ARMY AL&T


Beverly Hartsfield, Telecommunications Program Coordinator at Camp Shelby.


SSG Terry Stewart, a member of Hartsfield’s staff, agreed. “The first unit to use the kit had zero service calls for the kit itself,” Stewart said. “The kit is truly plug-and-play. You plug it in and it works … it is extremely user friendly and portable.”


In the past, delivering classified infor- mation often required hardened facilities, miles of installed wiring, and limited phone equipment. By developing and improving telecom- munication products such as the SIPRNET kit, PM NSC continues to support the Army’s infrastructure on and off the battlefield with technical efficiency and reliability. With its state- of-the-art technology and expedient delivery, SIPRNET will help the Army successfully distribute and process information services to its warfighters.


“The SIPRNET kit is a reflection of PM NSC’s commitment to trans- form the Army to a more modular, net-centric, expeditionary force,” said Robert Golden, NSC Project Manager. “The kits keep our sites in the Nation technologically current, thus allow- ing top-notch training that equates to a more combat-agile force—precisely what we want for our Soldiers, and nothing less.”


Configuration Accounting Information Retrieval System


The NSC acquires and fields telecom- munications infrastructure at Army installations worldwide. Providing project oversight, NSC works with com- mercial vendors to develop products, while ISEC validates information assur- ance compliance for the mobility kit.


Meanwhile, additional NSC efforts to upgrade the Army’s telecommuni- cations continue; a recently installed telephone network management system at home installations in Europe boosts


The SIPRNET kit is a reflection of PM NSC’s commitment to transform the Army to a more modular, net-centric, expeditionary force.


both mission capability and morale for Soldiers and their Families abroad.


NSC’s Defense Communications Systems Europe (DCSE) Installation Information Infrastructure Modern- ization Program and the 5th Signal Command teamed up to modernize telephone communications at Army posts in Germany.


The Configuration Accounting Information Retrieval System (CAIRS) provides the capability to manage all of the communications infrastructure, telephone billing, telephone switch provisioning for voice and Voice over Internet Protocol telephones, cable and facilities management, directory opera- tor services, and the ability to integrate third-party billing services for personal digital assistants, cell phones, and lease lines into one consolidated telephone bill. CAIRS will be used to order, manage, and report on all aspects of telecommunications in Europe.


Because of its design, CAIRS is interop- erable with the Defense Switched Network (DSN), enhancing DSN as a management and reporting system.


“DSN connects every Soldier, Sailor, Airman, and Marine together and does it so seamlessly, no one appreciates it until it fails,” LTC Joseph Dupont said earlier this year as PM DCSE. “This tool benefits the Soldier because it keeps the system running.”


CAIRS provides 2-way connectivity between a central server at the Kaiserslautern Area Processing Center and one in Grafenwoehr. This arrange- ment services 31 Electronic Worldwide


OCTOBER –DECEMBER 2010 48


Switch Digital switches and 17 5th Signal Command-managed private branch exchanges. The system’s connec- tivity is through Internet Protocol (IP) established between the area processing centers and each switch location.


The overflow of morale calls from the automated attendant to the telephone operators is expected to improve by 50 percent because of the IP process. CAIRS also automatically bills the calls through a digital toll ticket. Mission- related conference calls are expected to see the same 50 percent improvement.


With the rise in cyber communica- tions, telephone DSN remains relevant and in high demand. As the European theater continues its transition to an IP network, a goal throughout the entire Army—improving telephone use by installing a computer processor-based platform like IP—makes the anti- quated DSN system more effective and efficient, which brings ever more communications support to Soldiers stationed worldwide.


MICHAEL DORSEY is the Strategic Communications Officer for PEO EIS Project Manager Network Service Center. He holds a B.A. in communi- cation studies from the University of Maryland University College. Dorsey is a U.S. Air Force veteran with more than 20 years’ experience in military public affairs.


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