ARMY AL&T
contract between the Air Force and Harris Corp. to procure the NGLD-Small (Tactical Key Loader), we were able to significantly accelerate the program.
TEST TO FIELD Another long pole in acquisition is the testing that is required for capabilities to be fielded. Typically, this can take 12 to 18 months just to schedule. However, the Tactical Key Loader was NSA-certified Type 1 non-developmental cryptographic materiel, which does not require full oper- ational testing. As a result, the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command agreed that a command, control, computers, commu- nications, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR) evaluation report could be used in lieu of an oper- ational milestone assessment report from Test and Evaluation Command.
Collaborative partnerships, mentioned earlier, were just as valuable in this acqui- sition approach as innovation. Most importantly, all parties had to concur on the approach itself—developing the simplified acquisition management plan
and performing the testing outside of traditional means. From the start, we shared a vision to get modern technology into Army special operations units in a few short months. Once everyone caught the vision, we were able to streamline the acquisition process to work on behalf of the Soldier.
Product Lead COMSEC took advantage of our relationship with the C5ISR Center Cryptographic Modernization Branch at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, to perform the evaluation on the Tactical Key Loader. Program officials included the C5ISR Center at the front of the acquisi- tion plan, allowing better understanding of the uniqueness of this effort and the evolution of the requirements that we needed to test against. One of the added benefits of conducting the evaluation in-house and having existing relationships between the C5ISR Center and industry was that we were able to easily and quickly modify the devices to be safe, suitable and effective upgrades for what was being used in the field.
CONCLUSION While the long poles are often the most important, they can also take the longest time to put up, and can prevent a program from moving forward. However, the Prod- uct Lead COMSEC team’s diligence in working the long poles led them to success. On July 31, 2019, PEO C3T approved the materiel development decision for the NGLD-Small, designated the program as an ACAT IV and authorized full-rate production. According to an internal PEO C3T report from August 2019, Product Lead COMSEC has procured 5,000 NGLD-Smalls, and in September the first batch of 200 was delivered to the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania. Te acquisition strategy for the NGLD- Small program executed by the Product Lead COMSEC team could be used as an example for future programs looking to expedite the process. As the Army looks to modernize, delivering more rapid, inno- vative and tailored approaches for getting capabilities into the hands of Soldiers is essential.
For more information, go to the Project Lead Network Enablers website at https://
peoc3t.army.mil/nete/.
WAYNE RUSH is the assistant program
manager for Product Lead COMSEC. He holds an M.S. in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University, and an M.A. in military history and a B.S. in economics from Norwich University. He is Level III certified in life cycle logistics and Level II certified in program management. He is a member of the Army Acquisition Corps.
A JOINT OFF-THE-SHELF SOLUTION
The Tactical Key Loader is a minimized, lightweight replacement for legacy devices that delivers next-generation capabilities—including the ability to connect and load keys in seconds.
ROBIN SCHUMACHER is a lead associ- ate with Booz Allen Hamilton providing strategic communications support to Project Lead Network Enablers. She holds a B.A. in English from York College of Pennsylvania.
https://asc.ar my.mil
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