DOD Testing Likened to War

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DOD Testing Likened to War

By Rick T. Vannelli July 7, 1999

Both John J. Hamre, Deputy Secretary of Defense and Dr. Marvin Langston, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and Deputy Chief Information Officer, have stated that the 1999 testing of the systems that must operate in concert to perform Department of Defense (DOD) functions is as complex as going to war and, therefore involves all areas of the DOD: the Services (the Military Departments), the Principal Staff Assistants of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Commanders-in-Chief.

On February 24, 1999, Hamre reported to the Senate Committee on Armed Services that of the DOD's 9,900 systems, 2,300 are mission-critical. In March, Congressman Stephen Horn, Chairman of the House Government Management, Information and Technology Subcommittee (House Subcommittee), stated that the DOD had 636 additional mission-critical systems that it still had to repair, test and implement.

The DOD stated during its May 12, 1999 testimony before House Subcommittee that much effort had yet to be expended to achieve Y2K compliance for all DOD systems. Assuming that these systems get fixed in time, the DOD will engage in end-to-end testing, which it believes is critical to the Commanders-in-Chief's ability to carry out their respective parts in any warfighting plan. Such testing is also required to ensure compliance with provisions of the Defense Authorization and Appropriations Act, which requires that "all mission critical systems that are expected to be used if the Armed Forces are involved in a conflict in a major theater of war [be] tested in at least two exercises."

So how is this Y2K compliance testing to be performed? First, during 1999, the DOD will test everything from payroll systems to vital command and control systems, with everything from sensors to shooters tested. The Services will test the performance of systems necessary for the continued organization, training and equipping of the armed forces, and will also test the performance of specific weapons systems. Then, the Principal Staff Assistants will perform end-to-end supplier capability tests. Finally, the Commanders-in-Chief will exercise real-world warfighting missions to evaluate how the DOD will fare during the Year 2000 in carrying out the national military strategy.

Langston believes that this type of integrated testing will be extremely complex with many departments testing simultaneously. The DOD Inspector General will search for holes in the program, while the General Accounting Office and the Office of Management and Budget will provide a review by external auditors.

Describing its testing plan as "the largest and most comprehensive evaluation plan in the Department's history," the DOD believes that such testing will "mitigate" risk, and "improve" its ability to carry on operations despite Y2K. Nonetheless, Hamre warns that the interconnectedness of the systems guarantees that Y2K will have an impact on the DOD. This reality makes serious contingency planning a must.

As part of its contingency planning, to ensure that the DOD can perform necessary federal missions at Year 2000, and to prevent any weakening of its installations, the Federal National Guard Bureau became involved. In May 1999, the Bureau conducted a communications exercise to test its high frequency radio network from its headquarters to the 54 States, Territories and the District of Columbia. The state National Guards were asked by the Bureau to be ready to answer the call of their respective Governors.

Notwithstanding the challenge of getting the rest of its systems fixed, the war-like complexities of conducting end-to-end testing, and the necessity of getting contingency plans prepared and validated, the DOD wants to maintain public confidence. Hamre recently stated:

Rest assured, although there will be increasing unpredictability and some degradation in some systems, the armed forces WILL BE READY to ensure national security before, on, and after the Year 2000. Given the facts as the DOD reports them, one tends to wonders how Hamre ever came to that absolute conclusion.

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-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), July 08, 1999

Answers

"... the 1999 testing of the systems that must operate in concert to perform Department of Defense (DOD) functions is as complex as going to war and, therefore involves all areas of the DOD ... In March ... the DOD had 636 additional mission-critical systems that it still had to repair, test and implement. ... May ... much effort had yet to be expended to achieve Y2K compliance for all DOD systems. ...

... Assuming that these systems get fixed in time, the DOD will engage in end-to-end testing, which it believes is critical to the Commanders-in-Chief's ability to carry out their respective parts in any warfighting plan. ... this type of integrated testing will be extremely complex with many departments testing simultaneously ... Describing its testing plan as "the largest and most comprehensive evaluation plan in the Department's history" ... Hamre warns that the interconnectedness of the systems guarantees that Y2K will have an impact on the DOD. This reality makes serious contingency planning a must. ...

Shaping up to become the biggest & most costly "3-day storm" in human history.

Watch what they do, not what they say. Something's afoot!

xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), July 08, 1999.


" ... the DOD wants to maintain public confidence"

Yes, it's a matter of national security. So are viable banks. So is the life continuation and health & well-being of the citizens.

And the winner will be ... national "security."
Except what will be left to secure? And for whom?

xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), July 08, 1999.


"Assuming that these systems get fixed in time" then they can go on to the really important testing "as complex as going to war" but it does not look like it will get done, not enough time. Seriously heavy news.

-- testing (all1999@promise.not), July 09, 1999.

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