THE LONG POLES IN THE ACQUISITION TENT


through the equipment is secure—a crit- ical need for us to remain vigilant against our adversaries.


Two products were identified by HQDA G-3/5/7 as potential materiel solutions; however, those devices did not meet all of the requirements specified in the capa- bility production document. One major feature that was missing was the ability to use the new Key Management Infrastruc- ture (KMI)—a National Security Agency (NSA)-developed program that provides a modern, reliable and secure system to handle the generation and use of encryp- tion keys. KMI allows Soldiers to obtain encryption keys over the internet, which limits the requirement for physical prod- ucts and manual delivery to maintain secure communications.


As an interim solution, Army Special Operations Command used the Really Simple Key Loader, a handheld device for securely receiving, storing and trans- ferring data between equipment, provided by the Project Lead for Network Enablers. However, a replacement capability with more modern technology was still urgently needed.


Fast forward to today. The Army completed the transition to KMI in late fiscal year 2018, which means the technol- ogy now exists to validate the requirement in the capability production document for an NSA-certified device that can use KMI. With the technology available, Product Lead COMSEC began looking at government off-the-shelf equipment and researching what the other services were using to meet the need for the Army.


Tis approach makes achieving interop- erability with other systems easier, and it eliminates the legwork and reduces the time and resources needed to develop and test new technology.


132 Army AL&T Magazine Winter 2020


WORK IN PROGRESS


A Soldier uses the KIK-11 Tactical Key Loader, which PEO C3T chose as the materiel solution to fulfill the Next Generation Load Device – Small requirement for the Army. Finding products that can be quickly integrated into the Army’s tactical network—even as that network and its capabilities evolve rapidly—is a challenge that’s not easy to solve within the confines of the traditional acquisition system.


JOINT EFFORT FOR RAPID RESULTS In early FY19, Product Lead COMSEC researched devices


that could fit the


requirement for the NGLD-Small, partic- ularly devices that were already fielded to other services. Ultimately, we selected the Tactical Key Loader as the materiel solution for the NGLD-Small. Te small, NSA-certified, modern key fill device had been fielded to the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps since 2013. Even better, the Tactical Key Loader was already available through an Air Force production contract awarded by the Air Education and Training Command in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018, further shortening the acqui- sition timeline.


The acquisition process was a united team effort. Product Lead COMSEC, part of the Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communi- cations – Tactical (PEO C3T), was able to combine multiple documents into a simplified acquisition management plan, leveraging existing documentation, and working with stakeholders at PEO C3T, the U.S. Army Communications-Elec- tronics Command and the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command capa- bility manager to quickly solidify program milestones and criteria and then formulate documentation, conduct peer reviews and adjudicate comments in preparation for PEO approvals.


Using the simplified acquisition manage- ment plan and the existing production


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