EXPANDING THE PERIMETER


I


n “Sneakers,” a 1992 comedic caper about the ethical and political implications of cyberwarfare, Sir Ben Kingsley’s villainous character, Cosmo, sententiously instructs Marty, the film’s protagonist, played by Robert Redford, that war


and power are no longer dominated primarily by weapons, energy or even money, but by the control of information.


More than 25 years later, the prescience of those lines is evident in a U.S. national security posture that highlights the criticality of information dominance and protection. In the 2018 National Defense Strategy, “Sharpening the American Military’s Compet- itive Edge,” then-Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis warned:


“America is a target, whether from terrorists seeking to attack our citizens; malicious cyber activity against personal, commer- cial or government infrastructure; or political and information subversion. New threats to commercial and military uses of space are emerging, while increasing digital connectivity of all aspects of life, business, government and military creates signif- icant vulnerabilities.”


DOD is, therefore, focused on increasing information technol- ogy capacity, both within the department and on behalf of U.S. allies, to meet national security objectives at home and abroad.


Using the foreign military sales process, the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS) international programs office, Allied Information Technology (AIT), headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, is doing its part to assist our allies. Tat assistance comes in the form of the command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) and defensive cyber capabilities necessary to defend against threats and contribute to allied coalitions, thereby expanding the perimeter of collec- tive security.


AIT has taken acquisition notes from U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to do this as efficiently and effectively as possible. By focusing on speed, absorptive capacity (a country’s ability to absorb and support a particular capability), decentral- ization of command and interagency relationships, AIT is better equipped to deliver the right information technology (IT) solu- tions to our allies.


INTEROPERABILITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY Te global proliferation of IT over the past quarter-century has unlocked seemingly limitless potential for human well-being. Te ability to create, manipulate, distribute or store information


22 Army AL&T Magazine January-March 2019


BUILDING NEW TECH AND PARTNERSHIPS


Black Box Network Services personnel build a new server room in March in the Ukraine command-and-control operations center. Ukraine’s armed forces have not only embraced the partnership, but they also requested that AIT personnel continue to advise them on the investments needed to ensure that Ukraine can continue to sustain new capabilities. (Photos by Jeremy Way, AIT support contractor)


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