become acompetency aligned organization, andan end to the war in which our nationis presently engaged. When change ison the horizon, we can sit back anddread the problems that may never

come to pass, or we can seize the opportunity to collabo-rate and connect in different ways. Those who have cre-ated the right environments, connected the right people andcultivated the right relationships will be ready for what thefuture brings.

There is an understandable uneasiness for many aboutreorganizations. I think less in terms of “reorganizing” thanI do of “reconnecting.” I challenge each of you to look atthe role you play at SSC Charleston and identify at least fivepeople you interact with to get your job done. Who else canyou connect with? Cultivate those relationships; increaseyour bandwidth with those individuals. Share informationand create dependencies and relationships of trust. Err onthe side of inclusiveness; it will pay you dividends!

Connecting things differently than we have in the pasthas made a difference for our nation’s warfighters and hasbrought us the success we enjoy today. Continuing to con-nect differently and cultivating relationships will ensure oursuccess tomorrow.

Where should you be connected?

“How well our business

is connected depends onhow well our people are

connected.”

Continued on page 8

We continue to make great progress in our steps to thestandup of SSC Atlantic in October next year. We have alsocombined efforts with SSC New Orleans in May to discusshow that Systems Center can be included as part of SSCAtlantic, followed by a group meeting at all three systemscenters (Charleston, Norfolk and New Orleans) in Norfolk.I’m excited about the opportunities the standup of SSC At-lantic will offer us.SPAWARSYSCOMVice Commander RearAdm. Charles “Grunt”Smith is now settled inat Norfolk and is dual-hatted as N43 atNETWARCOM. Hispresence on the EastCoast in the middle ofour largest fleet concen-tration has alreadyadded value to our ef-forts, and will be a keypart of standing up SSCAtlantic.

In additional to regu-lar ship visits to “pulse”current fleet readiness,Rear Adm. Smith ischampioning a casualtyresponse (CASREP)Lean Six Sigma eventfocused on improving the handover process between theregional maintenance centers (RMCs) and In Service Engi-neering Agents (ISEAs). This event has provided an excel-lent teaming opportunity between the SSC Charleston fleetsupport team, SPAWAR HQ (04C), SSC San Diego, SSCNorfolk, and our fleet and RMC counterparts. Currently inthe analysis phase using the LSS DMAIC (Define-Measure-

Analyze-Improve-Control) process, this event is providingnew insight into barriers to cost-effective fleet support.

Another fleet support initiative we’re participating in isthe test piloting of the new Surface Warfare Enterprise(SWE) Fleet Technical Assistance (FTA) process. Thispilot, which includes two C4I systems we support (WSC-6 SHF and USQ-152 TBMCS), will validate the use of the

Global Distance Sup-port Center (GDSC) asthe single point of en-try for all FTA re-quests. In the past, ourengineers have fre-quently gone the extramile to provide fleetsupport with little orno funding; under thenew policy, our ISEAsshould not engage un-til the cognizant RMChas formally tasked andfunded the FTA re-quest. The pilot beganin late July and will runfor approximately sixmonths in order toidentify what worksand areas that still needimprovement.

We are also movingforward on our facilities improvement timeline. Code 50folks are now in the Mikolajcik Engineering LaboratoryCenter and other moves are ongoing as we align ourselvesfor efficiency and effectiveness. I realize that office movesare very disruptive, and I appreciate the patience and co-operation of our employees as we make these changes with-out missing a beat in performing our mission. It is neces-

Enabling our team for continued success

Code 50 employees at work in their new Building 3146 spaces.Photo by Harold Senn


Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) the Honorable Dr.Donald C. Winter visited SSC Charleston Sept. 26 to seefirsthand the command’s capabilities and to meet the teamintegrating C4ISR equipment on Mine Resistant AmbushProtected (MRAP) vehicles.

Dr. Winter was accompanied by Dr. Delores Etter, As-sistant SECNAV for Research, Development and Acquisi-tion. While at SSC Charleston Dr. Winter also communi-cated with a warfighter in Iraq via a direct satellite link in anInternet café, and toured an integration and test area for aCommon Submarine Radio Room which provides strategiccommunications for submarines across all platforms.

The day-long visit culminated in SSC Charleston’s MRAPvehicle integration facility as Secretary Winter spoke to morethan 400 government and contract workers installing C4ISRgovernment-furnished equipment in the vehicles. Flankedby Dr. Etter and SSC Charleston government and industrypartners, Dr. Winter told the integration team about the ur-

gent need for MRAP vehicles. “This is the most importantthing we are doing right now to support our troops fightingover there,” he said. Noting that warfighters today are fac-ing a very adaptive enemy, he said the MRAP program rep-resents our nation’s longstanding ability to adapt its capa-bilities to deal with evolving threats.

“Our nation faced a similar challenge during World WarII, and the industrial base and our people were fully in-vested in providing equipment the troops needed. Here inCharleston you responded to that challenge in a very directway,” Dr. Winter said, referring to Charleston’s strong mili-tary presence and the former Charleston Naval Shipyard.“Many of you here today are carrying on the tradition ofyour parents and grandparents who provided that responsemany years ago.” Once again, he said, Charleston can beproud of its support to warfighters and vital contribution toour global war on terrorism.

“You should take pride in what you are doing today,” hetold the group. “Every vehicle has your signature. It hasyour fingerprints on it, your work embedded in it. Whenthey go out to the warfighters … in Basrah, Al Anbar, Najaf… those sailors, soldiers, marines and airmen in them aredepending on you and the quality of work you do. So I askyou to remember the impact your work can have on thesetroops and be proud of your contribution. You make a hugedifference.”

Those warfighters won’t know who to write the ‘thankyou’ note to, the Secretary said, offering his own heartfeltthanks to the team. “This program has tremendous priorityand emphasis and I know you are working hard to get thesevehicles to the warfighter. Thank you for your hard workand commitment to our nation.”

- Susan Piedfort, Chronicle Editor

SECNAV visitsSSC Charleston

Photos by Harold Senn

Above, SECNAV talks with a warfighter in Iraq via anInternet cafe; at top, Dr. Winter is welcomed as he disembarksthe aircraft at Charleston Air Force Base.

Above, SSC Charleston Technical DirectorJames Ward; Assistant SECNAV for Research,Development and Acquisition Dr. Delores Etter;Dr. Winter; and SPAWARSYSCOM DeputyCommander Rear Adm. Charles Smith listen toa command brief. At right, Code 616’s PeteWard reviews metrics with SECNAV and thevisiting party in the MRAP Integration Facility.Below, Dr. Winter speaks to MRAP integrators.


SSC Charleston celebrated a historic mile-stone in April by becoming the first SPAWARsystems center to successfully achieve the Ca-pability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI®)Maturity Level 3 requirements set forth by theSoftware Engineering Institute (SEI).

From April 16 to 27, a senior member of theSEI technical staff led an appraisal team in evalu-ating SSC Charleston. The appraisal results re-vealed that SSC Charleston successfully imple-mented CMMI®’s best government, industry andacademic practices for systems and softwareengineering.

The appraisal team leader Richard Barbourcalled SSC Charleston’s appraisal the smooth-est he has ever had. “It was hard to go findthings that were not available or not being done,” saidBarbour, who with his team spent 10 days interview-ing 94 SSC Charleston team members and reviewingmore than 8,000 documents generated by the nineprojects being appaised.

“This is a significant milestone in the center’s his-tory,” said Rear Adm. Michael Bachmann, commander

of SPAWARSYSCOM, “and an achievement that is a testimonyto your dedication, professionalism and plain hard work.”

Technical Director James Ward praised Director of Engi-neering Operations (Code 09K) Mike Kutch, who championedSSC Charleston’s process improvement program, sponsoredprocess improvement training and supported process improve-ment groups and the various Integrated Product Teams (IPTs).

CMMI® Maturity Level 3 milestone is reached

Agren receives James T. Lynch Freedom AwardSSC Charleston em-

ployee Carl Agren waspresented the James T.Lynch Freedom AwardSept. 24.

Agren, of the Intelli-gence and InformationWarfare Systems Engi-neering Department, re-ceived the award whichhonors the memory ofSSC Charleston civilianelectronics technicianJames T. Lynch, whowas working in the Navycommand center at thePentagon when he waskilled in the terrorist at-tack Sept. 11, 2001.

The award was pre-sented by Rear Admiral.Michael P. Tillotson, deputy commander of the NavyExpeditionary Combat Command; along with BrendaLynch, the widow of James T. Lynch. “I want tothank the Navy League and SPAWAR Charleston for

keeping my husband’smemory alive,” she said.“Jim really enjoyed his workand loved his country, andit is so good to know thatthe people here still remem-ber him and will honor himevery year with this award.”

The Charleston councilof the Navy League andSPAWAR Charlestonteamed up to establish theJames T. Lynch FreedomAward last year.

During a Patriot Day ob-servance at SSC CharlestonSept. 11, departmental Free-dom Award winners werenamed. In addition to Agren,they were Richard Huber,Communication Systems

Department; Hanh Chau, Command Business Departments;Robert Ketner, Command and Control Systems Department;and Charles W. Cratsley III, C4ISR/Integrated Systems En-gineering Department.

Continued from page 4

Captain Hoover

sary that we accommodate our expanding programs, andby collocating our operations that are related, we are en-abling all members of the SSC Charleston team for futuresuccess.

I’d like to give a special thanks to the students who workedwith us this summer under the Student Temporary Em-ployment Program (STEP). We were very fortunate to have35 students from different schools in South Carolina, Florida,Mississippi and Virginia working throughout our command.STEP is a win-win for us. We get a great crop of intelligent,energetic students who are ea-ger to learn and can share a dif-ferent perspective with us. Thestudents get a chance to workin a world-class engineering en-vironment and can see the prac-tical applications of their stud-ies while they work on projectsthat help save warfighters’lives. I’d like to thank all of youwho served as student super-visors and mentors; your inter-actions with them can have aprofound impact. STEP offersstudents the sort of experiencesthat can shape their career andeven the rest of their lives, andthe part you played in showingthe opportunities here cannot beunderestimated. As the studentsreturned to their respective schools for the academic year,I hope they will remember their time at SSC Charleston andconsider a career of significance here.

I am especially proud of the work we are doing to inte-grate C4ISR capabilities into the MRAP vehicles. Our dedi-cated government and industry team is working very hardto give our warfighters an edge in the war against terror.The large banner at the entrance to the facility says it all:“Your Work is Directly Supporting the War on Terrorism.”With every vehicle that goes out the door, we are savingwarfighter lives. As SPAWAR Commander Rear Adm.Michael Bachmann noted, “That’s a strong motivator tocome to work every day and I have the utmost respect fortheir professionalism and dedication.”

I refer often to the most recent guidance from our boss,Rear Adm. Bachmann, and the CNO, and I am pleased tosee that we are well aligned, if not leading the way, withmany of their main initiatives. C4ISR is integral to CNO’snew maritime strategy and the vision of the 1,000-ship Navy– a fleet composed of ships and capabilities from manynations, standing watch over the seas together. As the forceenabler for C4ISR, our role is fundamental. Our support to

coalition communications and C2 is building stronger alli-ances and partnerships that are required for the CNO’smaritime strategy. Our Command Chief Engineer, PhilCharles, and a team of experts from across the commandhave made incredible progress in the effort to “operationalizeFORCEnet.” This type of engineering approach is criticalin being successful to meet concepts of a 1,000-ship Navy.We and our industry partners have accelerated the deliveryof open architecture systems to the fleet and standardizedthe C4I and warfighting capabilities of our joint force. Our

innovation program, whichis amazingly successful injust its first full programyear, answers CNO’s call to“create mechanisms and in-centives that attract the bestand brightest innovators,bridging the gaps betweennaval RDT&E, industry,academia and our opera-tional warfighters.”

CNO has also urged Navycommands to develop effec-tive business strategies forthe day-to-day managementof Navy processes throughthe use of Lean Six Sigmaand other business practices.Thanks to your efforts, LSSand CMMI are both being

used to great advantage here at SSC Charleston to gainefficiencies and reduce time and cost. (See related storieson pages 9, 19 and 29.) We are leading the way with ouruse of the Balanced Scorecard as a means to measure oureffectiveness and produce meaningful metrics in virtuallyevery part of our business operations. As Rear Adm.Bachmann noted, we have made the BSC “more than justanother exercise.”

We’ve also made great strides in the area of local engi-neering technical authority – the authority, responsibilityand accountability to establish, monitor and approve tech-nical standards, specifications, products and policy in con-formance to higher authority policy. By providing steward-ship of technical and engineering capabilities, we providecommon, cost-effective solutions. Local technical warrantholders have signed out approximately 120 technical au-thority warrants, a huge increase from the previous 10warrants, which shows the delegation of local technicalauthority offers affordability to the command and value tothe warfighter.

Thanks again to our entire team at SSC Charleston; it’sgreat to be busy!

“I am especially proud of thework we are doing to integrate

C4ISR capabilities into theMRAP vehicles .... The largebanner at the entrance to thefacility says it all: ‘Your Workis Directly Supporting the War

on Terrorism.’”

SEI Senior Member Richard Barbour, left, leads the CMMI® MaturityLevel 3 final findings brief as SSC Charleston team members look on.

Photo by Harold Senn

From left, Rear Adm. Michael P. Tillotson, deputy commanderof the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command; James Ward,SSC Charleston technical director; Carl Agren; Capt. TomBrown, USN (Ret.), local Navy League council president;Brenda Lynch; and Capt. Red Hoover, SSC Charleston com-manding officer show the Lynch Freedom Award plaque.



involvement, technical per-sonnel submit more compre-hensive and complete pro-curement packages reduc-ing processing time by anestimated two days,” the ci-tation noted. In her freetime Myers volunteers atTrident Regional MedicalCenter, a local nursing homeand My Sister’s House, andshe mentors at-risk youngwomen ages 13 to 15.

Lt. Brian Phillips of SSCCharleston was namedSafety/Security Employeeof the Year. As thecommand’s operational se-curity manager, Phillips wascredited with revitalizing andrealigning the OPSEC pro-gram to approximately10,000 SSC Charleston em-ployees across five separatedepartments located aroundthe world. His efforts savedthe Navy more than $5 mil-lion in the last year. Phillipswas also credited withgreatly increasing theOPSEC capabilities of otherNavy commands throughtraining materials, workinggroups and other assistance.

He saved the DDG-1000destroyer program as much as $1 billion in the near termand billions more in the future by coordinating three DoDagencies in the identification of a classified security flaw.Phillips volunteers at Hanahan Middle School, is a memberof Lunch Buddies, dedicates up to 10 hours per month as amentor to a child, and was the SSC Charleston CFC mili-tary coordinator.

The Team Award was presented to the Aviation Com-mand and Control (C2) Global War on Terrorism SupportTeam from SSC Charleston, which delivered first-of-a-kindtransportable aviation C2 facilities for use in Operation En-during Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Paul Drago,a computer scientist in Code 66D, led the team which de-signed, developed and procured transportable shelters tohouse aviation C2 communications and surveillance equip-ment, navigation systems, weather sensors and automationsystems for $7 to $12 million less than the estimated price.The team was comprised of Randy Corbitt, electronics en-gineer, Code 663; Ralph Hudson, electronics engineer, Code664; Jennings Lisk, electronics engineer, Code 662; Mitchel

Mascoe, electronics engineer,Code 663; Tanzeel Rana,electronics engineer, Code662; Kyle Salas, electronicsengineer, Code 664; DonaldSallee, electronics engineer,Code 09C2; James Spivey,electrical engineer, Code 663;Mark Szaniszlo, electronicstechnician, Code 664; andTed Rickens, electronicstechnician, Code 662. Thefirst suite of these shelterswas integrated and installedby the team on-site at theBalad Iraq Air Base, forminga complete air traffic controlfacility.

The new ATC facility en-abled controllers to get non-combat aircraft in to and outof five different airports,while allowing coalition air-craft freedom to executecombat sorties in a sliver ofairspace. This improvedsafety of flight for both civil-ian and military aircraft with-out impacting military opera-tions.

Two SSC Charleston em-ployees also earned runner uphonors in the competition.First runner up as Trade/Craft Employee of the Year

was Harold Senn of Code 0A5, command photographer forSSC Charleston. First runner up in the Scientific/Profes-sional category was David L. Smoak, electronics engineerin Code 50E.

Featured speaker for the awards ceremony was MayorKeith Summey of North Charleston. He noted that the mili-tary and federal civilian employee presence is still strong inthe Lowcountry, despite the closure of Charleston NavalBase in the 1990s. “Most people in the Lowcountry, espe-cially those in leadership positions, recognize the impactthey make in their jobs and in the community,” said Summeyof the approximately 17,000 area military and federal civil-ian employees.

Since 1967 the Greater Charleston FEA has been spon-soring the Employee of the Year program as a means ofpublicizing the high caliber of civilian and military employ-ees of the federal service. Tom Crawford, chief meteorolo-gist for WCIV News, emceed the ceremony for the fifthyear in a row.


Federal Employees of the YearWith three category winners and two runners up, SSC

Charleston garnered the lion’s share of awards during the2007 Greater Charleston Area Federal Executive Associa-tion (FEA) Employee of the Year competition. In honor ofthis achievement the FEA plaque will reside at the com-mand until next year’s awards ceremony.

Nearly 325 people filled the Naval Weapons StationRedbank Club June 21 to honor federal civilian employeesand uniformed military personnel in nine different catego-ries. SSC Charleston employees celebrated as Gloria Myers,Lt. Brian Phillips and the Aviation Command and Control(C2) Global War on Terrorism Support Team won first place

honors, and Harold Senn and David Smoak were namedfirst runners up in their respective categories.

Myers, supervisory contract specialist in SSC Charles-ton Code 0271 was named Supervisor of the Year. Leadinga team of six contracts specialists and two purchasing agents,Myers is responsible for the award and administration oftask orders and simplified acquisition procurements in sup-port of the command’s Intelligence and Information War-fare Systems Engineering Department. Myers was describedas a motivator and encourager with a positive attitude whois always willing to assist others in resolving problems, find-ing solutions and improving processes. “As a result of her

SSC Charleston FEA Employee of the Year winners are among those honored by Rear Adm. MichaelBachmann, SPAWARSYSCOM commander, during a recent All Hands. From left, they are Paul Drago,leader of the Aviation C2 GWOT Support Team; Scientific/Professional first runner up David Smoak; GloriaMyers, Supervisor of the Year; Steve Harnig, SSC Charleston nominee for FEA Outstanding Managerial/Executive Employee of the Year; SSC Charleston Executive Officer Cmdr. Patty Gill holds one of the FEAplaques residing at the command; Lt. Brian Phillips, Safety/Security Employee of the Year; and Trade/Craftfirst runner up Harold Senn.

Fifteen from SSC Charleston take home honors

Photo by Susan Piedfort

Naval Weapons Station Commanding Officer Capt. RobertBrennan, left, and North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey,right, present the FEA Employee of the Year plaque to SSCCharleston Technical Director James Ward. The commandgarnering the most Employee of the Year awards retains theplaque for the year.

Photos by Susan Piedfort

HonorsHonors


Charleston also uses a similar solution to provide continuedoperations during modernization of facilities at Navy andMarine Corps air stations, virtually eliminating any down-time.

The SSC Charleston team designed, built and installedthe transportable systems, including the site preparation andfoundations, in less than one-fourth of the four to five yearsestimated by the Air Force engineering command to ac-quire, test and install a similar system/facility with the samecapability.

The team’s accomplishments improved the safety of flightfor civilian as well as military aircraft throughout the the-ater without impacting the high tempo of military opera-tions. The SSC Charleston team was able to reuse existingNavy and Air Force assets to economize and speed-up ca-pability delivery to the warfighter.Air Force partnership

Charleston Air Force Base personnel played an indispens-able role in SSC Charleston’s success due to the proximityand capability to airlift equipment, material and personneldirectly to Southwest Asia. In 2006 the 437th Airlift Squad-ron moved approximately 650,000 pounds of the team’sequipment and material from Charleston to the various lo-cations in theater, reducing transit time, manpower and re-

In heat not unlike that in Iraq, the team connects the con-tainers and installation gets underway.

Continued on next page

Aviation C2team provides‘ATC to-go’

SSC Charleston’s Aviation Command and Control (C2)Global War on Terrorism Team, winner of this year’s GreaterCharleston Area Federal Executive Association’s (FEA) teamaward, is giving warfighters a better view of activity in theskies of Iraq.

In support of U.S. Central Command Air Forces(USCENTAF), SSC Charleston delivered first-of-a-kind,transportable aviation command and control facilities foruse in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation IraqiFreedom in the war on terrorism. Within 18 months, theSSC Charleston team designed, developed and procuredtransportable shelters housing aviation command and con-trol communications equipment, surveillance equipment,navigation systems, weather sensors and automation sys-tems. The first suite of these shelters was integrated andinstalled on-site in Iraq, forming a complete air traffic con-trol (ATC) facility.

The transportable integrated facility suite replaced oldtactical ATC equipment and gave DoD air traffic controllersa better view and control of what’s going on in the skies ofIraq. The new ATC facility suite enabled getting noncombataircraft into and out of five different airports while allowingcoalition aircraft to execute combat sorties without worry-ing about or endangering civilian aircraft.

Led by Paul S. Drago of Code 66D, the team includesRandy E. Corbitt, Kyle Salas, Ralph V. Hudson, Donald W.Sallee, Jennings B. Lisk III, Ted Rickens, James W. Spivey,Mitchel A. Mascoe, Mark S. Szaniszlo and Tanzeel Rana.Theteam constructed seven more transportable facilities andinstalled them in Afghanistan and Iraq. The suites were eas-ily transportable to support changing operations. Trainingtime has been greatly reduced for air traffic controllers mov-ing between locations since aviation command and controlsystems and equipment in theater has been standardized.

This kind of support, the team’s award citation noted,has helped make SSC Charleston the “go to” organizationof choice to provide C4ISR engineering and integrated so-lutions and services to the warfighter worldwide.

The Marine Corps has tasked SSC Charleston to designand build similar ATC facilities for two locations to supporttheir operations in theater.

The FAA is looking at these types of solutions to providecontinued services in the U.S. during and immediately fol-lowing natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, andtornadoes.

The FAA is discussing the possibility of SSC Charleston’sproviding similar ATC systems and facilities for the interna-tional airport in Afghanistan to allow its reopening. SSC

Above, left, Randy Corbitt ensures rails are lined up pre-cisely so the shelters can be lifted by crane to the rails andare connected.


Warfighter SupportWarfighter Support


sources while accelerating the team’s mission accomplish-ment.The results

DoD air traffic controllers in Iraq and Afghanistan havea better view and control of what’s going on in the skies,enabling them to safely manage coalition and civilian air-craft in the same airspace.

The total cost per installation was approximately one halfthe estimated price tag for similar fixed ATC suites of sys-tems and equipment.

All USCENTAF air bases in Iraq now have the sameground-to-air ATC communication equipment, reducingtraining time and cost.

The team’s accomplishment in Afghanistan and Iraq pro-vides warfighters the ATC systems and capability that theyneed to succeed in their mission.


Continued from previous pageWhile many high school seniors are

still trying to decide on a college and acareer, Hanahan High School (HHS) se-nior Seth Kimble already has valuablehands-on experience in the career fieldof his choice, thanks to the SSCCharleston Student Temporary Employ-ment Program (STEP).

Since the beginning of the summerKimble has been working on projectsthat are helping to save warfighters’lives.

As an employee at SSC Charleston,Kimble has assisted with several sys-tems being developed and deployedwith Marine Corps units. He has helpedintegrate systems into light armored ve-hicles and Humvees, working along-side engineers and technicians to buildequipment that will be used by de-ployed forces. Through STEP Kimblehas been able to take skills he learnedin the HHS certified engineering acad-emy and apply them in a real world en-gineering environment. He has alsobeen using 3-D modeling software todesign a power supply for a systemcurrently under development.

When school resumed in August,Kimble was able to continue his em-ployment, working from 6:30 to 9a.m., then heading to class.

Recently HHS Principal RodneyThompson, Career Specialist BarbaraRichter, Engineering Instructor JamesHarrelson, and Career and TechnicalEducation Director for BerkeleyCounty School District KennethVerberg visited SSC Charleston, alongwith Kimble’s parents Wanda and Keith,to check on the young man’s progress.

After touring the spaces whereKimble works, the group received acommand brief from SSC CharlestonCommanding Officer Red Hoover, andvisited the ATC facility and labs in Bldg.3147.

The visitors were impressed withwhat they saw of SSC Charleston, andwith the changes they saw in Kimble.“What has been really great for us tosee is all the responsibility you have

Kimble STEPs up to a career of significance

given Seth here, and how he has re-sponded to it,” Keith Kimble toldHoover and Code 70 Department HeadMike Kutch.

Hoover and Kutch agree that STEPis a win-win-win for the student, theschool and for SSC Charleston. “With-out a doubt, it’s great deal for us,” saidKutch, “they bring a lot of enthusiasm,energy and curiosity to the division.”

Noting that science and engineeringare vital to the nation’s prosperity andsecurity, CNO Adm. Mike Mullen hasstrongly endorsed mentoring and pro-grams like STEP as a way to get kidsinterested in technical careers. “TheCNO has encouraged us to go out intothe community and the schools, to openour doors and show young studentswhat they can do with math and sci-ence skills,” said Hoover.

SSC Charleston projects such asInternet cafes and inflatable antennasused by warfighters have a “gee whiz”factor that gets young people interestedin engineering and technology, headded. “We spend a lot of time with

teachers and career counselors, show-ing them the opportunities here, andthat you can make a pretty good livingas an engineer. They are helping us sowthe seed. We all have a vested interestin getting more young folks interestedin math and science,” Hoover said.

As the HHS career specialist, Rich-ter sees great value in SSC Charleston’sSTEP and other partnership programswith the school. “The great thing aboutSeth embarking on STEP as a junior ishe comes back to our campus and tellsothers about this great opportunity.That’s very powerful for us when weare trying to recruit others,” she said.

“We have a great program atHanahan, but folks at SSC Charlestonhave taken it a step further. They havemade it real for Seth and showed himso many opportunities. If he wasdoubtful at all about a career, he hasdefinitely decided now. I think it’s justa matter of which engineering disci-pline he wants to choose,” Richteradded.


Aviation C2 team

Once the containers are lined up and the sides are removed,the Code 66D team sets to work installing the ATC systemcomponents. The finished facility, pictured below, is testedthen disassembled and airlifted from Charleston Air ForceBase by the 437th Airlift Squadron. Once in theater, they arereassembled, tested and ready for warfighter use.

Hanahan High School senior Seth Kimble shows his parents Keith and Wanda thecomponents he has been working on for Marine combat vehicles. Thanks to SSCCharleston’s STEP, Kimble has not only made his career choice, but has valuablehands-on experience to his credit.



CharlestonQatar

Kuwait

Washington

Landstuhl

Iraq

Afghanistan

DoD Gateway at Landstuhl, Germany


work for what is known as the JointInternet Protocol Modem, or JIPM. Withthe deployment of the first DVB-RCSsuite in March 2006, the SPAWAR Team,in collaboration with the Defense Infor-mation Systems Agency (DISA) deployedthe first operational “pre-JIPM” satellitenetwork in the DoD. SSC Charleston hasbeen tasked by DISA, in response to anurgent U.S. Central Command(USCENTCOM) requirement, to providearound-the-clock technical support andemergency response to these users.

Code 543 currently provides opera-tions and maintenance support to morethan 25 DVB-RCS end users in variouslocations throughout the CENTCOMarea of responsibility (AOR). These endusers communicate with the hub suite atthe Defense Satellite Communications Systems (DSCS) Me-dia Gateway Station in Landstuhl, Germany, where satelliteand network management converge for these remote ar-eas. The DVB-RCS team, utilizing contract support fromITT Federal Services Corporation, centrally operates thishelp desk from Forward Operating Base (FOB) Speicher inIraq. Program management support is located at the system’s

hub, in Landstuhl, Germany. As a DVB-RCS program support manager, SSCCharleston’s Angel Stello acts as a liaisonbetween customers, contractors and SSCCharleston personnel located in the con-tinental U.S. The SSC Charleston DVB-RCS management team includes Jake Obi,Buck Wagner and Joseph Tolley inCharleston, S.C., and Monique Edmondsin Washington, D.C.

“Digital video broadcast via satellite ca-pability is the future; units that do notcurrently have it, want it,” said Stello,adding, “Customers that do have it, wantmore of it.” With more than a millionmiles of over-the-air broadcasts to andfrom the hub, the system has reached“platinum” status.

When DISA and USCENTCOM rep-resentatives convey the current customer requirements, theSSC Charleston DVB-RCS team responds with solutions.“The continuously shifting day-to-day operational require-ments require the team to be flexible,” Stello said. “We mayneed to field additional user suites at a particular location,deploy an additional technician to respond to trouble calls,

Photo provided

Imagine you are a warfighter in Iraq and you needto get from point A to point B using a main supplyroute known to previously contain improvised ex-plosive devices (IEDs). Surveillance video is takencontinuously and captures all the activity along thesupply route in the last several weeks. The video issent via satellite to a communications hub in Ger-many and comes back to you in Iraq via a returnchannel. By viewing the footage, you get the infor-mation you need to make a safe crossing.

SSC Charleston, specifically Code 543’s DVB-RCS (Digi-tal Video Broadcast-Return Channel via Satellite) team, un-der Transformational SATCOM Engineering Branch HeadEric Herrman, provides warfighters this battlefield infor-mation superiority. They utilize a worldwide network ofresources to deploy, operate and maintain digital video com-munications, so the warfighter in theater can send and re-ceive broadcasts of imagery, weather and intelligence data.

DVB-RCS goes ‘platinum’ Digital video ‘over-the-air’ travelMeasured in travelers’ air miles, the distance from over-the-air broadcasts from the DVB-RCS hub gives it platinum status.

DVB-RCS is a standards-based digital broadcasting for-mat created in 1999 which allows for bidirectional InternetProtocol (IP) connectivity over a satellite link. DVB-RCSoffers cost effective, “always on” broadband connectivityfor multiple end users in a shared network. “DVB-RCS isan open standard for bi-directional or two-way transmis-sion of digital data, and interoperability is one of the mainadvantages of DVB-RCS,” said Herrman. “Since technol-ogy advances evolve quickly these days, we have a respon-sibility to continuously research COTS equipment that couldimprove the DVB-RCS system. One of our employees,Monique Edmonds, leads the COTS Obsolescence and RiskManagement Board for the GBS program,” he said.

DVB-RCS provides secure Internet access in areas wheretactical networks are bandwidth limited and traditional com-munications such as telephones and cable connections arenot available — a feature particularly useful for today’swarfighter.

In June 2005, DVB-RCS technology was selected bythe Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and In-formation Integration (ASD-NII) as the DoD standard fortransponded satellite communications, laying the ground-

“Digital videobroadcast via

satellite capabilityis the future; units

that do not currentlyhave it, want it ...Customers that do

have it, wantmore of it.”

-Angel StelloDVB-RCS Program

Support Manager


LSS team improves muster processA recent Lean Six

Sigma (LSS) effort hasimproved the SSCCharleston commandmuster process.

Navy-wide work-force musters are rou-tinely held to accountfor the Navy family andto prepare personnel torespond quickly and ef-fectively in the event ofa disaster. The Navyuses the BUPERS On-Line Disaster MusterTool (BOL DMT) for re-porting up the chain ofcommand.

The LSS team setout to standardize SSCCharleston’s musterprocedures and reducecycle time from emer-gency or exercise startto reporting results.

The LSS team usedhistorical “as is” datafrom a Navy-directedexercise held in August2006 which targeted the Tidewater area. Using this in-formation from “Musterex 06,” the team carefully mappedthe three phases of the muster process: preparing for,executing and reporting a workforce muster.

The team then made improvements using LSS meth-odology and tools including the Process Flow Chart (inOracle Tutor), SIPOC, Voice of the Customer Survey,Data Collection Plan, Data Collection and Analysis,Metrics Identification, Cause and Effect Diagram, Sourceof Variation/Waste Matrix, 7 Forms of Waste Analysis,Brainstorming, PICK Chart and Action Item Tracking.

Then, in February and March this year, SSC Charles-ton participated in a mandatory Navy-wide musteringexercise, Citadel Personnel Accountability 07-1, and theteam applied some of the improvements from the event.Metrics captured, however, did not show the targeted“breakthrough” goals, so the team applied additional im-provements and measured another muster, the manda-tory Navy-wide HURREX 07 mustering exercise, heldin April and May this year. The team captured metrics

from Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, geographicareas with the greatest personnel density (1,601 per-sonnel). This time results showed the LSS effort ex-ceeded its goals.

During the second exercise, it took 43 percent lesstime to muster, and 80 percent less time to enter infor-mation in BOL DMT. There was robust, command-wideparticipation in the LSS event, with a core team con-sisting of 14 personnel and an additional 22 participantsfrom Charleston; Tidewater; Washington, D.C.; andmajor business and technical codes.

The team established and disseminated standardizedand improved muster reporting forms and processes.They additionally established new metrics to track foreach future muster. The core team and participants alsoreconvened for a muster “hotwash,” during which theyidentified lessons learned to be applied for follow-ondisaster muster improvements. This event also countedas one of the required activities towards a Green Beltcertification.

Continued from previous page

DVB-RCS

procure and ship spare parts to theater, or establish moreeffective repair and return processes for failed equipment,”she said. “Our goal is to keep every user suite operational24/7.”

This goal is maintained via the Tier I-level DVB-RCSHelp Desk located on FOB Speicher. From Landstuhl, Stellois the government interface and contract manager for thedeployed DVB-RCS field technicians in theater, and alsoprovides logistical support to the DVB-RCS hub and mediagateway station in Landstuhl.

A College of Charleston graduate and native of Hanahan,S.C., Stello is more than 4,430 miles from home in hercurrent position in Germany. She began her career withSSC Charleston in 1997 as a part-time finance assistant. Ayear later, as a college co-op student, she shifted to a part-time technical position in Code 50. She converted to a full-time, career employee upon receiving a bachelor’s degreein computer science in 2001, and worked primarily in sup-port of Code 543 Extremely High Frequency (EHF) satellitecommunication projects. She spent the next five years trav-eling worldwide as an on-site government representativefor EHF installations, including the installation of EHF sys-tems in London, England; Naples, Italy; Okinawa, Japan;and Ramstein, Germany for the DoD Teleport ProgramOffice. In response to the need for local DVB-RCS sup-port, she took her present position in Germany in May 2006.

In addition to providing life-saving intelligence towarfighters, applications served by DVB-RCS systems aremany and varied, such email and Web browsing. DVB-RCSalso provides video “back haul” from Southwest Asia loca-tions for new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sensors.

In addition to providing additional GBS broadcast band-width, DVB-RCS provides CENTCOM units with additionalcommunications assets. Locally produced video feeds mayalso be sent to the DVB-RCS hub for rebroadcast through-out the area of operations. “Information sharing is the mostwidely used benefit of DVB-RCS,” Stello said.

While the system has the capability to provide distribu-tion of data, video and other digital media over leased satel-lite resources, presently it is used primarily for high leveloperations by trained system administrators and operators.“The bandwidth is limited and to access these resourcesyou must maintain a certain priority level. DVB-RCS is gen-erally reserved for these secure and classified types of fileand data sharing applications,” Stello explained. The sys-tem support engineers ensure a quality level of video feed isreachable to the end users.

DVB-RCS offers other advantages. Very Small ApertureTerminal (VSAT) equipment is typically low cost and canprovide highly dynamic, demand-assigned transmission ca-pacity to the end users. “DVB-RCS provides users with theequivalent of a cable Internet connection, without the need

for local terres-trial infrastruc-ture,” Stello said.“Depending onsatellite link bud-gets and othersystem designp a r a m e t e r s ,DVB-RCS sys-tems can providefull IP connectiv-ity anywherethere is suitablesatellite cover-age, which inturn means mostplaces on theearth, includingareas not cov-ered by other so-lutions,” she said.

DVB-RCS provides the highest bandwidth efficiency inthe satellite industry — enough to support a battalion unitor an entire military base from a single remote terminal.

“This technology enables the military to reduce opera-tional budget costs by providing bandwidth utilization thathas double the efficiency as what has been previously de-ployed in many legacy networks,” Stello said.

The SSC Charleston DVB-RCS team is making a differ-ence as they provide real interoperable SATCOM commu-nications to today’s warfighters. By providing a critical linkthat can give remote ground operators information superi-ority on the battlefield, SSC Charleston is helping to savewarfighter lives.


A DVB-RCS antenna in Iraq gives warfighters double theefficiency of previously deployed equipment.

Photo provided

Angel Stello provides DVB-RCS pro-gram support from the DSCS Media Gate-way Station in Landstuhl, Germany.


The LSS Muster core team consisted of, fromleft, Rus Miller, Walter Kraus (Sponsor), Bar-bara Holliway (Black Belt), Ken Slaughter(Champion), Diane Owens (Co-lead), RobinBlackwell, Ken Jones and Valerie Jackson


(Co-lead). Not pictured are team membersEleanor Aldrich, Lt. Cmdr. Willie Brown,Donna Buckler, Sherry Chamberlin, Cmdr.Patty Gill (Sponsor) and Gertie Lawrence.


Above left, GDIT’s ruggedized suitcases set up for mobilecommunications. Himan Darji, center, tests VoIP through

GDIT’s SWIS. Above right, Cell-Tell’s communications cen-ter built into a Humvee offers portability.

Photos provided

CIPC’s Karl Burkheimer, second from right, shows S.C.National Guardsmen communications capabilities dur-ing the CWID exercise.


SSC Charleston’s Critical Infrastructure ProtectionCenter (CIPC) and the S.C. Army National Guard (SCNG)helped demonstrate how local, state and federal agenciescan communicate better during a hurricane, earthquakeor man-made disaster during the Palmetto-Coalition War-rior Interoperability Demonstration (CWID) held June 4through 16 at the former Charleston Naval Base. Theexercise included local first responders and police andfire departments, the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency (FEMA), Homeland Security (DHS), Navy, AirForce and active duty Army personnel.

CIPC participated in last year’s CWID, and startedcoordinating this year’s exercise in November 2006, ac-cording to John Linden of Code 75J, CIPC director. Sce-

CIPC enables success ofPalmetto CWID exercise

to muster from their location and help the members of theNavy family be located quickly. While all employees par-ticipated in the muster drills, few were aware of the otheractivities taking place to support the exercise.

With more than 1,300 confirmed deaths and at least $80billion in damages, Hurricane Katrina was one of the mostdeadly and costly hurricanes in U.S. history. SPAWARSystems Center (SSC) New Orleans was badly damagedby Katrina and lost communications – a crippling blow forany major organization.

SSC New Orleans was not without options and broughtin Cell-Tell, a communications vendor based in Jackson-ville, Fla. Cell-Tell set up a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS)wireless communication systems and provided SSC New

Orleans the communications capability to function and as-sist others with hurricane disaster relief.

While Hurricane Katrina is an extreme example, everygovernment agency would like to mitigate the risk thesenatural disasters pose to communications at critical times.CNIC CIO Jeff Husky and Program Manager Kim Newtonare working to ensure that emergency communications areavailable in the event of natural disasters, when they’re mostneeded. According to Gil Ward, Regional CNIC Deputy CIO,“CNIC’s goal is to have a deployable team on-site within aneffective amount of time should a disaster strike.”

During HURREX 07, CNIC and SSC Charleston observedvendors demonstrating emergency mobile communicationscapabilities in order to examine options available during a

Continued on page 24



Homeland preparednessHURREX 07 successoffers glimpse of futuredisaster response

NASA photo

SSC Charleston employees can recall the recent mus-ter requirements for Hurricane Exercise 07 (HURREX 07).As a result of past catastrophic events, and to make sureall Department of Navy employees are accounted for, theNavy established a task force that put together a plan sup-porting their accountability needs in time of disaster. Thistask force established the Command Muster System whichcan now be updated on-line. Should disaster strike, hav-ing emergency communication available will allow people

Continued on next page Continued on page 22

A deployable team from the Department of HomelandSecurity (DHS) worked with SSC Charleston Code 50personnel to “tune up” for hurricane season as they suc-cessfully tested communications interoperability capabili-ties during an exercise held here June 25 through 28.

The DHS Deployable Situational Awareness Team(DSAT), consisting of Immigration and Customs Enforce-ment (ICE) agents and DHS engineers, successfully testedtheir ability to respond to natural disasters or terrorist in-

Homeland preparednessPalmetto Hawk exerciseat SSC Charlestontests comms interoperability


Clockwise from farleft, demonstrationswere given to SSCCharleston employeesduring Palmetto Hawkon the satellites andantennae used to trans-mit information toDHS headquarters.The electronic boardroom was one of thestaging areas used dur-ing the exercise. DHSPublic Affairs person-nel tested the ability topush video from theirsatellite truck stagedbehind Bldg. 3147.


cidents and transmit real-time video back to DHS head-quarters in Washington, D.C., during the exercise.

During the Palmetto Hawk exercise the team set up aVery Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) satellite ground sta-tion at Bldg. 3147 and ran the exercise from the electronicboard room. During two days with outside temperatureswell into the 90s, the team successfully tested Customsand Border Protection (CBP) air ops capability, VTC capa-bility from a forward operations area, access to the Home-land Security Information Network (HSIN) and CommonOperational Picture (COP), transferring live video and stillphotography utilizing satellite and cellular technology. Ac-cording to Joe Hennigan, director of technology supportfor the DHS Operations Coordination Directorate, the exer-cise was a hurricane season tune up for personnel fromCustoms and Border Protection (CBP), ICE, Office of Op-erations (OPS)/Network Operating Center (NOC), DHSPublic Affairs Office (PAO) and Coast Guard..

The ICE agents filmed in nonclassified areas around SSCCharleston and transmitted the video to the DHS NOC topractice store-and-forward video plus forwarding live video.The exercise also featured tours and demonstrations forSSC Charleston personnel.

Palmetto HawkContinued from page 20


An SSC Charleston team and two British researcherstested an insulating material that could save warfighter livesby giving them more time to escape from burning vehicles.

Warfighters inside ground combat vehicles hit by enemyfire or improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have a betterchance of survivability thanks to new armored vehicles.But the same armor that protects them can make escapefrom the vehicle difficult. Warfighters need more time toescape or be extricated from burning vehicles before beingovertaken by heat and gases. The challenge was to useadvanced technology fibers to create a flame retardant ma-terial that also prevents the transfer of deadly heat and gases.

A British couple used a fiber patented in England to de-velop a material which resists flames and insulates fromheat and gases. The material was made into a wearableformat and is being tested for flightsuit use as part of apreexisting project.

The British researchers wanted to test the material forother warfighter applications, but couldn’t find anyone tohelp — until they contacted SSC Charleston Code 715 per-sonnel at U.S. Southern Command (SOCOM) in Tampa,Fla. Rich Bishop, deputy program manager for advancedtechnology for SOCOM, and an SSC Charleston teampartnered with Department of Energy and Marine Corpspersonnel to test the fabric further.

A March 13 test verified the material’s fireproof and heatinsulating capabilities when it was torched at 3,000 degreesfor four hours and did not ignite or get hot. The test indi-cated possible future applications on submarines and othernaval vessels -- to insulate pipes and protect firefighters.

On May 1 the team tested how well the fabric insulatesvehicle occupants from heat and gases. A demonstration in

the open burn area on the Naval Weapons Station featuredthe SSC Charleston team, Air Force Explosive OrdnanceDisposal (EOD) personnel, the Station fire department, ajeep with dummy occupants rigged with heat and air sen-sors — and lots of fire. With insulating material drapedover wheel wells and various areas of the jeep, the EODteam used a thermite grenade and diesel fuel to ignite thejeep, simulating battlefield flame and thermal hazards.

Under normal conditions, the environment inside a flam-ing vehicle becomes deadly after about one minute. A criti-cal factor is heat and gases generated by burning tires. Forthe demonstration, the tires were punctured and filled withdiesel fuel to replicate the worst possible battlefield condi-tions.

“The goal was to sustain survivable temperatures insidethe vehicle for 7½ minutes – long enough for those insideto be rescued,” said Ken McCullough of Code 715, Ad-vanced Technology Transition Branch. The results weremeasured by 12 temperature sensors in the vehicle and on“occupants,” air quality sensors, a camera measuring in-frared temperatures and a high definition video camera.Firefighters extinguished the flames after 10 minutes.

While the test data would undergo extensive follow-onanalysis, the demonstration indicated success. Sensorsshowed the insulating material prevented heat and gases --particularly those generated by the burning tires -- fromentering the cab. While more tests on the material will bemade before its deployment, the team was encouraged thatthe insulating material can save warfighter lives. They arenow looking at using the material, heat conductive foamand a new type of armor for vehicles.


Code 715 tests lifesaving insulating fabricPhotos by Harold Senn

Top left, the vehicle was engulfed in flames for more than 10 minutes, thenextinguished by Naval Weapons Station firefighters, below, left. Above, theteam evaluates fire damage to different areas of the vehicle.

time of need. SSC Charleston Branch Head Roy Johnsonexplained, “Our goal was to gather as much information aspossible for restoring communications quickly and effec-tively. We worked with CNIC to bring in vendors to dem-onstrate their techniques at accomplishing this task.”

As a hurricane moving up the coastline was simulated,vendors had 48 hours to relocate and set up a fully func-tioning emergency communications system that includedseveral important communication protocols such as Voiceover IP (VoIP), Internet access, telephony, and Video Tele-conferencing (VTC).

Project engineers (PE) examined the various systemswhile paying close attention to the time between arrival andestablishing communications, the reliability and quality ofthe service and the amount of available bandwidth. CharlesGallagher was one of those PEs from SSC Charleston andsaid, “I think it’s good preparation and a great idea to have

a HURREX in case of another hurricane inci-dent like Katrina. Getting communications upquickly is an integral part in helping people inemergency situations. It will be very beneficialin getting the military back in action in a regioneffected by a hurricane.”

Three vendors participated in the HURREXexercise: Cell-Tel, General Dynamics Informa-tion Technology (GDIT) and Segovia. Each ven-dor was unique in their methods, though all wereimpressive in their ability to provide the manydifferent communication options required.

Cell-Tel demonstrated capabilities at the Na-val Submarine Base in Kings Bay, Ga., and atNaval Air Station (NAS) in Jacksonville, Fla. Fivepeople set up a satellite-rigged Humvee with atrailer attached. The portability of this methodstood out the most. According to Gallagher, “Theversatility of a Humvee is uncontestable. It canbe driven to anywhere in the worst of condi-tions which is exactly what we need to antici-pate should a hurricane strike.” Their portable

communications center provided more than ample speedfor the initial recovery processes following a disaster.

GDIT demonstrated capabilities at the Naval SubmarineBase in New London, Conn., and at the Naval Station inNewport, R.I. Five people set up portable satellite suitcaseswhich established their mobile communications center. Theportability and small size of their system can turn any smallor confined area into the Secure Wireless InfrastructureSystem (SWIS). In addition to the portability, these suit-cases were able to provide very high Internet speeds.

Segovia demonstrated capabilities at the Naval WeaponsStation in Charleston, S.C., and at Naval Station Norfolk,Va. The system required only one person to set up the en-tire communications center which was in an enclosed 6x8trailer. The Internet connection speeds were extremely high.Regarding the setup times, Gallagher also said, “I was im-pressed by how quickly everyone was able to set up. Oneof the vendors actually had working telephone communi-cations set up within 15 minutes!”

- Himan Darji, Code 541

HurrexContinued from page 21

narios involving earthquake, hurricane and suspicious shipactivity were executed. CIPC coordinated events withand provided direct feeds to the Project Seahawk JTF,Linden said.

The center was the coordination point for unmannedaerial vehicles (UAVs) as well as the U.S. Air Force EagleVision satellite for imagery analysis and damage assess-ments. Video captured by the UAV was used to makedamage assessments by the S.C. Joint Task Force. CIPC

Continued from page 21provided large screen displays of computing data andanalytical assessments to the SCNG force coordinatorthroughout the two-week period.

CIPC can provide real-time, “customized” informa-tion such as the location of cell phone towers, whichallows the exercise team to determine area communica-tion capabilities. CIPC analysis tools provide geographicinformation on the coastline, from which the NG teamcan model storm surge damage Sullivan’s Island and theIsle of Palms.

CIPC

Roy Johnson observes Segovia’s Mobile Communications Trailer.Photo provided


Photos byHarold Senn


Industrial and mechanical engineers, technicians, subjectmatter experts and support staff make up the SSC Charles-ton MRAP integration team.

This mass vehicle integration installation project has beenundertaken by the Combat C2 Systems Branch in the Tac-tical C2 Engineering Division of the Command and ControlSystems Department, teaming with industry partners andthe Information Warfare (IW) Exploitation Systems Engi-neering Division. Industry partners are from mostly small-to mid-sized businesses, using SSC Charleston’s highlysuccessful government/industry model and long-standingcommitment to small business. The MRAP team crossesvarious engineering disciplines, including industrial, elec-trical and mechanical engineering, technicians, subjectmatter experts and support staff. They are responsible forevery aspect of MRAP integration, from engineering to re-ceipt to final inspection in theater and engineering reachbackfor all capability packages.

This is the same core team which undertook the C4ISRintegration of more than 2,000 Up-Armored Humvees be-ginning in July of 2005. The MRAP integration project iseven larger in scale. From November 2006 to August 2007,more than 6,400 MRAPs were ordered for warfighters,and Defense officials estimate as many as 8,000 more ve-hicles will be ordered in FY08. SSC Charleston is the soleC4ISR integrator.

The challenge of the MRAP project is to meet a strictdelivery schedule on a high volume of vehicles while main-taining configuration management across multiple vehicleand C4ISR variants. SSC Charleston employs Lean SixSigma (LSS) and Capability Maturity Model Integration(CMMI) techniques to enhance the systems engineeringand production processes for streamlined integration, qualitycontrol and configuration management. These efforts, and

Mine

Resistant

Ambush

Protected

Vehicles

C4ISR capabilities addedby SSC Charleston teamwill save warfighter lives

SSC Charleston is building on its extensive experience inthe integration and fielding of various C4ISR capability pack-ages to the warfighter by equipping the next generation oftactical vehicles, the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected(MRAP) vehicles.

Defense officials estimate that IEDs have caused approxi-mately 70 percent of all U.S. casualties in Iraq and Af-ghanistan. MRAPs’ V-shaped chassis protects warfightersfrom blasts and fragmentation resulting from roadside IEDs,significantly reducing casualties and fatalities. Earlier MRAPmodels of the Cougar JERRV and Buffalo mine protectedtrucks are now being used by warfighters and have a provenrecord of saving lives.

Warfighter SupportWarfighter Support


LSS team hones MRAP integrationMRAPs save warfighter lives, and ensuring rapid C4ISR

integration and delivery of the combat vehicles to the battle-field is SSC Charleston’s top priority. While SSC Charles-ton has driven down MRAP integration time, a team of LeanSix Sigma (LSS) Black and Green Belts has moved into theintegration facility to ensure continuous improvement onthe integration line.

The team is led by LSS Black Belt Lt. Brian Phillips andassigned to MRAP Integration Program Manager Pete Ward,who also an LSS Black Belt. The MRAP LSS team is exam-ining every process, from equipment acquisition to deliveryto the warfighter — including receiving, storage, integra-tion, quality assurance inspection, preparation for shipmentand staging.

The MRAP vehicles and the government-furnished equip-ment (GFE) being installed in them come from a multitudeof vendors around the country, which poses challengesduring the integration process. The integration of C4I equip-ment on each vehicle varies based on the vehicle manufac-turer, the specific category of vehicle, the GFE suite, mis-sion needs and specific service requirements. In general,C4I installation includes running communications and powercables, mounting support brackets, placement of exteriorantenna mounts and the actual installation ofthe hardware. Then there is testing, quality assurance in-spection and preparation for shipping. Preparation is differ-ent for prototype and production vehicles. Considering all

MRAP LSS team members take a break from a meeting. Theyare, from left, Lt. Brian Phillips, Nick Boehm, Sabrina

Sechevich, James Polk, Pete Ward, Mike Thomas, BarbaraHolliway and Joe Rodgers.



the variants in the vehicles, a process as seemingly simpleas antenna placement can become complex on the integra-tion line.

SSC Charleston personnel can receive, integrate and pre-pare MRAPs for warfighter delivery faster than the vehiclesand the equipment are coming in from industry. The LSSteam is ensuring the integration team can respond as MRAPsarrive at a faster rate when the program reaches full rateproduction.

They closely examined the different processes involvedin integration, the national value stream and have set spe-cific production goals with Ward. SSC Charleston will hirearound-the-clock production crews as MRAP productionramps up. Facilities for storage and staging have been in-creased. Another strategy is to move all non-core SSCCharleston production-related work, such as drilling, paint-ing and turret installation, off the integration line and backto the manufacturers’ facilities.

Phillips praised the accomplishments of the LSS teammembers so far. “They have taken the approach of a Leanteam, attacking the problem of getting us as efficient as wecan be internally, while simultaneously focusing on externalissues affecting our ability to integrate vehicles,” said Phillips.Department of Defense officials are helping to solve chal-lenges that exist in the supply chain. The SSC Charlestonteam is concentrating on driving down integration time.

The SSC Charleston MRAP team is responsible for everyaspect of C4ISR integration from engineering to receipt andfinal inspection in theater.

SSC Charleston’s cost of operations result in reduced overallintegration costs to the customer. Existing SSC Charlestoncontracts for C4I mobile, afloat and ashore integration arebeing used for the MRAP project, which enhances the team’sspeed and agility in meeting evolving requirements and thedemands associated with a project of this magnitude.

The team also utilizes an electromagnetic compatibilitytest range located on Naval Weapons Station Charleston toperform integrated electronic testing optimizing vehicle C4Iperformance during the prototype process. SSCCharleston’s location near a major TRANSCOM hub forlarge scale air, rail and seagoing transport helps ensure thefastest capability delivery to the warfighter.

The MRAP integration project is a shining example ofmany people from different backgrounds at SSC Charles-ton working together toward a common goal. Personnelfrom acquisition, logistics, test and evaluation, engineering,finance, operations, program support, safety, spiral devel-opment, contracts, technical insertion, and the government-furnished equipment arena must share ideas, communicate,and work in harmony with one focus as one team.

“MRAPs are having a direct effect on saving lives dailyin the field and we take pride in being able to be part of thesupport for that effort,” said SSC Charleston CommandingOfficer Capt. Red Hoover.



Lt. Gen. C.V. (Chris)Christianson, Director forLogistics, Joint Staff, toursa staging area for variousMRAP vehicles being inte-grated with C4ISR equip-ment. Other senior Depart-ment of Defense officialsvisiting the integration lineSept. 24 included The Hon-orable John J. Young Jr., As-sistant Secretary of Defensefor Acquisition, Technol-ogy and Logistics; and ViceAdm. Steve Stanley, Direc-tor for Force Structure, Re-sources and Assessment, J8,Joint Staff.

MRAP vehiclesContinued from previous page


Providing comms at the ‘tip of the spear’


Thanks to SSC Charleston, the HELAMS, with its wheel setat left, offers comms capability in austere conditions.

Code 593 teams with AMC


Clockwise from bottom, U.S. Air Force Cols. John Brunhaverand Samuel Douglas, George Anderson, Rick Mabe and MikeListon check out equipment installed in the HELAMS. Thetwo officers were also briefed on the MOUS Inflatable An-tenna and toured the IPC and the ATC complex, includingthe new CENTAF facility.


MRAP LSSContinued from previous page

The MRAP LSS team has the attention of Dr. DeloresM. Etter, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research,Development and Acquisition (ASN-RDA). She is support-ing the project, and has detailed a skilled set of Master BlackBelts to mentor the MRAP LSS team and lead them throughseveral rapid improvement events. “Nick Boehm is one ofthe consultants who worked closely with NAVAIR andSEFAC, so we are leveraging those successes lead by themin the past,” said Phillips, adding that the Charleston team isreporting its results directly to SECNAV’s office. “We wantto make SSC Charleston a shining example of MRAP projectsuccess,” Phillips said. “From a Lean Six Sigma point ofview, any continuous process improvement with minimalinvestment of people — providing more capability for thewarfighter for the same money — is a success.”

The team is driven further, he said, by a comment fromCode 60 Department Head Kevin McGee. “He said that forevery one of these vehicles that doesn’t get to the theater,there are six warfighters without a vehicle that would savetheir lives if they hit an IED,” Phillips noted.

From that standpoint, the team finds this Lean Six Sigmaevent especially rewarding. Phillips had many volunteersfrom whom to choose for this effort, and he got “the bestof the best. They are the A-Team,” he said. “We have MikeThomas, who is a great mediator, intelligent and data driven.Barb Holliway is very detail-oriented and also a great me-diator with a soft touch. Jennifer Crawford, a Stanley con-tractor, is on board and is brilliant. We have Krista Walker,a Green Belt who really gets the job done, and Matt Shapiro,a really sharp electrical engineer assigned to us temporarily.Abram Jackson from TechSoft is on the team; he is verysmart and great with statistics. I asked for all of those folksby name,” said Phillips. He believes it’s a testament to SSCCharleston’s government/industry partner relationship thatthe group is mission focused and works well together. “PeteWard and Joe Rodgers have really embraced the team, andthat has been crucial to our success,” he added.

“The entire MRAP integration team is an energized groupthat is always looking for ways to improve the installationand testing processes,” said Rodgers, USMC C4I Expedi-tionary Systems Branch Head. The MRAP LSS team willcontinue its efforts as vehicles arrive at a faster pace. Theyare looking at changes to manufacturers’ delivery sched-ules to get an even flow of vehicle deliveries, working withmanufacturers to better prepare vehicles for integration,and exploiting all TRANSCOM opportunities to get vehiclesto warfighters faster.

“I do believe we will be a shining example to the MarineCorps and to others that Lean Six Sigma really works,”said Phillips, “and that it directly impacts the warfighter.”


General Robert Magnus, Assistant Commandant of theMarine Corps, visited SSC Charleston and got a closeup view of MRAP integration operations Aug. 16. Pic-tured above, Magnus, at left, chats with, counterclock-wise from bottom, Kevin McGee, James Ward, RobertRhett of Code 616, SSC Charleston Public Affairs Of-ficer Lonnie Cowart and Capt. Red Hoover.

Photo by Jim Ellicott

U.S. Representative James E. Clyburn, representing theSixth District of S.C., and Majority Whip for the 110thCongress, visited SSC Charleston Aug. 8. Pictured aboveat right, Clyburn obviously likes what he sees of theMRAP integration facility as he is given a tour by KevinMcGee, left, Code 60 department head.


VIPs ‘walk the line’at integration facility

The SSC Charleston MRAP integration facility hashad some very special guests during the last severalmonths, including admirals, generals, senior DoD ci-vilians and elected officials. Seeing the MRAP integra-tion line gives visitors a greater understanding of theprocess for integrating the vehicles which are capable,survivable and blast protected. See more photos onpages 60 and 61.

When the Air Force needs to establish a base in an iso-lated war zone or austere environment, they call on one ofthe Air Mobility Command’s two contingency responsewings – multiskilled combat teams that rapidly deploy any-where in the world to open and prepare airbasesfor follow-on missions.

When the Air Mobility Command wanted tomake sure these teams have all the communica-tions capability they need once boots hit theground, they called on SSC Charleston’sCode 593.

The Air Force has a five-phase model forestablishing fully functional air bases from theground up in isolated environments. The all-im-portant first phase, opening the base, begins with aninitial site survey by a small team to assess primary require-ments for a runway, airfield and support facilities. The sec-ond step of opening the base involves the deployment andemployment of a team that arranges and coordinates theinitial capabilities for airfield operations, communications,force protection, cargo processing, maintenance, weather,intelligence and the arrival of more troops to operate thebase. This is where the expertise of SSC Charleston comesin.

The Air Force will deploy a Hardside Expandable LightAir-Mobile Shelter (HELAMS) with the five or six airmenwho first arrive in the remote area. The HELAMS offers297 square feet of capability in an otherwise desolate loca-tion. When mounted on its high speed mobility wheel set,the HELAMS can even travel at speeds up to 50 miles per

hour. When fully expanded, the shelter is a climate-con-trolled oasis that features electrical power, windows andlighting with blackout capability, and all the communica-tions equipment a warfighter needs.

A Code 593 team, under the guidance of BranchHead George Anderson and led by Project Man-ager Rick Mabe, is giving the HELAMS its “eyes

and ears,” all the mobile/tactical comms the AirForce team will need to convey the requirements

for opening the base. The SSC Charleston teamis comprised of Donnie Trueblood, MichaelListon, Jeff Stone and Gary Hinks. They are

installing the AN/TSC 159 communicationssuite in shock-mounted 19-inch racks which in-

clude Nonclassified Internet Protocol Router Network(NIPRNet), Secret Internet Protocol Router Network(SIPRNet), UHF SATCOM/VHF, local area line of site, HFdata and voice communications, satellite data and voicecapabilities to the Air Force teams.

As Mabe summarized, “These troops need to be able tocommunicate their needs; everything is here they will needto do that, indefinitely.” A July 11 visit by Col. Samuel Dou-glas, of the Directorate of Communications, Division Chiefof Operations, Air Mobility Command A60 Headquarters;and Col. John Brunhaver, Directorate of Air, Space and In-formation Operations, Expeditionary Mobility Operations,Air Mobility Command A3M Headquarters, produced praiseon progress of the project and the quality of workmanship


coordinating hydrographic work to im-prove the safety of navigation; and ob-taining uniformity in hydrographic docu-ments and data products so mariners mayreadily use documents and data fromother countries.

Monaco was selected as the seat ofthe IHO because of the offer from HSHPrince Albert I to host the organization ina relatively neutral setting and because ofits central location. The governing head-quarters of the IHO is referred to as theInternational Hydrographic Bureau (IHB),and the IHO is a charter organization ofthe United Nations. The senior leadershipof the IHB is composed of one presidentand two directors, all elected to five-yearterms by the member nations. CurrentlyRear Adm. Ken Barber, NOAA (Ret.), iscompleting his five-year term as a direc-tor. Every five years the IHO conductsan international conference to discuss andresolve technical/political issues betweennations and to examine the state of hy-drography primarily from a technical re-quirements and capabilities standpoint.The first such conference was held inLondon in 1919.

The conference kicked off May 7 withthe keynote speaker HSH Prince AlbertII. Following the opening ceremony, HSHPrince Albert II toured the hydrographic exhibitions, wherehe was greeted on behalf of the U.S. delegation by RearAdm. Timothy McGee, USN, Hydrographer for the Navy.Highlights of the week included the U.S. delegations at-tending a reception sponsored by the government of SaudiArabia, a new member of the IHO. The reception was heldon the rooftop veranda of the IHB, which offered a niceview of the harbor at Monaco, including the visiting hydro-graphic ships and the Mediterranean coastline.

In addition to providing technical support to the U.S.delegation for proposal discussions and issues that arose atthe conference, Code 83A provided demonstrations of someof the software products at the USA Exhibit booth. Dem-onstrations included the following software:

· Network Centric Mapping Database (NCMD) – a Webservice software that allows remotely deployed client sys-tems (e.g., C4ISR system) to autonomously obtain and up-date geospatial data (map data and imagery data) via a net-work connection.

· Common Geospatial Extensible Navigation Toolkit (CO-GENT) - an electronic charting software package that dis-plays and exploits NGA nautical charting databases as wellas commercial or foreign charting data. COGENT is usedin the fleet for situational awareness, Automated Identifica-

tion System(AIS) contactdisplay andalso command and controlsoftware for unmanned ve-hicles.

· COGENT-3D – a threedimensional version of theCOGENT software thatdynamically renders a 3Dpicture based on NGA/NOAA charting and bathy-metric data. COGENT-3Dalso displays the NGAHarborview 3D models forvarious ports around theworld.

Code 83A and the predecessor codes have historicallybeen involved with NGA, IHO and IMO London in the de-velopment of technical standards for digital nautical datastorage, distribution, manipulation and exploitation; also thesystem specification for Electronic Chart Display and In-formation System (ECDIS).

- Robert Greer, Code 83A

Photo by Robert Greer

Photo by Robert Greer

Code 83A supports IHC in MonacoCode 83A engineers John Carvil and Robert Greer pro-

vided technical support to the U.S. delegation at the XVIIthInternational Hydrographic Conference (IHC) in the Princi-pality of Monaco May 6 to 11. The U.S. delegation con-sisted of representatives from the National Geospatial-In-telligence Agency (NGA), Naval Oceanographic Office(NAVOCEANO), SSC Charleston and the National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The U.S. del-egation was led by Rear Adm. Christopher Andreasen, NOAA(Ret.), who is now Chief Hydrographer (SES) at the Officeof Global Navigation, NGA Bethesda, Md.

Hydrography is defined as the “science that deals withthe measurement and description of the physical featuresof the oceans, seas, lakes, rivers and the adjoining coastalareas (littorals), with particular reference to their use fornavigation,” according to the American Practical Naviga-tor, Pub. No. 9, by Nathaniel Bowditch. There has beenrenewed interest in the standards and implementation ofhydrographic data as mariners are transitioning from paperto digital products and from manual data product distribu-tion to Web service-based software and data exploitation.

The conference was hosted by the International Hydro-graphic Organization (IHO), which was established in 1921with the goals of establishing close relations between na-tional hydrographic offices; encouraging the adoption ofthe best methods for carrying out hydrographic surveys;

XVIIth International Hydrographic Conference

Photo by John Carvil

At left, the Monaco harbor andcoastline provide a backdropfrom the rooftop of the IHB.Above, HSH Prince Albert II ofMonaco speaks with Rear Adm.Timothy McGee, USN, during theIHB. At right, Robert Greer andJohn Carvil (bottom) in Monaco.


Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, Africa

for SPAWAR, Naval Computer and TelecommunncationsArea Master Station Atlantic (NCTAMS LANT) Djibouti,and Camp Lemonier future endeavors as the camp expandsin size and functionality.

Contributing to this functional expansion, Salvador Garciaof SSC Charleston led the site survey, the on-site effort tocoordinate site resources with the wireless team, and theinstallation of the system.

“We had to design a system that could be deployed veryquickly while avoiding a high reoccurring cost with themigration of the base,” Garcia said. “The system had to bemobile and provide access to a large concentration of peopleusing a limited amount of bandwidth.” Garcia said using awireless backhaul capability permitted the team to connectthe large user base living in tents to the central egress point.

According to Fred Roberto of Eagle Group, “The goalof implementing an FFSC wireless network with WiFihotspots was to allow access for as much of the base popu-lation as possible while keeping appropriate security mea-sures in place.”

In addition, the team addressed a secondary goal of ex-tending the FFSC network to base containerized living units

(CLUs) to increase the quality of life for tenants. “TheSPAWAR team provided wireless Internet connectivity atsix FFSC locations and also added Internet to two tent ar-eas which housed over 800 personnel,” Roberto said. “Adesign for providing service to the CLU’s was producedfor installation on a future visit.”

There were many challenges facing the FFSC wirelessproject team, ranging from technical to environmental tologistical. Technical challenges included numerous securityrequirements and the large number of users scattered acrossthe various locations requiring wireless service.

More personally challenging for the team were outsidetemps reaching 100 degrees, and having to work betweenbuildings that had little to no clearance for heavy equip-ment. They had to use hand pick axes to trench throughsoil that was like concrete. The extreme weather condi-tions made situations like these typical, according to BillHalstead of MILCOM Systems. “There was a requirementto install electrical and/or data wiring through hot atticsreaching temperatures of 150 degrees Fahrenheit,” he said,


Photo by Fred Roberto

Extreme heat, challenging working conditions and sick-ness in a remote corner of the globe have not daunted suc-cessful efforts to provide wireless Internet access to morethan 800 personnel at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, Africa.

Commander Navy Installation Command (CNIC) ChiefInformation Officer (CIO) tasked SSC Charleston withimplementing a Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC)wireless solution to provide a quality of life enhancement tomilitary personnel assigned to the remote Djibouti base ofCamp Lemonier. The project is currently in the advancedstages of implementation and enhancement.

Commercial Internet services are not available throughDjiboutian Telecom, and although the majority of troopsown their own laptops, the only Internet access points avail-able were two FFSC computer/Internet cafes. Long linesand frustrating waits hindered communication to friendsand family back home.

CNIC CIO Jeff Huskey and Program Manager Kim New-ton quickly answered thechallenge. They ensuredthe wireless system metsecurity requirements,worked with MWR and lo-cal commands to align lo-cal and Navy requirementswith the developing sys-tem, coordinated with vari-ous commands to facilitatea smooth installation andengaged SSC Charlestonin the various implementa-tion aspects of the project.

While CNIC tackledthese oversight aspects ofsecurity, requirements andcoordination, SSCCharleston assembled a

quality team to attack the design, installation, accreditationand management of a wireless access system halfwayaround the world.

The project team was composed of SSC Charleston per-sonnel and industry partners. MILCOM Systems personnelprovided the means of extending the network to the various

base locations; EagleGroup International de-signed and implementedthe system to provide theservice over MILCOM’sestablished pathways; andSCL Services, LLC man-aged the accreditation andILS of the new wirelesssystem.

Brenda Angerhofer,SSC Charleston on-sitesystems engineer, indi-cated this is the first ofmany projects SSCCharleston will be in-volved in at CampLemonier; adding thatthese efforts pave the way

CNIC CIObrings wirelessInternet toCamp Lemonier

Kim Newton, Program Manager, and Jeff Huskey, CNIC CIOPhoto by Laura Churchill

Wireless team member Jarrod Raines working on ARUBAequipment during the system installation.


Around the WorldAround the World


Clockwise, fromright, a MILCOMemployee installsone of the system’sbackhaul radios;Salvador Garciaprepares equip-ment for site instal-lation; BillHalstead takes abreak at CampLemonier, Djibouti,Africa.

Pitts said this return trip is the start of the project’s sec-ond phase. “We will be returning in April for this secondphase, and from a wireless access perspective the workwill be complete,” Pitts said. “But we will also be groomingthe FFSC class B network and wiring-up the CLUs.”

Pitts said the CLUs are like Bachelor Officers Quarters(BOQ) areas, and that the intent is to provide class B typeservices, including American Forces Network (AFN), tothe CLUs. “With the MWR class B access being providedto the CLUs, the idea is that the Sailor can purchase a Vonage-type service and then have the ability to call home for free,from their own living quarters,” Pitts said.

Pitts is hoping this work will become the standard forFFSC class B wireless access. He said one positive hintthat the effort will indeed head in this direction is the factthat other base COs visiting Camp Lemonier have contactedthe team requesting this system at their location. “We arevery pleased that we have designed a system that meets thespecific site’s needs, fits the site requirements, but can beused for an efficient, standardized, wireless installationbaseline,” Pitts said.

Not only is the team pleased with the resulting effort,but they have all expressed a personal satisfaction with whatthey have provided to the Camp Lemonier personnel.

“The rewards of working on this project greatly out-weighed the costs,” Halstead said. “This was an extremelytough project but also one of the most rewarding. It was anunforgettable experience - particularly while walking back

to the tent areas and seeing the glow of laptops used bytroops on the Internet.”

The glow that will be illuminated even brighter as theproject continues and the number of wireless hotspots in-creases. One of CNIC’s jobs as an “enabler” is to supportthe “Fleet, Fighter and Family” through a variety of ser-vices such as ports, airfields, MWR and housing. The suc-cessful progress of the wireless effort at Camp Lemonier isyet another example of how CNIC is meeting this missionon a daily basis.

- By Mark Nowling, SCL Services, LLC

Photos by Fred Roberto

adding that many in the team worked while sick; one wasadmitted to the infirmary for dehydration, and one wenthome with walking pneumonia.

Roberto said another challenge was the distance and for-eign location of the site, which required that all equipmentbe shipped via Military Air to arrive prior to or during theinstallation. This had to be tracked closely as Roberto notedthat any missing items, whether due to shipping delays orsimple oversight, could have prevented the turnover of anoperational system to the troops.

Garcia added that personnel at the site were very helpfulin supplying the team with needed hardware and materialthat had been lost during shipment from Charleston toDjibouti, demonstrating the high level of cooperationachieved during the initial installation.

Halstead said the site environment made the work a bench-mark for harsh installs. “Working without base drawings,with an infrastructure that lacked adequate standards, andwith buildings made from tin all made the install of radiosand cabling tough.”

The hand pick axe effort for trenching not only had tobe done in the heat, but because of the lack of drawingsand close proximity of buildings, Halstead said they had touse power meters and work hand-over-hand to trace cables.

Limited power sources at the site posed another engi-neering challenge. The facility housing the main compo-nents of the system was on the edge of its power require-ments. Since this facility was the main communicationscenter for the base, it was important that circuit breakerlimitations weren’t exceeded. This power concern drovethe system engineers to utilize different components and totemporarily keep redundant components out of the design.Additional power has since been provided to exceed re-quirements.

Despite the many challenges facing this project, the teamscouldn’t have been in better spirits about the work theywere completing. “The work environment was great. Thebase population is a tightly knit group of people that sup-ported us in every way possible,” Roberto said. “Despitethe high heat, dusty conditions and constant stench fromtrash fires, the wireless team enjoyed the location mainlydue to the feeling of camaraderie that existed among thepeople assigned there.”

In addition to the camaraderie, there was a high level ofanticipation for the system to be activated. Roberto saidsite personnel were so anxious to have the wireless Internetaccess that they were waiting in line to have their laptopsconfigured hours before the system was even turned onfor use.

“We had planned on firing up the system and doing someoperational testing prior to stress testing the system withthe base population,” Roberto said. “As it turned out, userspounced on the system from the moment the gate opened.”

Salvador Garcia (right) and a local technician of the wire-less team assist in the setup of site personnel laptops.

Halstead added that for three days straight they workedon Media Access Control (MAC) registration for all the us-ers. “The lines were long as the word got out that the sys-tem was up,” he said.

Once on the system, camp personnel were extremelyhappy to be connected with no more lines or long waits,and almost direct communication lines to family and friends.“They were so thankful to be on e-mail with friends andloved ones back in the States; every member of the teamsaid they would do it over again regardless of how tough itwas,” Halstead said.

Others expressed their high level of satisfaction with theproject as well. Navy Capt. Larry Flint, then assigned tothe Commander Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa staff(CJTF-HOAJ6D), said it was the biggest morale booster atthe camp in a long time.

Even with access already provided to the site personneland the high level of satisfaction being expressed, there ismore work to be done. Sean Pitts of SSC Charleston Code513, said the wireless team will return to Camp Lemonierto improve and enhance the system in a number of ways.

“The team is heading back to implement a number ofthings on the system,” Pitts said. “These include web cachingto improve the speed of the system, WPA encryption toenhance and provide more system security, and contentfiltering to eliminate any site concerns with questionable orproblematic information.”



Camp Lemonier



engineering and business capabilities stag-nate, and the tremendous creative capital pos-sessed by the organization can wither away.

To inspire the workforce to even greateringenuity, SSC Charleston senior leadershipestablished an Innovation Program in fiscalyear 2006. Thirteen proposals received fund-ing in FY06, and 13 new or follow-onprojects received funding in FY07.

We match some of the innovation grantswith existing warfighter requirements sowarfighters can provide immediate feedbackto the developers. We’ve also matched SSCCharleston initiatives with PMW 160 re-quirements and reviewed the matches thatmay lead to potential sponsorship. An im-portant role for us is also serving as “transi-tion managers” for the innovation grantawardees. We take their results out of thelab and give them to various warfighters fortheir assessment. This not only provides the direct inputfrom the potential customer but can lead to additional out-side sponsorship for continued development and ultimateprocurement of these products. The best example thatcomes to mind is Chris All and the inflatable antenna thathas gotten a lot of press recently. “Chris won an InnovationGrant in FY06, but once he built his first prototype had noreal process or opportunity to expose it to the folks whocould use it.”

Realizing his idea had positive implications for thewarfighter we got it the exposure of senior leaders and theguys on the ground in many organizations – Navy, otherservices, joint and multinational, conventional forces andspecial operations. This allows Chris to get valuable feed-back on his project and can lead to additional sponsorshipfunding and ultimate acquisition. What we did for Chris wecan do for any project that can enhance or ease the life ofthe warfighter.

We’re directly tied in with all the experimentation effortsin the Norfolk area. U.S. Joint Forces Command(USJFCOM) has ultimate responsibility for transformationand experimentation for the entire Defense Department,NATO’s Allied Command Transformation, headquarteredin Norfolk and NATO, the largest and longest standing mul-tinational alliance. We are partnering with USJFCOM to bringnew capabilities to the warfighter community for assess-ment. Joint Forces Command Innovation and Experimen-tation Directorate (J9) continues to be a great organizationto partner with on many of our efforts. They are a profes-sional, focused and dedicated group of individuals who aredoing a superb job of helping the warfighters.

We briefed Monica Shephard from JFCOM J9 and hersupport was very encouraging. She provided some greatadvice on how to proceed. We look forward to workingwith them on as many of their experimental efforts as our

initiatives can enter. We’re engaged with members of herstaff who focus in on a list of warfighter requirements thatare validated and prioritized. They then allocate their ex-perimentation resources to focus in on these requirements.”

“One of the Trident Warrior experiment leads expressedsome relief that the Office of Experimentation will serve asone ‘belly button’ for him into SSC Charleston. This notonly helps in getting the word out to SSC Charleston aboutTrident Warrior but also serves as one focal point to collectparticipants from other initiatives,” Mieczkowski remarked.

While some project managers may be reluctant to ex-pose developing technologies to experimentation and feed-back, Gwiazdowski thinks that early experimentation andwarfighter valuation are essential. “I’d rather get news inthe first 12 months of my work that can help focus myefforts than in the last 12 months — or even worse —when the final capability is delivered to the warfighter.”

Inserting the initiative into the proper environment at theright time is critical to the process. The OX will capitalizeon but is not limited to the service, joint, interagency andmultinational transformation and experimentation efforts inTidewater Virginia. The OX will perform an initial analysisand determine the experimentation venue or exercise thatwould provide the best focus and scenario for warfighterfeedback and military utility assessment. For example, aninitiative may have greater utility in a joint and multinationalenvironment with involvement of other U.S. governmentagencies as well as humanitarian and nongovernmental or-ganizations.

If so, the OX will work to have the initiative inserted intoan experiment, such as the multinational experimentationseries conducted by J9. If an initiative has a multinationalmaritime focus, the OX will find an exercise that focuseson multinational maritime warfighting. Initiatives can also

By Tom Gwiazdowksi and Sandy MieczkowskiIn one arena is the warfighting community: combatant

commanders, joint task forces, strike groups, squadrons,battalions and Special Forces detachments. In another is agroup of highly qualified professionals who are working onwarfighting initiatives and projects for sponsors.

The SSC Charleston Office of Experimentation (OX)onboard Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Norfolk, Va.,is working to bridge the gap between these two groups.

The Chief of Experimentation for SSC Charleston, TomGwiazdowski, and Sandy Mieczkowski comprise theworkforce of the Office of Experimentation.

The OX takes direction from SSC Charleston Chief En-gineer Phil Charles and formally reports to the Senior Engi-neering Group and Science and Technology Group quar-terly.

The OX mission is to assist SSC Charleston in taking itsnewly developed technologies and engineering solutions intojoint, interagency and multinational experiments forwarfighter validation and feedback.

“Once we started briefing some of the key leadership inSSC Charleston, they validated that what we were propos-ing had significant value to bothSSC Charleston and thewarfighters,” Gwiazdowski said.

While this effort will help a widevariety of warfighters get capabili-ties that they need and have greaterutility to them when fielded, it ben-efits the business side of SSCCharleston as well. This exposesdeveloping capabilities to the Navy,other services, joint and multina-tional warfighting communities andcan lead to outside funding as ad-ditional sponsorship and ultimatelyacquisition of our products andservices. This fits the SSC Charleston Navy Working Capi-tal Fund business model very well.

The whole idea is to expose what our talented engineersare working on to the warfighters to gain valuable warfighterfeedback as the engineers continue to develop and refinetheir initiatives. The dialogue works both ways — we showthe warfighters what we’re working on for them — andthey give us feedback to determine the true utility and howit may be improved upon.

Initial discussions were followed by conducting a LeanSix Sigma value stream mapping event with assistance fromSSC Charleston Black Belt Dale Davis to identify the pro-cesses and organizations that would be involved in this un-

Innovation delivered to the warfighter by the OX

“To all SSC Charleston

personnel we say, bring usyour ideas, we can find the

right experiment or exercisevenue for you to participate

in, or match your efforts witha warfighter requirement.”

dertaking. “The Lean Six Sigma event was an importantmilestone in taking our thoughts and formalizing them intoan effective, efficient and streamlined process. This is stilla new undertaking, and we are continuously updating andadding to our process as we go along,” Mieczkowski said.

There are a number of ongoing initiatives within SSCCharleston that support a wide variety of sponsors. Whilethese initiatives fulfill sponsor requirements, there appearsto be limited opportunity for exposing these initiatives towarfighters for feedback while the initiatives are under de-velopment. Some projects may also have a deliberately nar-row focus in fulfilling sponsor requirements. A number ofthese projects were found to have a wider application in thelarger context of joint and multinational warfighting thantheir sponsors originally intended or envisioned. For ex-ample, a project designed to assist in personnel identifica-tion for ship boarding parties could have tremendous valueto Special Forces detachments, infantry rifle squads or anymilitary force that requires identification technologies in com-bat situations.

As Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) continues to behigh priority for the U.S. government, the Defense Depart-

ment and the U.S. Navy, we are al-ways seeking initiatives that cansupport the many facets and re-quirements of the comprehensiveapproach to MDA.

“As a generalization, my senseis that the warfighter does not al-ways think his most pressing needsare always being addressed in allexperimentation efforts,”Gwiazdowski commented. This in-teraction can only strengthen thefocus of experimentation on themost important warfighter require-ments. We’ve been talking with the

SSC San Diego Fleet Experimentation Office as well. Po-tentially integrating our two efforts would not only be goodfor TEAM SPAWAR but most importantly for thewarfighters. We intend to bring initiatives like these to thegreater joint and multinational warfighting communities forconsideration.

Innovation and creativity are the catalysts behind the OX’sapproach. Research, exploration, invention and originalityare values central to SSC Charleston and its engineeringand business development. New discoveries, new direc-tions and new attitudes challenge personnel and enable SSCCharleston to grow as a business entity and world classengineering organization. Without continuous innovation,

Chief of Experimentation for SSC Charleston, Tom Gwiazdowski, and SandyMieczkowski comprise the workforce of the Office of Experimentation.

Photo courtesy of CHIPS magazine


the best price in support of thewarfighter.”

Shipboard life underway brought afew surprises for Lossing. Combatdrills and safety evolutions were nearlyconstant the entire time he was onboard, and the ship was “fully netted.”

“Organization and communicationremained intact throughout the ship,”he noted. While on board, Lossing sawfirsthand the importance of the prod-ucts SSC Charleston delivers to thewarfighter, and he left with a new ap-preciation for Sailors and how hardthey work. “During sea trials ourwarfighters work extremely hard forlong hours,” he said. “Their devotionto maintaining and protecting theirhome while at sea is impressive.

“I would recommend the Scientiststo Sea program to anyone who has realinterest in seeing what Team SPAWARprovides to its customers and to cap-

ture a glimpse of whatshipboard life is like forour warfighters at sea,”Lossing said, adding,“This program is espe-cially important for ourNew Professionals, asthey are the future of ourorganization.”

Lossing enjoyed theexperience so much, in fact, that he’dlike to go back to sea. This newfoundaffinity for the seagoing life is actuallyin his blood. His grandfather was amachinist’s mate who served on theFletcher-class destroyer USS Uhlmann(DD-687) in the Pacific during theKorean War.

“The fact that my grandfather is aretired warfighter made being in thesimilar environment a sentimental ex-perience for me,” Lossing said, but 50years makes quite a difference in the

shipboard technology he witnessed andthe life at sea his grandfather knew. “Hisship had steam boilers; this ship has jetengines,” Lossing said, adding that hisgrandfather is quick to point out howmuch harder shipboard life was backin his day.

Despite the differences, the Scien-tists to Sea program gave Lossing agreater appreciation of Sailors – andSPAWARriors — who serve, haveserved and will serve.


Above, USS Laboon gets underway from her Norfolk, Va., homeport.At right, Laboon crewmembers prepare for ship maneuvering andanchor drills.

U.S. Navy photo

As an accountant in the BudgetPreparation and Execution Branch ofthe Comptroller Department (Code 01),Dustin Lossing monitors and reportson budget execution, prepares A-11budget exhibits which go up the chainto SPAWAR headquarters, and preparesinternal budget products for the com-mand.

The College of Charleston graduategrew up in the Southeast, primarily inFlorida and South Carolina, and hasworked at SSC Charleston for threeyears, but he had never set foot on aNavy ship.

That is until recently, when he tradedin his necktie, desk and paperwork forfive days aboard Norfolk-based ArleighBurke-class guided missile destroyer

USS Laboon (DDG-58) as part of theScientists to Sea program.

It all started when he saw an e-mailabout the program from Jim Whetzelof Code 619. Though not assigned toan SSC Charleston tech code, Lossingthought the Scientists to Sea experi-ence would be relevant nonetheless,giving him an insight into the productsSSC Charleston provides its largestcustomer. He was right.

“It definitely gave me a better in-sight of what exactly Team SPAWARprovides its customers,” Lossing said.“And it helped me realize that we allmake a difference … engineers, tech-nicians, accountants … we all share acommon goal -- to provide the bestproducts we can for our customers for

Photo by Dustin Lossing


Dustin Lossing

Accountant at SeaEmbarks give valuable insights into customer needs

Scientists to Sea on USS Laboon were able to experience rough seas off the coast of North Carolina.

Photo by Dustin Lossing


The electromagnetic spectrum is the full range of fre-quencies that characterizes light. A frequency is a prop-erty of a wave that describes how many wave patterns orcycles pass by in a period of time. Frequency is mea-sured in Hertz (Hz), where a wave with a frequency of 1Hz will pass by at one cycle per second.

The frequency spectrum is divided into 12 frequencybandwidth ranges, from 30 Hz to 3000 GHz (3,000 billion(109) of cycles per second). Each of these bands repre-sents an increase of frequency corresponding to an orderof magnitude (power of 10.) The spectrum bands includeELF, the radio spectrum (VLF, MF, HF, UHF, SHF andEHF), infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), X-ray, gamma rayand COSMIC ray. The frequency bands are further di-vided into frequency channels of varying bandwidth.

Humans cannot see the spectrum. Only visible light isdetectable by the human eye. Communications above 60GHz are generally not practical because of high powerneeds and equipment costs.

An electromagnetic field is generated when an alter-nating current (AC) is input to a transmitting/emitting an-tenna. Created by vibration or oscillating electric and mag-netic fields, electromagnetic radiation consists of a streamof photons each traveling silently in the form of sinusoi-dal waves moving at the speed of light (186,000 miles/second).

Humans cannot hear the spectrum. A wave is calledelectromagnetic because it is made up of two parts, anelectric field and a magnetic field. The two fields are atright angles to each other.

The only difference between the various types of elec-tromagnetic radiation is the amount of energy found in,and emitted by, the photons. Radio waves have photonswith low energies; microwaves have a little more energy

transmission. A frequency record database will be estab-lished and maintained for each of the SPAWAR Atlantic geo-graphic sites and locations.

An official Website for SSC Charleston has been estab-lished and updated with frequency management informa-tion, documentation, policies, examples of frequency re-quests, current frequency assignments, Web links and pointsof contact. The secure Website can be reached at https://c o r p w e b . c h s . s p a w a r . n a v y . m i l / d e p t / 5 0 / c o d e 5 4 /freqmanagement.html. The frequency management Websitewill continually be updated and maintained and will serve asa tool to help and support all SPAWAR Atlantic personnel

with their frequency requirements and needs. The Websiteaddress is being advertised so that as many personnel aspossible be aware of the site and learn about frequencymanagement.

The frequency manager will work closely with the Na-val Weapons Station, SSC Charleston safety office, andSSC Charleston Code 70 to cover and resolve any EMI,Harmful Electromagnetic Radiation to People (HERP), Harm-ful Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance (HERO), andHarmful Electromagnetic Radiation to Fuels (HERF) issue.

The frequency management process and policies mustbe supported and enforced by all at SSC Charleston.

- Zaid Yacu, Code 541

than radio waves, infrared has still more, then visible,ultraviolet, X-rays and, the most energetic of all, gamma-rays. The higher the frequency of the radio wave, theshorter its wavelength and the greater its energy. Hotterand more energetic photons create higher energy radia-tion than cool photons. Extremely hot photons moving atvery high velocities can create high-energy radiation likeX-rays and gamma-rays. In other words, a human couldget cooked standing in front of a transmitting antenna.

As these energies travel, they produce a ‘signature’wave with a unique range of length, energy and frequency,which allows it to be identified and measured. The elec-tromagnetic spectrum can be expressed in three differ-ent ways: energy, wavelength or frequency. Frequencyis measured in Hertz, wavelength is measured in meters,and energy is measured in electron volts (eV).

A wavelength is defined as the distance between twopeaks of a wave, the distance from crest to crest. A fre-quency is the time interval between passing peaks.

Wavelength and frequency are inversely related. Thegreater the length of the wave, the lower its frequencyand energy. The shorter the wave, the higher the fre-quency and energy. Radio waves have the longest wave-lengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. These wavescan be longer than a football field or as short as a foot-ball.

There is a simple relationship between the frequencyand wavelength of electromagnetic energy. Since elec-tromagnetic energy is propagated at the speed of light,the wavelength equals the speed of light divided by thefrequency (lambda = c / nu) and energy equals Planck’sconstant times the frequency (E = h x nu). Planck’s con-stant is equal to 6.626 x 10-27 erg-seconds.

- Zaid Yacu, Code 541

Frequency management plan in effectThe objective of

frequency manage-ment is to enablefixed or mobile elec-tronic communica-tions systems whichtransmit/radiate onfrequency channelsto perform theirfunctions in the in-tended environmentwithout causing orsuffering unacceptable interference.

The Joint Spectrum Center (JSC) and the National Tele-communications and Information Administration (NTIA)want to ensure that no spectrum dependent equipmentowned by SSC Charleston is energized without first havinga valid frequency assignment.

Chief of Naval Operations signed OPNAV Instruction2400.20F, dated July 19, 2007, establishing Navywide policyand procedures and assigning responsibilities for electro-magnetic environmental effects and spectrum supportabil-ity. It specifies procedures for obtaining spectrum certifi-cation and frequency assignments made by the NTIA forany communications equipment which transmit and/or re-ceive electromagnetic radiation. This instruction dictatesthat no transmitting communications equipment shall beactivated without obtaining both spectrum certification andan approved frequency assignment.

SSC Charleston is located within the Naval WeaponsStation South Annex in proximity with the Weapons Stationtenant commands, fuel storage units, the Air Force base,the Charleston international airport and visiting Navy ships.All of these sites can be affected by the radio transmittersthat operate within SSC Charleston.

Most SSC Charleston personnel doing radio transmis-sions are involved with independent research and develop-ment projects using a variety of frequency bandwidths suchas EHF, SHF, UHF and HF. These personnel usually do notknow what the other is doing; hence the need for a centralfrequency management coordinator to avoid frequency in-terference that could cause significant trouble for the Navyand Air Force and could lead to a tragic accident.

Anyone within SSC Charleston who is planning to con-duct radio transmission on a certain frequency must pro-vide the frequency manager with the following info: branchname, POC name, POC phone number, building number orlocation area, date of transmission, type of bandwidth andfrequency. This information also applies to personnel whoinvite outside commercial companies to come onto the sta-tion for demo/test purposes. NTIA is mandating that fre-

quency assign-ments are providedonly to governmentand military radiosand equipment thathave been approvedfor frequency trans-mission. A DD-Form-1494, Appli-cation for Equip-ment Frequency Al-location, must be

submitted to get approval for any new equipment or radiothat is selected for transmission.

SSC Charleston has established a SPECTRUMXXI cli-ent server in the UHF SATCOM laboratory in Bldg. 3637.The spectrum server connects to the Joint Spectrum Cen-ter server via the SIPRNET network. Currently SSC Charles-ton personnel submit their frequency requests to the fre-quency manager via Internet e-mail. The frequency requestsare written in accordance with approved Military Commu-nications-Electronics Board (MCEB) standards and proce-dures. The frequency requests are verified and spectrumcompliance is run against them to ensure Standard Fre-quency Assignment Format (SFAF) correctness. Interfer-ence-free frequencies are nominated if needed. The fre-quency requests are uploaded to the central server via afrequency database exchange and are distributed to NTIAvia the Joint Navy and Marines Spectrum Office. The fre-quency requests are checked for interference, approvedand assigned to SSC Charleston for a temporary (up to 90days) or permanent (up to five years) period of time, asrequested. Permanent frequencies can only be assigned totransmitting equipment that has attained stage 4 “opera-tional” on its DD-1494.

NTIA receives thousands of requests each month andthe approval process can take up to 90 days. It is prudentto submit frequency requests well ahead of the time of ra-diating or transmission. The frequency manager will main-tain and manage these assignments by modifying, deletingor renewing them and will keep the client server softwareand documentation standards up to date. The use of theSPECTRUMXXI program will prohibit SSC Charlestonpersonnel from interfering with tabooed, protected andguarded frequencies. Frequency assignments can be attainedfor the local area or for outside field testing areas and sites.

The frequency management process is being expandedto service all SPAWAR Atlantic sites. SPAWAR Atlantic per-sonnel can submit their frequency requests to the frequencymanager via Internet or SIPRNET e-mail and contact himby commercial phone for any question concerning frequency


Continued from page 31HELAMS

of the 593 team. “They loved what they saw,” said Mabe,adding, “we try to design things with the troops in mind.They were impressed by SSC Charleston’s capabilitiesand responsiveness on this project.” The team has workedquickly on design of equipment, integration and logisticssupport documentation since receiving funding in De-cember 2006 for the project. The AMC customer returnedin August for validation, verification and acceptance ofthe completed package.

Once SSC Charleston personnel install and test thecommunications equipment in the HELAMS, it’s readyfor turn-key delivery to the customer. The first of 27HELAMS outfitted by Code 593 is scheduled for deliveryto the Air Force in the fall. For transporting, the sides of

the structure fold in, the ceiling drops and the floor comesup. This allows easy loading on Air Force C-130 Her-cules aircraft which can make short landings in austereareas on rough, dirt strips and will transport the unit toany part of the world.

After the contingency team completes its mission toset up an airbase, the HELAMS is repacked, loaded ontoa C-130 again and taken to the next location to open abase where air mobility operations support is either non-existent or insufficient.

The Air Mobility Command teams operate at the tip ofthe spear anywhere in the world as America’s airbaseopening force. Thanks to SSC Charleston’s Code 593,these teams will have all the communications tools theyneed to carry out their mission safely and efficiently.


The nature of computer crime has changed over theyears as the technology has changed and the opportunitiesfor crime have changed. Although thrill-seeking adolescenthackers are still common, the field is increasingly domi-nated by professionals who steal information for sale anddisgruntled employees who damage systems or steal infor-mation for revenge or profit.

When Willie Sutton, the worlds most famous bank rob-ber, was asked why he robbed banks, he replied, “becausethat’s where the money is.” People attack computers be-cause that’s where the information is, and in our hyper-competitive, hi-tech business and international environment,information increasingly has great value. Some alienatedindividuals also gain a sense of power, control and self-importance through successful penetration of computersystems to steal or destroy information or disrupt anorganization’s activities.

A common view of computer security is that the threatcomes from a vast group of malicious hackers. The focus

of many computer security efforts is on keeping the outsid-ers out — through physical and technical measures such asgates, guards, locks, firewalls, passwords, etc. Yet, whilethe threat from outsiders is indeed as great as generallybelieved, the malicious insider with approved access to thesystem is an even greater threat! This discussion treats theinsider threat and the outsider threat separately.Insider threat to computer security

Survey after survey has shown that most damage is doneby insiders — people with authorized access to a computernetwork. Many insiders have the access and knowledge tocompromise or shut down entire systems and networks.

Suspicious behavior or actions that are considered re-portable include the following:

· Unauthorized entry into any compartmented computersystem.

· Unauthorized searching/browsing through classifiedcomputer libraries.

Threats to Computer Systems

· Unauthorized modification, destruction, ma-nipulation, or denial of access to informationresiding on a computer system.

· Storing or processing classified informa-tion on any system not explicitly approved forclassified processing.

· Attempting to circumvent or defeat se-curity or auditing systems, without priorauthorization from the system admin-istrator, other than as part of alegitimate system testing orsecurity research.

· Any other willful viola-tion of rules for the secure operationof your computer network.

Please report any violation that you observe meeting theabove criteria to the Naval Criminal Investigative Services(NCIS) representative at SSC Charleston.Outsider threat to computer security

It is known that foreign countries are training their intel-ligence officers in how to hack into U.S. computers. Gov-ernment networks, proprietary commercial information andscientific research are all vulnerable.

In addition to foreign intelligence services, your com-puter network is at risk from many other types of outsid-ers.

· Freelance information brokers.· Foreign or domestic competitors.· Military services from adversary nations who are de-

veloping the capability to use the Internet as a militaryweapon.

· Terrorist organizations for which organized hackingoffers the potential for low cost, low risk, but high gainactions.

· Crime syndicates and drug cartels.

· Hobbyist hackers who pen-etrate your system for sport or todo malicious damage.

· Common thieves who special-ize in stealing and reselling laptopcomputers.

The Internet has become a boonto intelligence collectors worldwidebecause of the relative ease withwhich they can access information.

Break-ins occur at an alarming ratebecause the Internet provides an espe-

cially comfortable and interesting placefor hackers.

The Internet was not designed withsecurity in mind initially, rather with the theory of makinginformation sharing easier. The nework has grown to a large,intricate tool with many software flaws. It is easy to re-main anonymous on the Net. Because everything is inter-connected, everything is vulnerable, and an expert intrudercan cover his or her tracks by weaving a trail through adozen systems in several different countries. Many hackertools that required in-depth knowledge a few years ago havebeen automated and have become easier to use.

Information warfare is now a very significant threat andwe need to do everything we can to protect our govern-ment information. As SSC Charleston employees it is ourresponsibility to remain ever vigilant, reporting any suspi-cious behaviors or things found to be out of the ordinary.

The bottom line is to be careful what information youprovide to anyone in any situation. Make yourself a hardtarget:

In every decision, think security!

- Lt. Brian Phillips, SSC Charleston STILO/OPSECProgram Manager

OPSEC CornerOPSEC Corner


ment used for certification purposes becalibrated to a known reference. Fail-ure to calibrate TMDE in accordancewith published calibration guidelinescan constitute negligence against SSCCharleston. Simply put, if you are notcalibrating you are not following Navypolicy.Calibration services

TMDE reliability varies greatly de-pending on equipment type, complex-ity, design, ruggedness and other fac-tors unique to theindividual piece oftest equipment.These factors,which affect reli-ability, can be ob-served but not di-rectly controlledthrough calibrationas they are inherentto the equipment.N e v e r t h e l e s s ,TMDE reliabilitycan be controlledthrough the correctassignment of cali-bration intervals.Navy TMDE cali-bration intervals areassigned by theMeasurement Sci-ence Directorate,Nava Surface War-fare Center in Co-rona, Calif.

One major problem faced by someusers of TMDE is just how to get theirequipment to a calibration provider,have it serviced in the shortest possibletime, and get it returned so it can getback in use. Knowledge of theMETCAL program, calibration facili-ties and standards, is essential beforedeciding to obtain private calibrationservices. The issues associated withusing private calibration providers in-clude, but aren’t limited to, accredita-tion, traceability, cost and deliveredperformance. There are many privatecalibration companies from very smalloperations to multinational. The biggerthey are does not necessarily mean thebetter they are. Look at their calibra-

tion certificate and see how much de-tail you get. If the certificate doesn’thave the name of the provider’s ac-crediting body on it, the provider canbe asked to provide a certificate thatdoes have it. A calibration certificatethat declares, “We certify that this in-strument is OK,” is not worth the pa-per it has been written on. On the otherhand in some cases you may have topay more to get a reasonably detailedcertificate that meets DoD traceability

requirements. Without evidence ofNIST traceability, your certificatemeans little.

Management direction is the key el-ement which starts the entire processof calibration program development byestablishing the goals, authorizing theeffort, providing the funds and delegat-ing the responsibility to the program.Inventory control is the first functionalelement to be established in a calibra-tion program. All TMDE held by theindividual code must be identified anda determination made as to what willrequire calibration and what will not.Through this process the calibrationworkload requirements are identified.

The first consideration in selectinga calibration provider is to ensure the

optimum use of intraservicing withinthe DoN, and interservicing with otherDoD components and federal agencies,to obtain the maximum benefit fromavailable DoD calibration facilities. Ifnone is available or they can’t meetyour requirements the next step is tofind a dependable private calibrationprovider for performing the work.

The typical approach is to determinewho can supply the calibration at thelowest price. Taking this course could,

however, prove tobe a problem later.Too often, we focussolely on the price aprovider charges forcalibration serviceand overlook the to-tal cost. An arbi-trarily selected pro-vider could ad-versely affect youroperation, but an in-formed choice willbenefit quality andthat all-importantbottom line. Oftencalibration fundsare wasted by well-meaning individualswho routinely sendequipment back tothe manufacturer orto a high cost calprovider when ac-

credited low cost providers are avail-able.

The primary requirement in findinga dependable, authorized private pro-vider is to look for a provider operat-ing with accreditation from a nation-ally recognized accreditation organiza-tion. This means that an independent,approved, third-party source has as-sessed the calibration provider andfound it compliant to required nationalstandards.

While this does not necessarily en-sure perfection, it removes quite a fewfactors that can affect your calibration,such as the use of adequate proce-dures, valid test methods, calibrated


The importance of measurement inscience, industry and commerce can’tbe emphasized enough. The basic mea-surement process is performed andrepeated millions of times dailythroughout the world.

We all use and depend upon it everyday in even the most mundane aspectsof life – from setting your wristwatchagainst the radio, to filling the car fueltank or checking the weather forecast.For success, all depend upon propercalibration and traceability to nationalstandards.

Not always clear to the makers orusers of measurements is the fact thatall measurements have some degree oferror associated with them. As com-ponents age and are exposed to stressfrom the amount of use or misuse, criti-cal performance gradually degrades.This is called drift.

When this happens test results be-come unreliable and both design andproduction quality suffers becauseequipment is no longer reading cor-rectly. While drift cannot be eliminated,it can be detected and contained.

The method of controlling the ac-curacy and precision of test and mea-surement equipment is called calibra-tion. Calibration is simply the compari-son of instrument performance to astandard of known accuracy.

It may simply involve the determi-nation of deviation from nominal orinclude correction (adjustment) to mini-mize the errors. Calibration is the meansby which we keep these errors withinacceptable limits for given periods oftime. The goal then is not to remove oreliminate all errors from a measure-ment, but to reduce the error to anamount insignificant for the purpose forwhich measurement is made. Properlycalibrated equipment provides confi-dence that your products or servicesmeet their specifications. Productionquality and efficiency loss due to

equipment inaccuracies cannot bereadily measured. With an ongoing andcost effective calibration and preven-tive maintenance program, reliabilityand accuracy are ensured. A lack ofproper calibration can and has resultedin damage to Navy assets, personal in-jury and even death.Consequences of not calibrating

A city police department’s radarspeed violation tickets were legally in-validated in court after someone provedthe calibration process for the radarguns wasn’t traceable to national stan-dards.

A manufacturer of DC power sup-ply units (PSU) used a voltmeter andshunts to measure load currents of itsprototypes. The meter was calibratedregularly but the shunts were not – thereason (wrongly) being that “they’repassive so they don’t need it.” Oneshunt got cooked through misuse, in-creasing its resistance. This meant thePSU delivered lower power than as-sumed and results of thermal tests wereover-optimistic. When the error wasfinally found, it took months and costthousands of dollars to requalify a se-ries of PSUs before they could actu-ally be put into production.

Because of erroneous measure-ments made by a broadcast consult-ant, an FM radio station’s compositemodulation depth was wrongly setsuch that the modulation peaks were+/- 150 kHz. This was “200 percentmodulation” as defined by the FCC --twice the legal limit and attracted a largefine because of co-channel interfer-ence. Investigators discovered that theconsultant had “self-calibrated” hismodulation meter.A higher power

Prior to the establishment of theNavy Metrology and Calibration(METCAL) program, serious difficultywas experienced between the fleet,maintenance activities, depots and

manufacturers because of the inabilityof one activity to agree with the mea-surements of another, even though theywere both measuring an identical pieceof equipment. There was a tendencyto write off this incompatibility asvariations in the equipment under test,whereas a large part of the problemwas due to the measurement processesnot being standardized. So the Secre-tary of the Navy established the NavyMETCAL program. The program setforth requirements for the calibrationof Navy Test Measurement and Diag-nostic Equipment (TMDE). It requiresNavy TMDE to be composed and ad-justed to meteorology standards ofhigher accuracy. The program alsoensures these accuracies are uniformand traceable to the National Instituteof Standards and Technology (NIST).Since these requirements emanate fromSECNAV, they apply to all componentsof the Navy. TMDE includes all de-vices used to measure, calibrate, gage,test, inspect, diagnose or otherwiseexamine materials, supplies and equip-ment to determine compliance withspecifications, engineering drawings,technical orders, technical manuals,maintenance instructions and/or ser-viceable standards. It applies to TMDEused in research, development, design,construction, inspection, acceptance,operation and maintenance of equip-ment and systems.

Warfighters want to know their as-sets, weapons and equipment will per-form their mission when called upon.The METCAL program plays a crucialpart in ensuring they do, as well asensuring optimum measurement pre-cision. There are many other good rea-sons to invest in professional calibra-tion. If you are making measurementsto certify products, there is a possibil-ity that one day those measurementsmay be legally questioned. In those in-stances it is important that the equip-

Why should I calibrate?

Earnest Brown, left, head of the Deployment and Logistics Support Branch(Code 636) consults with Joe Pye, calibration program manager.



Continued from page 39

OX delivers innovation

be entered into the NATO Concept Development and Ex-perimentation program, a collaborative effort among theNATO and Partnership for Peace nations, to share informa-tion and experiment results within the alliance.

We will look at what high priority warfighter require-ments are out there and look for matches with what SSCCharleston is working on. We’ve just started to scratch thesurface here but already have a few quick wins. We’restarting to look at Advanced Concept Technology Demon-strations (ACTDs) and Joint Capability Technology Dem-onstrations (JCTDs), review them and determine if thereare matches between those warfighter requirements andthe ongoing efforts of SSC Charleston.

Although we would like to have complete visibility on allongoing work within SSC Charleston, we do not. No Tech-nology Readiness Level (TRL) is too low for us to be atleast aware of for possible inclusion in an experiment or inpotentially fulfilling a warfighter requirement. Entering intoan experiment and failing is OK, as long as one learns fromit and improves the capability under development. To allSSC Charleston personnel we say, bring us your ideas, wecan find the right experiment or exercise venue for you toparticipate in, or match your efforts with a warfighter re-quirement. All this will increase visibility on you and yourwork and can lead to sponsorship and acquisition of thecapability you are developing.

The OX achieved initial operational capability in the sec-ond quarter of FY07 with full operational capability expectedin the second quarter of fiscal year 2008. We’re lookingforward to the stand-up of SSC Atlantic in Norfolk nextyear. This will more closely align the great work being done

in three SPAWAR systems centers with the warfightingcommunity represented in the Norfolk area and more im-portantly the huge experimentation presence here as well.

The OX has already had some successes. We recentlymatched an SSC Charleston project with a new Joint Capa-bility Technology Demonstration that will potentially fulfillhalf of the JCTD objectives much earlier in the processthan originally thought possible. We also submitted severalSSC Charleston projects into USJFCOM’s Multinational Ex-periment 5 as well as Combined Endeavor 2007, a multina-tional security and communications exercise sponsored byU.S. European Command and NATO. We are currentlyworking on entering an emerging capability under develop-ment into PACOM’s TERMINAL FURY and the DefenseInteroperability Communications Exercise (DICE).

Linking projects directly to warfighting requirements willresult in a huge payoff for the warfighter — and that isreally what it’s all about.

Tom Gwiazdowski is the Chief of Experimentation andholds the local technical warrant for experimentation forSSC Charleston. He is a retired U.S. Army officer with ex-tensive experience in operational infantry units as well asjoint and multinational commands. He was one of the found-ing fathers of the NATO Concept Development and Experi-mentation program and has served as an operational man-ager for an ACTD. Sandy Mieczkowski works in the Officeof Experimentation. She was previously the manager of theSSC Charleston Tidewater Node of the FORCEnetComposeable Environment (FnCE) and one of its originalarchitects. She has supported Naval Network Warfare Com-mand and its Sea Trial events including Trident Warriorand the Navy’s participation in Joint Expeditionary ForceExperiment in the FnCE Node.

equipment with traceability to NIST, an understanding ofthe accuracy and uncertainty limits, and proper personneltraining and qualification. A fully documented and techni-cally capable provider will have an established quality sys-tem. Quality requirements provide the best means of deter-mining which provider meets your needs. It is possible thata private calibration provider is accredited, but not for thespecific calibration you require. In those instances you mustlook for one that can perform your required calibration.

To recap in general, any device thatis used to make quantitative measure-ments or to provide accurately knownoutput signals must be calibrated peri-odically to ensure its continued accu-racy, and adjusted as necessary to re-store accuracy. Some measurement de-vices do not require periodic calibration.Criteria for determining whether or nota given device requires calibration areprovided in Section 1 of the MetrologyRequirements List (METRL) SPAWARP4734-310-0001. Section 1 includesexamples of classes of instruments in the “No CalibrationRequired “(NCR) category.Calibration program management

It is recognized that while all SSC Charleston divisionsmust meet the same calibration requirements, each func-tions individually and consequently, the calibration programin each may differ in the method used to achieve and ad-here to the regulatory requirements of the Navy METCALprogram. When the Naval Weapons Station, Charleston LevelIII calibration lab closed, the now SSC Charleston Code636 continued with the fundamental concepts of its qualityprogram and developed the Code 636 metrology and cali-bration program, which has been certified by the Interna-tional Organization for Standardization (ISO) and has re-peatedly received outstanding ratings during Strategic Sys-tems Programs (SSP) (Trident submarine program) audits.

The program consistently merits a “high” rating againstthe most stringent government and private regulated stan-dards. It provides metrology and calibration support at onelevel or another to seven branches and has the potential toserve all of SSC Charleston.

The program ensures that all calibration and/or equip-ment repairs are timely performed at competitive prices andwithin the provider’s scope of accreditation. It also pro-vides mandatory uniform measurement traceability to na-tional standards, a key element of the Navy METCAL pro-gram. The Master Inventory for Uniform Recall and Re-porting System is the base application of the program. It isa computer-based application structured around the flowof instruments through the calibration recall process.

Joe Pye, a Bowhead Information Technology Serviceemployee, works as a member of the Deployment and Lo-

gistics Support Branch (Code 636) headed by EarnestBrown. Pye is the calibration program manager and servesas the technical authority on calibration matters. Pye en-courages other SSC Charleston branches to participate inthe Code 636 METCAL program. He supports their cus-tomers in the development, management and implementa-tion of their TMDE calibration program and performs thefollowing critical tasks on their behalf:

1) develops, coordinates and establishes a calibrationrecall roster and scheduling system with time frames for

recall notification for all assets requir-ing calibration at specific intervals.

2) documents control actions includ-ing the analysis of calibration certifi-cates, out of tolerance and equipmentrejection notices.

3) ensures a valid calibration proce-dure is used by providers covering allaspects of the instrument calibrated andensures that the provider is able to dem-onstrate an unbroken chain of traceabil-ity back to NIST.

4) provides workload data, priorityhandling, expedited service, on-site calibration and trackinginformation.

5) maintains a comprehensive compilation of accreditedcost effective calibration providers and the documentationrequired to provide evidence that the cal provider meets allthe applicable requirements.

6) ensures that all TMDE has a valid and complete cali-bration label, tag and/or sticker attached.

7) provides technical guidance and support relating toinspections and audits by providing a certified cohesiveMETCAL program that is compliant with all applicable di-rectives, technical instructions and standards.

8) provides notification in advance to all relevant branchesand coordinates, as required, and provides the collectionand/or delivery dates of TMDE to avoid or minimize theimpact on the production process.The bottom line

Today, the calibration of test equipment would appearto be a subject that is unimportant or secondary to some.Others view calibration as an optional expense with dubi-ous value. The lack of control and knowledge within thecalibration arena has as a consequence, an adverse effecton the quality of your products. Command initiatives tomake SSC Charleston a world class operation for support-ing the warfighter cannot be accomplished without all rel-evant SSC Charleston branches having a comprehensivecalibration program. It can be unequivocally stated that thebranches that have a certified metrology and calibrationprogram produce uncompromised quality products. “If yourcalibration program is not precise, the end result is produc-ing questionable products.”

- A Publish It! product by Bob Miller, Code 613


“The lack of control andknowledge within the

calibration area has as aconsequence an adverseaffect on the quality of

your products.”

Partnerships result from ThinkTEC networkingRepresentatives from the SSC

Charleston Advanced TechnologyTransition and Innovation Center(ATTIC) team visited the GeneralElectric Global Innovative Researchfacility in Niskayuna, N.Y., in Juneto pursue partnerships in innovation.

Dr. Steve Jarrett and Bob Millerwere invited to visit by GE GlobalChief Technology Officer MichaelHarsh as a result of the FebruaryThinkTEC innovation conferenceheld at SSC Charleston.

In the GE Global laboratory thereare a number of technologies of in-terest to SSC Charleston customers.The facility also features, in the en-

trance museum, the desk usedby founder Thomas Edison.The multi-disciplinary technol-ogy center spread over 525acres is a far cry from GE’sfirst industrial research and de-velopment lab in the U.S.: abarn in the backyard of thehome of scientist CharlesSteinmetz.

Information on GE Globallaboratory technologies thatmay be of interest to SSC Charlestonpersonnel are outlined in briefs postedon the Intranet at https://corpweb2.spawar.navy.mil/chieftech/.A Cooperative Research and Develop-

ment Agreement (CRADA) withGE Global is being negotiated.Those with questions or interest inpursuing these technologies withGE, should contact Jarrett or Miller.

Photo provided


SSC Charleston has launched thePublish It! Program (PIP), to helpshowcase the command’s best andbrightest in technical and trade publi-cations, as well as at conferences andin other professional venues.

Many SSC Charleston employees areworking on new or enhanced technolo-gies, or designing creative solutions tocomplex business processes. PIP canhelp get the word out about these suc-cess stories. The goal is to increaseawareness of SSC Charleston’s engi-neering and business capabilities. This,in turn, will enhance the marketabilityof the organization and the reputationof command personnel. The publishing of papers in aca-demic and professional journals is the most common wayprofessionals formally communicate their current thinkingon innovative ideas.

While PIP won’t write the material for the author, it canhelp prepare and refine what employees write for profes-sional publications. PIP includes command experts to pro-vide document editing, consultation, visual design and graph-

ics assistance, public affairs approvalsand legal disclosures. Modest fundingis available. “We have spent significantresources in developing our competen-cies over the last several years,” saidSSC Charleston Technical DirectorJames Ward when announcing the pro-gram. “Now is the time to get thosedocumented!”

The Publish It! Program is alignedunder the Science and TechnologyGroup (STG) to leverage the infra-structure already in place with the In-novation Program. Bob Miller is thecommand lead for this new initiative.

“We have the resources already inplace to begin, so I encourage your participation,” said Ward.For more information on the program, visit the Publish It!Information Page on the CnE Intranet. It can be found atht tps: / /cne.spawar.navy.mil /pls /portal /url /page/CHS_PROG_PUBLISH_IT. There is also a link under theprograms tab on the CnE Home Page. For more informa-tion e-mail Miller at [email protected].

Let us help you tell your stories of success

Publish It! ProgramThe initial steps to standup the Team

SPAWAR Competency Aligned Orga-nization (CAO) are well underway.Team SPAWAR will adopt a CAO modelto provide better quality support to theNavy acquisition community and to allof our customers/sponsors who sup-port our naval, joint and nationalwarfighters. A CAO will serve ourneeds in making the shifts required byour future C4ISR, space and enterpriseinformation system business model.

The agility of a competency alignedstructure will result in an improved ca-pacity to meet future demands. Ulti-mately, CAO will reduce product de-livery risk and cost through standard-ized best practices. It will more effec-tively align our workforce to our ex-ternal demand signal by facilitating ourability to quickly match skills and ex-perience with customer needs.Through a focus on competency, it willimprove flexibility for career growththrough improved workforce knowl-edge, skills and abilities.

A CAO is a construct that groupsmembers who require similar knowl-edge, skills and abilities to better man-age the workforce, processes andworkload -- ultimately matching theworkforce supply with workload de-mand. Changes we can expect aremore clearly defined paths for em-ployee career growth; standard pro-cesses, policies and tools across TeamSPAWAR; and a workforce thatmatches workload demand.

Our CAO effort began in June 2006when representatives from acrossSPAWAR met to define desired out-comes and recommend an organiza-tional model. From July to Septemberthe team defined desired outcomes suchas agility, increased response time, in-novation and a comprehensive cus-tomer solution. They also assessedbenchmark competency aligned orga-nizations and conducted an organiza-tional analysis of alternatives. The lead-ership team evaluated many compe-

tency-focused organizations, includingseveral from industry and other gov-ernment organizations, before the finalorganizational construct was completedand recommended for adoption in De-cember 2006. From January to Marchthis year the team identified top-levelcompetencies and assigned leadership.Guidance documents such as operat-ing agreements and concept of opera-tions have been reviewed and the teamis preparing for initial realignment withCAO structure. The following mile-stones will be part of further phasedimplementation of CAO:

October–December 2007: Imple-ment Phase 1 CAO structure acrossTeam SPAWAR, including SystemsCenters

October–December 08: ImplementPhase 2 CAO at Echelon 2 SystemsCommand

October–December 09: ImplementPhase 3 CAO at Echelon 3 SystemsCenters.

Team SPAWAR established nationalcompetencies and national competencyleaders, the first of many changes.

The transition to a CAO organiza-tion will allow us to work in a modelknown as a CAO integrated productteam (CAO/IPT). The CAO/IPT is astructure in which people are organi-zationally aligned by the functions theyperform and the knowledge and skillsthey possess. Competency membersare assigned to one or more teams toperform work in support of a programor project.

An engineer performing engineeringfunctions would be a part of the engi-neering competency. The members ofthe engineering competency will re-ceive policies, standard processes/bestpractices, tools and personnel manage-ment from the competency (HOW theywork).

They will receive day-to-day direc-tion and task priorities from the IPTlead or program/project manager(WHAT they work on). Depending onthe needs of the program or project,engineers would be assigned to an IPT,along with personnel from other com-petencies such as logistics, finance andscience and technology.

The CAO/IPT transition will evolveacross Team SPAWAR over the nextseveral years. The initial focus will beon workforce development and stan-dardization of best practices and pro-cesses across Team SPAWAR. Changesof this magnitude take time, so theCAO/IPT model will be implementedusing a phased approach.

Supervisors will continue to estab-lish performance objectives, providetasking and direction, and conduct per-formance appraisals. There is a greatdeal of change impacting the SPAWARteam over the next year, includingNSPS, Navy-ERP and BRAC. CAO isanother major change that requires sig-nificant communication and coordina-tion.

Additional information on CAO willbe provided to keep you informed aswe evolve through this transition.

- from SSC San Diego Public Affairs

1.0 Financial - Steve Dunn2.0 Contracts - Tim Dowd3.0 Legal - Harold Cohn4.0 Logistics - Jeff Klein; Atlantic Deputy

- Capt. Red Hoover, Pacific Deputy - Capt.Frank Unetic

5.0 Engineering – Rear Adm. WillRodriguez; Deputy CHENG – MichelleBailey, Atlantic Deputy CHENG – JamesWard, Pacific Deputy CHENG – CarmelaKeeney

6.0 Program/Project Management –Capt. Joe Adan

7.0 Science & Technology – Gary Wang8.0 Corporate Operations – Sarah

Lamade

CAO transition to span several years

National competenciesand assigned Tier 1national competency

leads:

Clemson partnerships pursued Photo by Harold Senn

SSC Charleston Commanding Officer Capt. Red Hooverbriefs Clemson University visitors on the mission and op-erations of the command Oct. 2. The group, led byClemson’s Dean of Engineering and Science Dr. EsinGulari, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Stud-ies Dr. R. Larry Dooley, and Associate Dean for Under-

graduate Studies Dr. Stephen S. Melsheimer, visited for acloser look at SSC Charleston and ongoing projects, andto discuss areas of cooperation and exploration. Amongthe topics discussed were the Innovation Program,FlightLink and cooperative agreements between the uni-versity and SSC Charleston.


Officers of SSC Charleston’s chapter of Toastmas-ters International recently attended the 2007 District58 Toastmasters Leadership Institute (TLI) in Colum-bia, S.C. David Osborne, president; Krista Leopold,vice president for education; Bernice Fields, vice presi-dent for membership; and Dan Williams, vice presi-dent for public relations, attended the training.

While training is a top requirement of being a Toast-masters officer, the major goal of a Toastmaster is togrow professionally and to gain knowledge. Traininghelps Toastmasters officers function better as leadersby learning valuable skills that help them be more suc-cessful.

“Our goals as officers in SSC Charleston Toast-masters is to improve our club. By attending trainingoutside of our organization and meeting other Toast-masters, we gained new ideas and know-how,” saidWilliams. “We found inspiration, innovation and in-struction on improving ourselves and our club,” hesaid, adding that the training offered great networkingopportunities with the District 58 leadership team andother Toastmasters club officers.

The SSC Charleston Toastmasters hope to becomea distinguished club this year, and are always lookingfor new members. Those interested in joining shouldcall Diane Kobs at 218-5992.

SSC Charleston Toastmasters officers, pictured abovefrom left, David Osborne, president; Krista Leopold, vicepresident for education; Bernice Fields, vice presidentfor membership; and Dan Williams, vice president forpublic relations, attend the 2007 District 58 Toastmas-ters Leadership Institute July 21 in Columbia, S.C.

Photo provided

Four SSC CharlestonToastmasters officers attendDistrict Leadership Institute

The Intelligence and Information Warfare (I2W) depart-ment recently set up a Community of Interest (COI) for allNew Professionals, CO-OPs and summer hires. The newCOI was established to facilitate the sharing of informationbetween new hires so they can begin to collaborate on is-sues such as work type, career path, job duties and generalwork place environment. Most of the new hires are locatedin Charleston, but several are in Washington, D.C., and at-tend meetings via video teleconferences.

The COI offers the group a chance to exchange infor-mation on shared goals, interests and aspirations. The COImembers build relationships among themselves and otherfaculty and staff that are evolving into the learning commu-nity. Participants can build their personal and social compe-tence and speak about their contributions to SSC Charles-ton.

The monthly COI meetings began in April and have grownlarger each month as its members develop professionally

Tomorrow’s leaders are in Code 70 COI todaywith their peers. Present at a recent meeting were MichaelKutch, Odette Foore, Roger R. Gray, William Neely, SharettaMaynor, Shemika Prioleau, Aaron Blair, Jennifer Trimier,Aaron Rosen, Charles Johnson, Dominic McKelvey,Wanisha Bradley, Seth Kimble, Tekiyae Wright, JamesDeese, Matthew Haase, Gary White, Kyle Stone, CarlosHerbas, Chima Uwah, Andrew Osti, Scott Betza, BrentMerle, Tynesha Bailey, Benjamin Robinson, Richard Kelly,Brian Diana, Jeffrey Cuttino, Sarah Zerbst, James Rajabi,Mitchell Mershon, Alex Bernal, Matthew Garren, BryceEkrem, Jesse Hoffman, Rob McKee, John Pyatt, MosesSchwartz, Leslie Buhler, Christopher Rodger, Alex Bernal,William Mohseni, Dennis Meyer, Brad Bruggemann, JasonGoss, Ashley Neboschick, Chad Morgan, Brittany Parker,Cleevens Meus, Karen Sorenson, William Bragg, MichaelJourdain, Kathryn Young, Brent Sagan, Chad Cravens, RyanWare, Rashad Lesane, David Leverett, David Phelps, ChrisBurbage, Whitney Chavis and Thomas Moore.

Members of the I2W Community of Interest gather for their monthly meeting. Photo by Susan Piedfort

Landa Sandusky shares a laugh with SSC Charleston Di-rector of Business Enterprise Services Ken Slaughter dur-ing a Sept. 30 farewell luncheon marking her retirementafter 29 years of military and civilian service to the Navy.

Fair winds, following seasPhoto by Susan Piedfort

SSC Charleston Management Analyst DavidEngelman has been awarded the governor’s Or-der of the Silver Crescent, the state’s highesthonor for volunteer and community service.Engelman was presented the award by Charles-ton County Sheriff Al Cannon Sept. 24.

Gov. Mark Sanford’s letter accompanyingthe award noted Engelman’s various commu-nity achievements, including his assistance tomore than 22,000 local workers displaced by

Engelman awarded governor’s Order of the Silver Crescent1993 BRAC actions and his work as a transi-tion coordinator with community leaders.

Engelman was also an SSC Charlestonloaned executive for the 2006 Combined Fed-eral Campaign.

In December of 2006, Engelman saved thelife of a choking co-worker in Bldg. 3147 byperforming the Heimlich Maneuver. He re-ceived an SSC Charleston Good SamaritanAward for those actions in January, 2007.Engelman

SSC Charleston personnel attended a recent ThinkTEC-sponsored luncheon featuring Retired Adm. Archie Clemins,formerly commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.Clemins is now president/owner of Caribou TechnologiesInc., an international consulting firm that transitions com-mercial technology to the government sector.

Clemins discussed innovation and technology during hisbrief on implementing high technology solutions in the pri-vate sector, facilitating alliance partnerships and developingopportunities for commercial technologies.

Clemins is guest speakerat ThinkTEC gathering

ThinkTEC luncheon committee members are, from left, BobMiller, Craig Solem, Jill Galmarini, Dr. Stephen Jarrett, guestspeaker Clemins, Rob Davis, Pennie Bingham, Bobby Collinsand Dave Monahan.


PeoplePeople


replacement, another team of technicians built the FSTS(Frequency Standard Test Set) as a replacement for theCTS.

The VXI is not an entirely accurate description of thetest set adapted to test IFS modules. While the test set didhave VXI instrumentation, about half the equipment requiredfor the new initiative were GPIB (General Purpose Inter-face Bus) devices. The VXI was versatile and included sev-eral power supplies, a spectrum analyzer, function genera-tor, oscilloscope, frequency counter, House Standard, quartzoscillator and various switching units. In addition, electronicmodule tests written in Rocky Mountain Basic were con-verted into National Instruments’ LabView, a more modernand impressive format.

While the VXI team fine tuned their new test set, an-other team went about the business of building the FSTSfrom drawings Lockheed Martin provided. As well as IFStesting, the FSTS could test the Navigation Frequency Stan-dard (FS) and the Linear Phase Time Comparator (LPTC).In addition to confidence testing, the new FSTS provided aFactory Acceptance Test (FAT) for repaired IFSs. The newFAT program also included a number of new and usefultests.

At the beginning of 1995, the testing capabilities of boththe VXI and FSTS were demonstrated to a team from theStrategic Systems Program (SSP) and Lockheed Martin.The test sets were then certified and put to immediate use.The VXI and FSTS provided the IFS section with newcapabilities, but one limitation became an issue: the FATtook 48 hours, and the FSTS could only perform the teston one IFS at a time. As the aging IFS units began filling therepair facility with tube failures, SSP tasked me to investi-gate the possibility of modifying the test set for multiple,simultaneous testing. Thus in 1996, under SSP direction, I

successfully modified the test set and rewrote the softwareto perform multiple FATs.

Over the years, the FSTS and the CTS setups deployedelsewhere proved highly reliable, but concerns were raisedabout the supportability of the aging equipment. Many com-ponents were obsolete, and the manufacturer no longer pro-vided support for the equipment. Any changes in the print-ing hardware would necessitate a complete software re-write, and continued usage of the old interface cards wouldrequire extensive modification of the Windows operatingsystem running the test software.

As a result of these limitations, SSP once again taskedme to find a solution, and the result was that I wrote newsoftware for the FSTS and CTS using LabView. Designedto be flexible, the new programs were stand-aloneexecutables that could operate on any modern computerequipped with a Windows-based operating system and a GPIBcard. Since the new programs depended on Windows forthe driver interface, the software could work with any colorprinter or GPIB card. The user interface was also friendlierand featured familiar popup dialogs with point and clickfunctionality. Among the improvements was a new CTSdata file that any spreadsheet, database or word processorcould easily access. In addition, the new software providedan automated battery test lacking in previous editions of theConfidence Test program.

The new software worked with the existing FSTS andCTS but was more versatile, contemporary and operatedwith fewer hardware and software restrictions. Incorpo-rating test routines identical to the old software, the newprograms provided the same reliability but were faster andeasier to use.

A Publish It! product by George Lunney, Code 613Since February of 1988, I have been involved in the test-

ing and repair of atomic clocks. Specifically, most of mywork has been with the Internal Frequency Standard (IFS),a modified version of Hewlett-Packard’s once popular5061A/B Cesium Frequency Standard.

As the primary assembly of the Trident submarine’s Fre-quency Standard (FS), the IFS provides extremely accu-rate outputs which, in turn, synchronize a variety of ship-board applications. Testing and evaluating an atomic clocksuch as the IFS can often involve some quirky techniques;and as technology and personnel changed, I’ve often hadto modify my approach to evaluating standards.

Like all atomic clocks, the IFS is neither radioactive or a“clock” in the traditional sense. The term “atomic” actuallyrefers to the method used to gain the necessary accuracy,which involves the oscillation of an atom and the surround-ing electrons. Through a bit of electronic wizardry, thisatomic oscillation stabilizes the output frequency of a quartzcrystal oscillator. Typically, an IFS provides an accuracyof at least ±1.0 x 10-11. Thus, if the instrument were tonever fail, several thousand years would pass before theclock would gain or loose a second.

Unfortunately, the frequency standard will eventually fail.In the case of an IFS, the failure will be either in the elec-tronic circuits or as a result of the depletion of cesium-133,the element used to obtain the instrument’s atomic reso-nance. Consequently, frequency standards require occa-sional maintenance to continue operating within themanufacturer’s specifications. To verify the clock is func-

tioning properly, the IFS outputs are measured and com-pared to a Timing Center.

The Timing Center consists of a GPS receiver, an atomicclock and a distribution amplifier. The GPS receiver, con-tinuously tracking satellites, provides a “corrected” outputwhich is consequently compared to the Timing Center’satomic clock, known as the House Standard. Continuouslymonitored and logged, the time delay between the GPS andHouse Standard provides an average drift rate useful forcalculating the accuracy and stability of atomic clocks un-der evaluation. The Timing Center thus provides all the nec-essary outputs for testing atomic clock performance and isalso traceable to NIST.

To manipulate the outputs and provide data, the TimingCenter requires a test station. Originally, Unisys (nowLockheed Martin) provided this test station, known as theIFS Confidence Test Set (CTS). As designed, the CTSchecked the operability and stability of Ready-for-Issue(RFI) IFSs. For 1988, the test set was quite innovative; theCTS was automated and could test up to four instrumentssimultaneously.

As a test set, the CTS had limitations and could not sup-port full repair efforts. Hewlett-Packard’s decision in 1994to discontinue repair of the IFS thus resulted in new initia-tives for the IFS program. To support the repair and certi-fication of IFS electronic modules, a team of techniciansat the then-Module Maintenance Facility built, designed andprogrammed the VXI (Virtual machine environmenteXtensions for Instrumentation) Test Set, often simply re-ferred to as the VXI. To support IFS evaluation and tube

The road...... to the Next Generation

IFS initiative

Continued on the next page

From left, Andrew Kinard, GeorgeLunney and David Keller take a breakin the lab. Kinard, an intern fromClemson University, wrote new softwarethat logged data and made it accessibleto test programs. Intern Keller contin-ued work on the alternative standardsafter Kinard’s departure.



As previously mentioned, the CTS had limitations as atest set. Thus, as part of our new tasking, my intern and Iinvestigated the possibility of modifying and enhancing theCTS. As our first step, we integrated the Timing Centerinto the test set. Kinard also wrote new software that auto-matically logged the data from the GPS receiver, thus free-ing us from the cumbersome and inconvenient task of manu-ally recording and computing the drift rate; and as an addedbonus, the data was easily accessible to the test programs.In addition, we replaced the quartz oscillator with a func-tion generator disciplined to the House Standard, with theadded bonus of no longer having to manually adjust the 1Hzoffset for short term stability testing. With the inclusion ofa DMM and some cabling, we successfully performed aFAT on a 5061A with what was essentially a CTS. Afteradding an oscilloscope, we were also able to make use ofsoftware originally written for the proposed portable testset.

Not unexpectedly, the delivery of the alternative stan-dards was delayed, so I initiated several interim assignmentsfor the team that had now expanded with the addition oftwo more interns. Among the assignments the interns suc-cessfully completed were: an expanded, refined version ofthe portable test set software, including a new 1PPS jittertest and a harmonic distortion test; the creation of an auto-

mated program to assist in the alignment of the 5061A/Bfrequency standard; and the design of several highlyconfigurable software routines for performing long termstability testing of alternative frequency standards.

Unfortunately, the alternative standards arrived on Kinard’slast day of work before returning to Clemson. The projectthus continued with intern David Keller, a recent high schoolgraduate and now Andrew’s fulltime replacement. WithKeller’s much appreciated assistance, we successfully pow-ered the experimental standards. We also refined the stabil-ity routines and successfully tested two of the three alter-native standards. On Keller’s last day, we finally initiated a48-hour, long-term stability test on one of the candidates.

So ends a rather dry account of our former program,which has found new life as the Next Generation IFS initia-tive. A lot of work remains with the alternative standards.Among other things, the long-term stability tests have proveninconclusive, and environmental testing still needs to be done.Most disturbingly, I still have yet to place my hands on thesomewhat mythical Chip Scale Atomic Clock.

Nevertheless, the next few months should be very re-vealing about whether the alternative standards can standup as a replacement for the IFS. Whatever the results, thenew Next Generation IFS lab is ready to support the out-come.

I completed the new software in 2002, but not withoutissues. Because a Frequency Standard was unavailable, Icould not test all the programs. An added burden was anSSP-approved alteration to the FS, resulting in additionalprogramming and hardware modifications for the FSTS.SSP subsequently loaned the facility an FS for a few weeks,but most of the effort was spent modifying the FSTS andevaluating the test unit with the old software. An abbrevi-ated run of the new FS software proved inconclusive. SinceLockheed Martin was obligated to build several FrequencyStandards with the new alteration in 2003, the softwarehad to be verified.

Consequently, in the spring of 2003, I made a trip to theLockheed Martin facility at Clearwater, Fla. Along with theLockheed Martin engineers, I was able to test all the soft-ware. The FS software that I originally wrote without aunit to test performed with only a few glitches, and all theissues were resolved easily at the facility. In fact, the newsoftware revealed a few problems with the recent alterationto the FS. After a few minor changes to the software, SSPapproved the new programs and Lockheed Martin deliv-ered the new Frequency Standards on schedule.

Unfortunately, the IFS program ended in 2006 when SSPdecided to consolidate repair efforts in Pittsfield, Maine,and Crane, Ind. Coincidentally, concerns were raised aboutthe ability to support the frequency standards that Hewlett-Packard declared obsolete in 1994. Calling on our experi-ence in testing frequency standards, the IFS section wasawarded a Cooperative Research and Development Agree-ment (CRADA) to examine the possibilities of replacing theIFS with a new device known as the Chip Scale AtomicClock (CSAC) - a miniaturized, low-powered, atomic fre-quency reference no bigger than a pencil eraser. This CRADAwas a follow-on to the initial work under an SSC Charles-ton Innovation award.

To investigate the device, a new team was organized.The members included not only the former IFS techniciansbut also an SSC Charleston New Professional and an engi-neering student from Clemson University. The team alsoshared information and initiatives with engineers fromLockheed Martin. As a goal, the team intended to integratea CSAC device into an IFS as a replacement for the cesiumbeam tube. The resulting modified standard thus would pro-vide the proper outputs for shipboard operations and couldbe tested with the existing IFS equipment.

The team’s first effort was to obtain a CSAC. The De-fense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) hadawarded Symmetricom the lead contract for the develop-ment of the CSAC. Symmetricom, however, reported tothe team that the CSAC would not be available until Januaryof next year. As an interim solution, the team decided toobtain a small rubidium standard known as the MiniatureAtomic Clock (MAC). Because the MAC was an interim

solution to the final CSAC design, the innovation team’seffort now focused on integrating the MAC into an IFS.The MAC was to be used in the innovation program as aproof of concept until the CSAC was available.

To begin the integration effort the team obtained andmodified a commercial 5061A, leaving only the power sup-ply, frequency dividers and digital divider. To simulate theMAC, a 10MHz source from the GPS was injected into the10MHz input. The team then tested the modified frequencystandard as an IFS. As expected, the modified IFS passedall test parameters. The successful experiment proved thatan alternative, stable frequency source could replace theoscillator and cesium beam tube, while still providing theproper outputs of an IFS. The team was now poised tointegrate the MAC into the IFS.

Regrettably, the innovation team later discovered that thedelivery date for the MAC was now January 2007, due tothe redesign of the physics package. With the project sched-uled to end on Sept. 30, 2006, the innovation team focusswitched from prepping the HP-5061A to re-hosting theFSTS on portable equipment. The intention of this effortwas to reduce long-term support costs by allowing onsitetesting with portable equipment.

After a review of the test requirements, the team re-hosted the FSTS software and deployed the new programon a Dell D620 Laptop. To determine the success of themodified software, the team connected a Tektronix 520Doscilloscope to the laptop and a certified IFS. The softwareworked as anticipated and successfully provided the ex-pected signal parameters. The next step was to replace theoscilloscope with a more compact instrument to create aneven smaller, portable test set. The project ended, however,before the team could do anymore work on the portabletest set.

Nevertheless, the project did eventually receive additionalfunding, and was the only CRADA to do so. Under a newdirection, the team was to continue the efforts to test alter-natives to the IFS. After the migration of the IFS programto Pittsfield, however, many of the former team memberswere unavailable, and all the frequency standards, test sets,resources and equipment were no longer present. The teamnow was a committee of three: Project Manager Bob Miller,my intern from Clemson Andrew Kinard and me.

With limited funding, the team went about the businessof securing equipment necessary to re-launch the project.Using discarded computers, cabinets and accessories, theteam built a new controller. With calibrated instruments fromBuilding 187’s Centralized GPETE Storage Room, my in-tern and I built a CTS Test Station from memory. Since weknew we would have to do some remote environmentaltesting, we also put together a small mobile test station.Lockheed Martin loaned the team a GPS receiver and, afterquite a few repairs, the team had two scrapped 5061A fre-quency standards operational. With the addition of a func-tional 5061A, a Timing Center had quickly materialized.

SPAWAR celebrates 10 years in San DiegoThe Space and Naval Warfare

Systems Command celebrated 10years of service in “America’s Fin-

est City” with a commemoration eventSept. 27 at the headquarters campusin Old Town.

SPAWAR officially establishedoperations in San Diego Oct. 1, 1997,as a result of 1995 Base Realignmentand Closure commission recommen-dations. The command’s move toSan Diego proved advantageous dueto its proximity to Navy and MarineCorps customers, industry partnersand academia.

At a celebration All Hands gath-ering, guest speakers included SanDiego Mayor Jerry Sanders andformer SPAWAR commanders, in-cluding Rear Adm. (Ret.) GeorgeWagner; Rear Adm. (Ret.) JohnGauss and Rear Adm. (Ret.) KenSlaght.

Today, SPAWAR’s influencespans the globe, with more than11,000 civilian, military and contractsupport personnel. SPAWAR man-ages an annual budget of more than$5 billion and is responsible for morethan 170 programs.

Next Generation IFS initiativeContinued from previous page

Rear Adm. Michael Bachmann, commander of Space and Naval Warfare Sys-tems Command, speaks about the history of the command during events cel-ebrating the 10th anniversary SPAWAR.

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Michael C. Barton


Former SSC Charlestonemployee Kristi L. Engelmanwas recently elected vicepresident of the Association ofChemistry Graduate Studentsat the University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill. A doc-toral student and a daughter ofSSC Charleston managementanalyst David Engelman andwife Sandi, she holds a degreein inorganic chemistry fromFurman University.

The James Island HighSchool class valedictorian worked at SSC Charleston inthe summer of 2002 in the contracts division of the Busi-ness Services Department.

Brig. Gen.(P) Dennis L. Via, then commander of the5th Signal Command, U.S. Army Europe Chief In-formation Officer (CIO)/G6, now commander of U.S.Army Communications and Electronics Command(CECOM), presents his coin of excellence to RobertHamilton for the SSC Charleston employee’s designand implementation of a Knowledge Managementexecutive information system in the SharePoint Por-tal environment. Hamilton is currently leading theKnowledge Management engineering effort for U.S.Army Europe.

Hamilton honored

Engelman elected vice presidentof UNC chemistry association

The recently published book,Fraud Casebook: Lessons from theBad Side of Business features SSCCharleston’s own Carlos Holt ofCode 0R as a coauthor. Holt, thecommand’s certified internal audi-tor/investigator, wrote Chapter 19,“The Video Game,” in the bookwhich features 68 other actualcases written by fraud examinersin the field.

Joseph Wells, founder and chiefexecutive officer of the Associationof Certified Fraud Examiners,

Holt authors chapter in fraud casebook

Photo provided


Hadley welcomed, awardedLt. Cmdr. James Hadley, Code 60C, receives a “Wel-come Aboard” from SSC Charleston Executive OfficerCmdr. Patty Gill as she presents Hadley the citation forthe Meritorious Service Medal he earned from his pre-vious duty station, Commander, Patrol andReconaissance Group in Norfolk, Va.


praised Holt for his contribution to theone-of-a-kind collection.

Holt’s case study, selected fromhundreds of submissions, is an analy-sis of an embezzlement scheme heinvestigated which resulted in theprosecution of the guilty party.

A Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE),Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) andCertified Government Auditing Pro-fessional (CGAP), Holt earned hisgraduate degree at Central MichiganUniversity and has more than 10 yearsof experience in fraud-related cases.

ThinkTEC names Ward‘Man of the Year’

Barsaleau named MilitaryLogistician of the Year

SSC Charleston’s Lt.Cmdr. Dean Barsaleau wasrecently named SPAWARMilitary Logistician of theYear for his accomplishmentsas the fleet/warfighter sup-port lead for the commandand the In-Service Engineer-ing Agent (ISEA) Next initia-tive.

Equipment readiness iscritical for Navy afloat and

ashore platforms and ISEAs are the real-time part of thefleet response equation. SSC Charleston personnel reviewfleet casualty reports (CASREPs) to determine what sup-port is required, with ship’s technicians, through hardwarewarranties, collaboration with Regional Maintenance Cen-ter (RMC) technicians, or with on-site technical assistance.

Barsaleau “defined new readiness support processeswhere there is no existing overarching guidance,” his awardcitation noted.

He led the SSC Charleston CASREP Crusaders Lean SixSigma (LSS) team which improved the command duty of-ficer CASREP response process by eliminating six steps,cutting follow-up time by 80 percent, and achieving an an-nual return on investment of 427 percent from workspacemodifications. Barsaleau “rewrote the book on the SSCCharleston CASREP Response process and further demon-strated that LSS works,” the award citation noted.

As a member of the Surface Warfare Enterprise Techni-cal Assistance Barrier Removal Team (SWE TA BRT),Barsaleau also facilitated the synchronization of the TA ef-fort across TEAM SPAWAR, Fleet Forces Command,NAVSEA and the RMC.

Speaker of the S.C. House of Representatives BobbyHarrell, left, and Ted Creech, chairman of ThinkTECand vice chair of the Metro Charleston Chamber ofCommerce Innovation Division, congratulate SSCCharleston Technical Director James Ward during a pro-gram honoring local innovators.


SSC Charleston Technical Director James Ward wasrecently presented the Innovator of the Year award forthe public sector by the Charleston Metro Chamber ofCommerce’s Innovation Division. The award honorsWard’s public sector leadership in advancing the knowl-edge-based industry in the Charleston region.

Accepting the award, Ward credited the 2,400 gov-ernment civilians, 30 active duty military and 9,000 con-tractors who work every day on the SSC Charlestonteam to transition innovative solutions to forces in thefield and to Homeland Security groups defending ournation.

The Charleston Lowcountry Chapter of the Armed ForcesCommunications Electronics Association (AFCEA) recentlyawarded scholarships to 12 Charleston area graduating se-niors. This year, more than 30 applications were receivedfrom 13 local high schools. Five applicants were either vale-dictorians or salutatorians and five others were ranked num-ber three in their graduating class.

Each student was presented a $3,000 scholarship to thecollege of their choice during ceremonies at their respec-tive high schools in front of their peers, teachers and ad-ministrators. For the first time, each student was also pre-sented a $50 bill for their own personal use.

Scholarship winners, their respective high schools, col-leges and fields of study are: Artasha Johnson, Baptist Hill,

Clemson, electrical engineering; Jennifer Mok, FortDorchester, University of Virginia, engineering; Chelsea Ex-Lubeskie, Northwood Academy, Clemson, chemical engi-neering; Ryan Templeton, Pinewood Prep, Clemson, com-puter science; Jocelyn Wang, Pinewood Prep, Universityof North Carolina, biochemistry/engineering; Allison Rob-erts, Stratford, Georgia Tech, chemical engineering; KyleWylie, Summerville, College of Charleston, computer sci-ence; John Busch, Summerville, Clemson, computer sci-ence; Gregory Stabler, Summerville, Clemson, computerscience; Raven Bowden, Timberland, Clemson, electricalengineering; David Friedrich, Wando, Cornell, materialsscience and engineering; and John Powell, Wando, Clemson,mechanical or civil engineering.

Local AFCEA chapter presents scholarships to area students

Barsaleau

EngelmanPhoto provided

HonorsHonors


SSC Charleston Technical Di-rector James Ward, right,makes a point during a brief toJohn Burrow, deputy com-mander for C4I integration,Marine Corps System Com-mand, third from left at table,during a June 13 visit by Ma-rine Corps dignitaries. The brieftook place inside a Marine AirGround Task Force (MAGTF)operations center set up nearBldg. 3112. SSC Charleston hasfielded similar operations cen-ters in support of OperationIraqi Freedom to provide mo-bile C2 capability, networkingservice, command operationpicture and common tacticalpicture for warfighters.


ShowcasingC2 capabilities

The commander of the Marine Forces Reserve/MarineForces North, Lt. Gen. John W. Bergman, USMC Reserve,learned more about the capabilities of SSC Charleston dur-ing a visit July 20. After receiving a command brief from

MRAP tour highlights visit Capt. Red Hoover, Bergman toured various SSC Charlestonfacilities, culminating with a visit to the MRAP C4ISR inte-gration line. Above, the general, fourth from left, jokes withJoe Rodgers, Pete Ward, Wayne Pavlischek and Capt. RedHoover and Kevin McGee.



From right, Pete Ward of Code 616; Rear AdmiralWayne G. Shear Jr., Commander, Naval Facilities Engi-neering Command and Chief of Civil Engineers; andSSC Charleston Commanding Officer Capt. Red Hoovercheck out the work being done on an MRAP vehicleduring the admiral’s recent visit. Shear was briefed onthe how SSC Charleston delivers technology to thewarfighter and toured several facilities.

Commander, Naval FacilitiesEngineering Command visits

Photo by Susan PiedfortPhoto by Harold Senn

At far left, the HonorableRonald Sega, Under Secretaryof the Air Force, and SSCCharleston Commanding Of-ficer Capt. Red Hoover enterBldg. 3147 for SSC Charlestonand Weapons Station commandbriefs. A former NASA astro-naut with 420 space hours andtwo shuttle flights, Sega alsotoured the integrated productcenter and looked at C4ISRequipment installed on Up-Ar-mored Humvees, left.

U.S. Air ForceUnder Secretary visits

Lt. Gen. James Amos, Commanding General, Marine CorpsCombat Development Command, fourth from right, chatswith Pete Ward of Code 616 as the entourage wraps up atour of the MRAP integration facility during a July 25 visitto SSC Charleston. Amos was accompanied by Brig. Gen.Michael Brogan, commander of Marine Corps Systems Com-mand, and Marilyn Thomas, deputy commander for resourcemanagement for Marine Corps Systems Command, duringthe visit.

Marine generals get insidelook at MRAP integration

VisitorsVisitors


To: Team SPAWARThey made me dress like an Army guy. I told them I was

in the Navy, but to no avail!I asked people “Where is the water?” They thought I

was thirsty – so they handed to me a bottle of water. “No!”I said, “Where is the waterfront? I am looking for my ship!”

V/R,

Hanh ChauCommander, Supply Corps, U.S. Navy

Hanh Chau, a “rising star” on SSC Charleston’s con-tracts team, is also a supply officer in the Naval Reserve.He was recalled in March to serve in Iraq. He sent the

Combat contracting officermessage above to let his friends at home know he wassafe and, despite having to “dress like an Army guy,”finding his tour very rewarding.

Greetingsfrom Iraq

Tell the world about your projectDoes your sponsor receive The Chronicle?Don’t miss the opportunity for valuable rec-

ognition for yourself, SSC Charleston andour many products and services!

If you would like to have a cus-tomer or sponsor added to TheChronicle distribution list, send the nameand address by e-mail [email protected] or U.S. mail toThe Chronicle Editor (OA5SP), P.O. Box190022, North Charleston, S.C., 29419.

You can help us keep all SSC Charlestonemployees, customers, contractors, spon-sors and retirees current on the command’saccomplishments. If you have an article orstory idea, submit it to The Chronicle. To dis-cuss a story idea or for assistance writing an

article, call (843) 218-4973 or DSN 588-4973.The Chronicle is published quarterly to in-

form, educate, entertain and generate newideas. Articles will be accepted at any time.Articles of any length will be considered, butthose with 300 to 500 words are preferred.Photos or illustrations should be sent asseparate files, rather than embedded in adocument.

A full color version of The Chroniclecan also be viewed on the Internet athttp://sscc.spawar.navy.mil. Employeescan browse the current and back is-sues on SSC Charleston’s Collabora-tion and Execution Website under“Command Information” and the

“Newsletters” drop down menu.

The Final WordThe Final Word

We are now soliciting photography submissions from SSC Charlestonemployees for the next Chronicle photo contest.

The Employee Services Association will offer the winner a choice of a coffee cup, thermalmug, command coin, cookbook (if available) or $5 credit toward another logo item.MWR will offer a certificate for a free lunch in the Cooper River Cafe to the winner.

Judges are Command Photographer Harold Senn and Chronicle Editor Susan Piedfort.Send your best shot to [email protected] or [email protected],

or drop your print by the photo lab or Chronicle office.

Send us your best shot

And the winner is...

ssc charleston mrap integrators · 2020-01-28 · humvees and now on mine resistant ambush...

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