WEBVTT 00:01.968 --> 00:04.304 Thanks so much for joining us today on Leadership Log, 00:04.304 --> 00:07.741 which is a podcast focused on various topics of interest. 00:08.174 --> 00:13.346 And today's topic is command control, communication, intelligence and networks. 00:13.713 --> 00:18.952 And really just want to get a deep dive into the critical behind the scenes role 00:18.952 --> 00:24.424 that your team in C3I & Networks is doing in support of the Air Force. 00:24.824 --> 00:27.427 And with that, if you don't mind, just start by introducing yourself 00:27.427 --> 00:29.429 and telling us a bit about your background. 00:29.429 --> 00:30.463 Sure. Absolutely. 00:30.463 --> 00:34.567 My name’s Major General Anthony, but everybody calls me Awgie 00:34.567 --> 00:36.403 My entire Air Force career. 00:36.403 --> 00:38.671 That nickname has stuck with me. 00:38.671 --> 00:42.709 I've had it since the sixth grade, so everybody knows me as Awgie Genatempo, 00:43.076 --> 00:47.614 and I am the program executive officer, the PEO for the C3I&N directorate 00:48.114 --> 00:51.151 which is headquartered up in Hanscom Air Force Base. 00:51.151 --> 00:54.921 But we have a number of other geographically separated units, 00:54.954 --> 00:56.189 one right here at Wright-Patt 00:56.189 --> 00:57.590 actually. 00:57.590 --> 01:01.361 We have one down at Maxwell Air Force Base or actually at the Gunner Annex. 01:01.661 --> 01:06.066 And we also have a very large contingent out in San Antonio. 01:06.499 --> 01:09.135 Probably about 700 or 800 folks 01:09.135 --> 01:12.138 live down in San Antonio doing part of our mission there. 01:12.238 --> 01:13.540 I've been a lifelong 01:14.607 --> 01:17.010 acquisition professional for the Air Force. 01:17.010 --> 01:19.913 I've done program management, 01:19.913 --> 01:24.050 dabbled a tiny little bit in engineering at the beginning of my career, 01:24.217 --> 01:28.855 but very quickly transitioned over to program management and have been doing 01:29.622 --> 01:33.693 working on development programs, production programs, sustainment programs, 01:33.693 --> 01:38.765 you know, the lifecycle of our weapons systems for the entirety of my career, 01:38.765 --> 01:42.836 I've done work in space, I've done working in weapons, 01:43.570 --> 01:47.640 and most recently was out at the Nuclear Weapons Center as the PEO. 01:47.640 --> 01:49.409 And then I was also the PEO for Weapons. 01:49.409 --> 01:52.879 So that's what I've done since I've gotten to be a program executive. 01:52.879 --> 01:57.350 And now I'm back up at Hanscom, actually in the same directorate 01:57.350 --> 01:59.285 that I started off my career as a Colonel. 01:59.285 --> 02:01.855 So it's nice to be back home. 02:01.855 --> 02:03.456 And so where did you go to college? 02:03.456 --> 02:06.826 I went to college at Rutgers University and through the ROTC program 02:06.993 --> 02:11.998 at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and graduated from there. 02:11.998 --> 02:13.566 And then immediately. 02:13.566 --> 02:15.535 Well, I will actually I won't say immediately. 02:15.535 --> 02:18.404 It took almost about a year for me to come on active duty. 02:18.404 --> 02:21.608 I was in a timeframe where there was a very huge backlog 02:21.608 --> 02:24.644 of reserve officers being brought on active duty. 02:24.644 --> 02:29.015 So I kind of foundered for almost exactly a year before I started 02:29.249 --> 02:30.016 working out in 02:30.016 --> 02:34.921 what's now the Air Force Research Lab out at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. 02:35.188 --> 02:37.323 So why did you join the Air Force? 02:37.323 --> 02:39.292 I joined the Air Force to do space stuff. 02:39.292 --> 02:40.960 I was enamored with space. 02:40.960 --> 02:43.963 I loved space and actually got to do that. 02:44.030 --> 02:47.600 My first two assignments in the Air Force, I worked in the space lab 02:47.867 --> 02:51.571 in Albuquerque, and then I went out to Los Angeles and I worked at 02:51.571 --> 02:55.575 what is now the Space Systems Command Space Systems Center 02:55.975 --> 02:59.946 and used to be the Space and Missile Systems Center, SMC. 03:00.413 --> 03:03.416 And then after that 03:03.650 --> 03:07.754 I went to the F-22 program and never got to really look at space stuff again. 03:07.754 --> 03:11.457 But I can't say that I've been disappointed with my career 03:11.658 --> 03:13.593 in doing a lot of really, really wonderful 03:14.761 --> 03:16.329 jobs, working on a 03:16.329 --> 03:20.200 lot of amazing programs and meeting a lot of amazing people. 03:20.200 --> 03:24.871 So but yeah, I joined the Air Force to, to actually start working with our Nation’s space. 03:25.038 --> 03:28.408 I was I was hoping that, you know, maybe when the Space Force stood up, 03:28.708 --> 03:29.909 I might get a phone call. 03:29.909 --> 03:31.544 But nahhh that didn't happen. 03:31.544 --> 03:33.446 Or you're exactly where you need to be. 03:33.446 --> 03:34.948 I believe so. So, absolutely. 03:34.948 --> 03:36.182 So let's talk a bit about your 03:36.182 --> 03:40.253 your team, the command control, communication, intelligence and network. 03:40.253 --> 03:41.721 It's a large it's a long name. 03:41.721 --> 03:43.256 What exactly does it mean? 03:43.256 --> 03:47.060 Sure, C3I&N because of the long name. 03:47.060 --> 03:48.361 Right. That's how we shorten it. 03:48.361 --> 03:50.230 That's how most people get to know us. 03:50.230 --> 03:54.934 It's basically talking about in our new digital world, 03:55.368 --> 04:00.039 it's every Airman, every Guardian connected, anytime, anyplace. 04:00.773 --> 04:03.776 And that has always meant 04:03.810 --> 04:06.512 either to the forward tactical edge, 04:06.512 --> 04:09.482 to the desk on your computer, 04:09.482 --> 04:14.487 to the applications that make your life better during the day. 04:14.487 --> 04:14.787 You know, 04:14.787 --> 04:18.658 if you need to connect into the fitness app, if you need to connect into your 04:18.658 --> 04:24.998 logistics system, if you need to connect into your weapons movement application, 04:25.632 --> 04:29.235 we provide the background and the infrastructure that all of that sits on. 04:30.303 --> 04:31.371 We also have a very 04:31.371 --> 04:35.241 large component working in our cyber and crypto domains. 04:35.575 --> 04:39.345 So we are in direct support with the 16th Air Force, 04:40.113 --> 04:44.651 with our team down in San Antonio, providing both offensive and defensive 04:44.884 --> 04:50.089 cyber capabilities to Air Force Cyber Command and U.S. 04:50.089 --> 04:51.824 Cyber Command 04:51.824 --> 04:56.729 as well as we are the the depot well, the production entity 04:56.729 --> 05:01.968 and the depot responsible for over 300,000 cryptographic devices 05:02.468 --> 05:05.905 employed not only by the Air Force but by all of our services, 05:06.339 --> 05:09.108 including our Space Force, the Army, the Navy. 05:09.108 --> 05:12.345 And we run that depot out of San Antonio as well, 05:13.046 --> 05:17.083 making sure that those devices are keeping our data safe. 05:17.083 --> 05:19.852 And that's a very new and interesting not new. 05:19.852 --> 05:21.487 And I apologize. 05:21.487 --> 05:25.491 It's not a new field, but what is coming up in the next 05:25.491 --> 05:30.430 in the near term future, getting prepared for our quantum resiliency 05:30.630 --> 05:34.300 and how our cryptographic devices are going to protect us against 05:34.300 --> 05:38.971 the quantum threat is a huge new area that our team is moving into 05:38.971 --> 05:41.941 and that a lot of resources are being applied to right now. 05:41.941 --> 05:43.076 That’s interesting! 05:43.076 --> 05:45.978 Hanscom Air Force Base, we have our aerial networks division 05:45.978 --> 05:47.847 and our tactical data links division. 05:47.847 --> 05:52.819 So our Battlefield Airborne Communications Node program or our wonderful 05:52.819 --> 05:59.058 and lovable BACN program that has been flying since to mid 2000. 05:59.058 --> 06:02.061 like 2003, 2004. 06:02.095 --> 06:05.798 We are procuring a number of new aircraft to perform that mission. 06:06.332 --> 06:08.901 Ever since our our Global Hawk assets 06:08.901 --> 06:11.704 were removed from the inventory. 06:11.704 --> 06:16.142 So that's one area that's up at Hanscom Air Force Base, our special programs 06:16.142 --> 06:20.913 division deals, a lot of special programs that we won't be able to get into. 06:21.781 --> 06:24.016 But they also deal a lot 06:24.016 --> 06:27.920 with the SAP Enterprise Information Technology. 06:27.920 --> 06:31.290 So all of our programs that need SAP networks, 06:31.290 --> 06:35.695 not your nipper network or your which is your unclassified 06:35.862 --> 06:38.865 or your SIPR network, which is your secret network, 06:39.198 --> 06:43.069 they do a lot of work in that area trying to help our programs and help 06:43.069 --> 06:48.841 our mission partners get their SAP Enterprise SAP networks up and running. 06:49.142 --> 06:52.712 Then we have HNI, which is also headquartered at Hanscom. 06:53.880 --> 06:56.048 They're the ones that do the enterprise IT 06:56.048 --> 06:59.051 For the rest of the air Force and for the space Force. 06:59.051 --> 06:59.252 Right. 06:59.252 --> 07:03.389 So they're providing for that basic infrastructure either at the base. 07:03.623 --> 07:08.027 A lot of our cloud infrastructure and our movement of our networks 07:08.027 --> 07:11.764 into the cloud is run out of that organization. 07:11.764 --> 07:13.833 And then our folks down in San Antonio 07:13.833 --> 07:16.636 have the cryptographic and the cyber missions. 07:16.636 --> 07:20.106 Okay, so how important is C3I&N to warfighting? 07:20.940 --> 07:21.908 You know, I like to say 07:21.908 --> 07:25.445 we enabled everything that everybody else is able to do, right? 07:26.012 --> 07:28.581 It's information is is going to be 07:28.581 --> 07:31.584 the new strategic edge for warfighting. 07:31.784 --> 07:36.255 And I think that a large number of our leadership has identified 07:36.255 --> 07:39.425 that if you take a look at the operational imperatives 07:40.293 --> 07:43.763 that our Secretary Kendall, has put in place 07:43.763 --> 07:46.933 and that we are going through the funding process 07:47.166 --> 07:51.504 of those operational imperatives, right now, our portfolio is spread out 07:51.504 --> 07:56.642 amongst all of them including a significant portion of OI - 7 07:56.642 --> 08:00.379 which is getting our infrastructure ready to fight. 08:00.847 --> 08:05.084 OI - 2 is all about the advance battle management system, where Brigadier 08:05.084 --> 08:09.722 General Luke Cropsey is a brand new integrating program executive officer 08:09.722 --> 08:13.259 that has been stood up to architect that weapon system. 08:13.493 --> 08:16.462 And we are a prime enabling directorate. 08:16.462 --> 08:20.199 Our capability that exists in our directorate is going to be feeding 08:20.199 --> 08:24.136 directly into him and his needs to deliver that weapon system. 08:24.871 --> 08:28.307 So I would say we are absolutely the connective tissue 08:28.474 --> 08:32.445 that not only makes your business administration functions right, we 08:32.612 --> 08:37.750 we also help provide the background that my good friend, newly retired Mr. 08:37.750 --> 08:39.051 Rich Aldridge, 08:39.051 --> 08:42.722 the PEO for Business and Enterprise Systems down in Montgomery, Alabama. 08:43.556 --> 08:48.661 We provide a very solid background in a secure background for all of our Air 08:48.661 --> 08:53.132 Force business systems to reside on, as well as for all of our teammates 08:53.132 --> 08:56.435 here at the Life Cycle Management Center and at the Nuclear Weapons Center 08:57.136 --> 09:00.172 to provide them an environment to do their development work 09:00.172 --> 09:02.375 and in doing their testing, work in. 09:02.375 --> 09:07.914 So without those environments that C3I&N provides, we have lots of 09:07.914 --> 09:10.917 individual pockets of capability 09:11.317 --> 09:14.520 organized by specific programs of effort. 09:14.887 --> 09:20.860 And what our CIO, our Chief Information officer, 09:20.860 --> 09:24.764 Ms Loren Ofsenberger, has very much, you know, 09:24.764 --> 09:29.502 for her tenure has been we need to centralize and organize 09:29.502 --> 09:33.773 that capability for the Air Force to get a better return on that investment. 09:33.973 --> 09:37.743 We can't afford to be setting up cloud instances 09:37.977 --> 09:40.980 for every single program we have in the Air Force. 09:40.980 --> 09:46.252 So our office is the enterprise solution that everybody else can come to, 09:46.819 --> 09:52.291 to utilize our tools, to utilize our cloud, to utilize our compute and store. 09:52.892 --> 09:55.428 Whatever it is they need for their programs. 09:55.428 --> 10:00.266 I believe that we have now established an enterprise solution that is reliable 10:00.800 --> 10:01.701 and will be there 10:01.701 --> 10:05.137 and that one that they can count on in order to deliver their capability. 10:05.438 --> 10:06.639 Yeah. So what do you think 10:06.639 --> 10:10.042 the impact of artificial intelligence will have in this area? 10:10.409 --> 10:11.177 Oh, my goodness. 10:12.378 --> 10:15.381 We are just now starting to delve into 10:15.948 --> 10:19.485 how artificial intelligence can help us and, 10:20.119 --> 10:21.821 you know, there are a lot of different gradients 10:21.821 --> 10:24.790 when everybody uses the term artificial intelligence. 10:24.790 --> 10:27.927 And I by no means am an expert in this area, 10:28.394 --> 10:31.397 but artificial intelligence 10:31.530 --> 10:35.801 has a level of automated decision making. 10:37.069 --> 10:39.205 Well, there are many different gradients 10:39.205 --> 10:43.609 of intelligence and machine learning and automation. 10:43.943 --> 10:47.013 So artificial automation, I don't even think that 10:47.013 --> 10:50.583 that's a coined phrase in you know, in our lexicon. 10:50.883 --> 10:54.487 But we do a lot of helping our networks 10:54.487 --> 10:58.791 automate functions that people are currently doing to reduce workload. 10:59.191 --> 11:02.161 So it's not really intelligence per say. 11:02.528 --> 11:06.265 It's helping to streamline the efforts that taking people 11:06.265 --> 11:09.268 out of the processes that we know we can use 11:09.335 --> 11:13.606 automated software driven processes to accomplish those goals. 11:15.074 --> 11:16.475 Automated intel, 11:16.475 --> 11:21.047 artificial intelligence, I believe, is going to come into play in helping us 11:21.647 --> 11:26.018 analyze or aggregate, analyze and disseminate 11:26.719 --> 11:30.222 the vast amounts of data that we are now collecting, 11:30.222 --> 11:33.926 and that will be available and then trying to help us route it 11:33.926 --> 11:38.597 in the most efficient way to get to the people that need it the fastest. 11:39.065 --> 11:40.199 That's where I believe 11:40.199 --> 11:44.437 artificial intelligence from a network perspective is going to come into play. 11:44.704 --> 11:48.240 And we are starting working with our industry partners, 11:48.507 --> 11:53.546 starting to try to understand where we can insert that intelligence. 11:54.080 --> 11:58.284 And I think a lot more of that is going to come out as we see where the 11:58.284 --> 12:02.254 architecture for our our advanced battle management system is going to take us. 12:02.555 --> 12:03.622 Awesome. 12:03.622 --> 12:06.792 So I know you'll be on base today talking about, I guess talking to 12:07.093 --> 12:10.096 WI and some of the big wins that you've all had together. 12:10.763 --> 12:14.066 Well, if it's one thing that I've learned in the nine months 12:14.066 --> 12:17.369 since I've been sitting in this job is that Air Force 12:17.369 --> 12:21.273 IT is absolutely a coalition of the willing. 12:21.841 --> 12:25.611 And by that I mean it is there's not just one organization 12:25.611 --> 12:27.279 that is responsible 12:27.279 --> 12:31.717 for getting information technology capability out to our warfighters. 12:31.717 --> 12:37.490 There are numerous organizations, our CIO organization, SAF/CN. 12:38.157 --> 12:40.793 Air Combat Command is our lead, 12:40.793 --> 12:45.297 our executive agent for resourcing of IT 12:45.331 --> 12:48.901 capability, not just for a combat command but for the Air and Space Force. 12:49.668 --> 12:53.739 We deal with our three organizations in Air Combat Command, 12:53.739 --> 12:54.974 16th Air Force. 12:54.974 --> 12:58.778 We deal with the A6 at Air Combat Command 12:59.011 --> 13:04.750 as far as base infrastructures goes and the triple C and oh, my goodness, I'm 13:04.750 --> 13:09.889 trying to remember what the triple C stands for Command Communications Center. 13:10.923 --> 13:14.894 It's whatever U.S. 13:14.894 --> 13:17.963 Communications Command or Air Force Communications Command 13:17.963 --> 13:22.101 devolved down to that now exists under 13:23.202 --> 13:25.471 Air Combat Command. 13:25.471 --> 13:29.508 We have the SAF/A26 under Lieutenant General Leah Lauderback 13:31.510 --> 13:35.414 our Air Force Installation and Management Center under General Allen 13:35.681 --> 13:38.951 plays a big role because they have a piece in base 13:38.951 --> 13:40.519 infrastructure modernization. 13:40.519 --> 13:46.392 So getting with them in our portfolio as to how we are upgrading 13:46.392 --> 13:49.895 and providing new capability to base communication, 13:50.663 --> 13:53.666 there's an overlapping Venn diagram with his organization. 13:54.533 --> 13:58.370 U.S. Space Force has their own CIO and has their own needs 13:58.370 --> 14:01.874 and their own desires that the Department of the Air Force is 14:02.408 --> 14:05.411 has a very large role in providing for them. 14:05.411 --> 14:11.183 And so there are a myriad of organizations we work very closely with DISA, right? 14:11.183 --> 14:15.321 So not an Air Force organization, but they provide the Air Force 14:15.321 --> 14:18.691 a lot of our networking capabilities and a lot of our protections 14:18.691 --> 14:20.259 and guardrails. So 14:21.327 --> 14:22.194 we lovingly 14:22.194 --> 14:25.197 call that entire group of people, the eight families. 14:26.031 --> 14:29.068 And you know, with my background, it's very hard not to think 14:29.068 --> 14:32.071 of, you know, that the families, you know, from you know, 14:32.071 --> 14:36.075 back in the old days in New York that used to run New York, 14:37.142 --> 14:38.677 I don't like to think of it that way. 14:38.677 --> 14:40.079 We're not at war with each other. 14:40.079 --> 14:41.513 But all of us has 14:41.513 --> 14:45.117 a very important pieces that have to come together in this puzzle. 14:45.751 --> 14:49.688 And there are a lot of dedicated people, both at the leadership level and at our, 14:49.688 --> 14:51.857 you know, our teammates that are working 14:51.857 --> 14:55.094 very hard to make sure each of us are running at the same speed. 14:55.828 --> 14:58.530 And that speed is go faster, right? 14:58.530 --> 15:02.534 That that's what our chief and our secretary are asking us to drive 15:02.534 --> 15:07.439 toward is how do we get this capability to our Airmen, our Guardians faster? 15:07.773 --> 15:12.511 And when you have that large of a system of organizations, 15:12.878 --> 15:15.948 it takes a lot of people to try to keep that momentum going. 15:17.016 --> 15:17.850 And we 15:17.850 --> 15:21.620 do a lot of back and forth and ebbing and cross flowing. 15:21.620 --> 15:25.524 And as things are not working out, we shifting of resources, right? 15:25.524 --> 15:29.461 So that takes a large amount of time and a lot of large amount of the effort and, 15:30.829 --> 15:34.433 you know, doing what's best for our Airmen and Guardians 15:34.867 --> 15:38.971 as well as for the taxpayer, taxpayer to make sure that the money 15:38.971 --> 15:42.875 that we do have is getting the best return that we possibly can for it. 15:43.142 --> 15:43.809 Absolutely. 15:43.809 --> 15:45.210 So what are some of the big wins 15:45.210 --> 15:47.579 your organization has had over the last year? 15:47.579 --> 15:49.281 Sure. 15:49.281 --> 15:52.318 So I'll start off with our our BACN program that, you know, 15:52.351 --> 15:56.288 we are as much as we talk about networks and, you know, we actually in 15:56.288 --> 15:59.792 our directorate do have a flying mission that we're responsible 15:59.792 --> 16:03.128 not only for the payload, but the platform that it exists on. 16:03.362 --> 16:06.365 And our BACN aircraft we've procured 16:06.465 --> 16:10.502 or we've gone on contract to procure an additional six new aircraft, 16:10.736 --> 16:14.640 the first of which was just delivered in this past December, a few months ago. 16:14.840 --> 16:17.843 And we have another one coming up in June, 16:18.143 --> 16:20.713 a second delivery of a brand new asset 16:20.713 --> 16:24.383 that will that is coming out of a retrofit 16:24.383 --> 16:27.386 where the payload is getting integrated onto the airplane. 16:27.653 --> 16:30.889 It'll go for some initial checkout down at our new home 16:30.889 --> 16:34.626 base at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, and then will immediately 16:34.626 --> 16:38.030 be sent over out to the field, starting to do missions. 16:38.297 --> 16:41.500 And those are high value, low density assets 16:42.067 --> 16:45.971 that are flying all the time, providing that incredibly 16:46.939 --> 16:50.342 amazing connective tissue in an aerial network. 16:50.342 --> 16:55.981 And usually it's with link 16, which is a data link that a lot of our 16:56.015 --> 16:59.585 our combat aircraft and a lot of our support aircraft use that 16:59.585 --> 17:02.588 to pass information and to get a sight picture 17:02.821 --> 17:05.791 of an area. 17:05.824 --> 17:08.861 Well, when we have the connectivity of BACN 17:09.094 --> 17:13.899 we're able to spread that site picture, you know, over mountains. 17:13.899 --> 17:16.101 Terrain no longer becomes an issue. 17:16.101 --> 17:19.838 And everybody flying in and out of that specific area 17:20.072 --> 17:24.610 will have a very good situational analysis of what's going on. 17:25.310 --> 17:28.680 And the closer you get to our contested 17:28.680 --> 17:31.683 areas, the more important that site picture becomes. 17:31.984 --> 17:34.353 So that that was a huge win for us. 17:34.353 --> 17:39.391 Our aerial division is also working very closely with General Cropsey 17:39.391 --> 17:44.730 on the ABMS portfolio and his portfolio, 17:44.730 --> 17:49.301 it's called C3 & BM so command control, communications and battle management, 17:50.569 --> 17:52.271 he is the one responsible for 17:52.271 --> 17:56.341 developing the joint battle network, or the battle network. 17:56.708 --> 17:59.611 And the battle network is formally known 17:59.611 --> 18:02.581 as our Advanced Battle Management system. 18:02.714 --> 18:05.717 That name has just a lot of ties to some history, 18:06.185 --> 18:10.022 to some demonstrations that have been previously accomplished. 18:10.689 --> 18:13.025 What we've done is we've reinstituted a forum 18:13.025 --> 18:16.462 called the Aerial Networking Summit, where we have not only government 18:17.029 --> 18:19.898 but industry participating in 18:19.898 --> 18:23.202 understanding how the ABMS architecture is getting rolled out. 18:23.769 --> 18:29.441 And then what we from an aerial layer, what piece of our programs, 18:29.708 --> 18:32.644 is going to be fitting into that architecture and what changes 18:32.644 --> 18:35.647 do we need to make, What 18:35.814 --> 18:38.283 additional capabilities are going to be required 18:38.283 --> 18:42.788 for that architecture that may not be currently part of our requirement set. 18:43.088 --> 18:46.492 So we are working very closely with that team. 18:46.992 --> 18:49.995 A portion of them are actually located up in Hanscom with us. 18:50.195 --> 18:54.066 The rest of them are located down in Washington DC on Bolling Air Force Base. 18:54.066 --> 18:58.170 But we are in constant communication with them and we're going on 18:58.170 --> 19:01.707 to our fifth iteration in probably seven 19:01.707 --> 19:05.944 or eight months of an aerial summit, because that's the pace 19:05.944 --> 19:09.281 that the secretary has General Cropsey and that's how fast we're running. 19:10.549 --> 19:13.552 On our networking side of the house, 19:15.220 --> 19:19.658 We just came off of an extensive process 19:19.658 --> 19:22.828 with the GAO for one of our contract awards. 19:22.828 --> 19:25.998 It's our multibillion dollar enterprise IT 19:26.064 --> 19:29.067 as a service contract award. 19:29.168 --> 19:33.172 We just had that kick off last week, so everything has been resolved 19:33.839 --> 19:36.808 that needed to according to that process. 19:36.808 --> 19:39.811 And we are now working with our prime contractor 19:39.811 --> 19:42.814 moving forward to get after 19:43.582 --> 19:46.885 a number of base infrastructure issues. 19:47.119 --> 19:54.059 We're concentrating a lot on our INDO/PAYCOM infrastructure 19:54.293 --> 19:59.198 and then there is a categorization of places that we're going to be going to 19:59.198 --> 20:03.001 after that. We're working with the 2-6 community 20:03.335 --> 20:06.572 as well as Air Combat Command's 6 community 20:06.872 --> 20:10.809 on understanding what the base comm squadron of the future 20:10.809 --> 20:13.312 is going to look like and how the capabilities 20:13.312 --> 20:16.381 that we're bringing to information technology. 20:17.249 --> 20:20.252 There's going to be some shifting of roles and responsibilities 20:21.019 --> 20:24.623 off of comm squadrons of today in order for them 20:24.623 --> 20:27.759 to focus on the mission that's being outlined them for the future. 20:27.993 --> 20:30.963 So those are all conversations that are happening right now, 20:30.963 --> 20:34.032 and there's a big ebb and flow as to what that will be. 20:34.032 --> 20:37.469 So I don't really have any specifics to outline for you 20:37.869 --> 20:42.074 other than we are looking to bring industry partners in 20:42.074 --> 20:45.944 for our bases to provide 20:46.578 --> 20:51.917 IT services, ITcapability as a service 20:51.917 --> 20:56.121 rather than owning that ourselves and operating that ourselves. 20:56.121 --> 21:01.526 And by ourselves I mean a blue suit, Air force owned and operated. 21:01.693 --> 21:05.130 We're looking to integrate industry much more into that process. 21:06.465 --> 21:10.235 For our crypto folks and our cyber folks, 21:10.535 --> 21:15.307 OI-7 has actually through the FY 24 POM 21:15.307 --> 21:21.780 which is being debated in Congress right now, has not been appropriated yet. 21:22.180 --> 21:26.151 But in the President's budget there was a very large plus up for 21:26.151 --> 21:31.757 sensing capability of our Air Force networks, almost $800 million, over $800 21:31.757 --> 21:37.763 million across the FIDEP in the 24 budget to provide sensing capability. 21:37.763 --> 21:39.398 And what do I mean by that? 21:39.398 --> 21:43.969 I mean, as you're operating your network, you'd like to know who's on it 21:43.969 --> 21:48.340 and where the traffic is going, and you'd like to know if somebody who's 21:48.340 --> 21:52.477 not supposed to be there is attempting to get to where they shouldn't be. 21:52.944 --> 21:57.849 So we are putting a very large effort in increasing that capability 21:58.350 --> 22:01.620 to increase our resiliency of our Air Force networks. 22:01.920 --> 22:03.588 And again, that's a testament, 22:03.588 --> 22:07.225 I think, to our Air Force leadership and space leadership saying 22:07.959 --> 22:11.730 we have gathered enough of a technical debt 22:11.730 --> 22:16.134 over the past number of years in our information technology. 22:16.134 --> 22:20.372 And this is a realization in that in order to get to the capabilities 22:20.672 --> 22:24.910 that Secretary Kendall and Chief Brown want for an Air Force 22:25.210 --> 22:28.980 to move forward into the future and the force that they want 22:28.980 --> 22:31.983 for the future, I think there's a recognition that 22:32.684 --> 22:35.987 our connective tissue is what's going to enable us to get there 22:36.121 --> 22:40.792 and that we need to invest in that to get it back to a level to be competitive. 22:41.827 --> 22:43.428 So that's our HNC folks. 22:43.428 --> 22:45.530 I talked a little bit about HNJ. 22:45.530 --> 22:50.102 Again, a number of wonderful projects that they're working on and providing, 22:50.402 --> 22:54.573 the biggest, I think, of which is on the SAP 22:54.573 --> 22:57.976 or the special access program network side of the house. 22:58.810 --> 23:01.246 They are doing an amazing amount of effort. 23:01.246 --> 23:06.485 So again, taking a small localized network concept 23:06.651 --> 23:09.554 and how do we expand that and scale that 23:09.554 --> 23:14.192 to be applicable to 800,000 users that may require 23:14.359 --> 23:18.630 SAP connectivity or SAP environment to do either their development, 23:18.630 --> 23:20.298 their testing or their production? 23:20.298 --> 23:22.067 And what does SAP stand for? 23:22.067 --> 23:24.436 SAP stands for Special Access Program. 23:24.436 --> 23:27.272 So we have various classification and levels, right? 23:27.272 --> 23:30.242 So there's 23:30.709 --> 23:34.713 basically unclassified and then CUI controlled unclassified. 23:34.946 --> 23:38.283 Then you have your secret, your top secret, your compartmented, 23:38.283 --> 23:41.253 and then a special access program identifier, 23:41.420 --> 23:44.122 which is just other levels of security that have different 23:44.122 --> 23:47.459 security controls on them to ensure 23:48.894 --> 23:49.961 the resiliency 23:49.961 --> 23:53.131 of that information and making sure that only the people 23:53.131 --> 23:56.935 that have access to that information are available to get that. 23:57.469 --> 23:59.571 So in that regard, 23:59.571 --> 24:03.775 our CIO has taken us down a path of zero trust philosophy, 24:03.775 --> 24:07.846 and we can probably spend an entire podcast talking about zero trust. 24:08.246 --> 24:12.751 And that's in a sense, moving away from protecting of networks 24:12.751 --> 24:17.589 to protecting of information by being able to 100% verify 24:17.956 --> 24:22.160 who's accessing the information and whether or not they have the ability 24:22.160 --> 24:25.697 to actually see the information they're trying to access. 24:26.031 --> 24:29.134 So all of our systems that are coming online right now 24:29.267 --> 24:34.906 are incorporating zero trust philosophy controls in their design 24:35.106 --> 24:38.009 to fit into this larger zero trust philosophy. 24:38.009 --> 24:41.613 And a big piece of that is our HNI’s program 24:42.113 --> 24:47.686 Identity Credential and Access Management or ICAM program, which is a key, 24:47.686 --> 24:52.390 also a key part of our FY 24 POM and the OI-7 initiative. 24:52.791 --> 24:55.560 There's a good deal of money flowing into that as well. 24:55.560 --> 25:00.465 So I think I covered a team, I guess I didn't talk about cloud, 25:01.099 --> 25:04.436 which is what the reason for my visit up here today to Wright-Patt. 25:05.837 --> 25:07.172 our CIO as 25:07.172 --> 25:10.308 well as our Secretary for acquisition, Mr. 25:10.308 --> 25:14.145 Hunter, have basically said we need to move our 25:15.313 --> 25:19.384 development and our efforts and our mission systems into a cloud environment. 25:19.384 --> 25:24.256 And what I mean by cloud is in essence using other people's computers 25:24.322 --> 25:28.460 to do the work that we want to do instead of owning all of that ourselves. 25:28.994 --> 25:32.230 So a very a neat term like we've talked about an on 25:32.230 --> 25:35.700 prem or off prem, meaning on premises or off premises. 25:36.001 --> 25:39.804 So you can go to a number of our programs, our major weapon 25:39.804 --> 25:42.941 system programs, and you'll be able to go into a back room 25:43.241 --> 25:46.845 and see banks and banks in rows and rows and rows of computers. 25:47.712 --> 25:50.615 That is their network that they are doing. 25:50.615 --> 25:54.152 They're either development or production or testing on, 25:54.920 --> 25:59.157 and it sits in a government building and it's run by government people 25:59.291 --> 26:02.294 and the electricity is paid for by the government 26:02.427 --> 26:07.465 and all of that is owned by the United States Air Force. 26:07.465 --> 26:11.570 Now imagine multiplying that across the hundreds and hundreds 26:11.570 --> 26:15.941 and hundreds of different entities that need a similar capability 26:16.908 --> 26:19.711 that quickly becomes very expensive. 26:19.711 --> 26:23.214 So what we're trying to do is we're trying to remove the need 26:23.515 --> 26:28.787 for all of those on premise services and on premise environments 26:29.120 --> 26:34.459 and move them to a commercial cloud right where you go out. 26:34.459 --> 26:36.061 And when you put all of your files 26:36.061 --> 26:39.931 and your pictures out on Google, well, that's resting on Google's computers. 26:39.931 --> 26:42.133 It's not on the computer that you own. 26:42.133 --> 26:45.136 That's in essence, what we're trying to do for the Air Force. 26:45.337 --> 26:48.907 Now we have to take a little bit more precautions 26:49.474 --> 26:54.179 with our data and our access to commercial entities. 26:54.179 --> 26:59.184 And we've been working with Microsoft and Oracle and Amazon and Google 26:59.818 --> 27:04.689 to instantiate government versions of their commercial cloud, right. 27:04.689 --> 27:08.593 That have the guardrails and the protections that we require. 27:09.027 --> 27:13.498 But we can take advantage of their investment 27:13.498 --> 27:16.601 in cloud for the population of the planet. 27:17.068 --> 27:17.702 Okay? 27:17.702 --> 27:21.840 That comes at a much cheaper cost to us than us owning that by ourselves. 27:22.240 --> 27:22.407 Right? 27:22.407 --> 27:26.144 So there are we have close to 100, I think 113 27:26.378 --> 27:29.014 applications of the United States Air Force. 27:29.014 --> 27:32.050 And by application, again, I mean, you open up your computer 27:32.050 --> 27:35.820 or you open up a spreadsheet that let's say, talks about 27:36.955 --> 27:39.958 logistics, ordering of parts from a flight line. 27:40.325 --> 27:44.462 Well, that application instead of existing on a number of servers 27:44.462 --> 27:47.866 that the Air Force owned, now exists in Cloud one. 27:48.500 --> 27:52.170 Under a cloud instance, I'm not sure which one it is. 27:52.170 --> 27:55.173 I want to say possibly Amazon's that 27:56.474 --> 27:59.477 that application and the people who are accessing it 27:59.511 --> 28:03.415 are accessing it inside a commercial cloud space 28:04.215 --> 28:07.218 that the Air Force has 28:07.886 --> 28:12.424 centralized carved out and that my office runs 28:12.424 --> 28:16.261 that effort and provides the background and support needed for that effort. 28:16.428 --> 28:17.962 Where all these people have to do 28:17.962 --> 28:21.633 is connect in, run their application, do their business. 28:21.833 --> 28:24.836 They don't have to worry about everything that comes with that. 28:25.470 --> 28:28.239 So for us, you know, software is a never ending 28:28.239 --> 28:31.710 process and network capability is a never ending process. 28:31.710 --> 28:36.581 It's not a design, build, deliver, and then you're done, right? 28:36.781 --> 28:38.349 It is a constant iteration. 28:38.349 --> 28:40.952 It is constantly changing, is constantly evolving. 28:41.953 --> 28:43.054 So how 28:43.054 --> 28:47.459 much we're able to do within in any given period of time is going 28:47.459 --> 28:51.062 to be very dependent on the budget that gets appropriated for us to do that. 28:52.464 --> 28:53.798 Right now, I'm very hopeful. 28:53.798 --> 28:57.402 You know, if Congress moves forward with the president's budget, 28:57.602 --> 29:02.807 the president's budget has recognized an increase for information technology 29:02.874 --> 29:06.878 for the Air Force, and we are going to be jumping off 29:06.878 --> 29:10.749 and running at full speed once that authority comes through. 29:11.049 --> 29:14.052 So we're very excited in that regard. 29:14.219 --> 29:18.189 Again, the biggest thing as well with General Cropsey in the C3BM 29:18.423 --> 29:21.259 portfolio, that's a brand new entity 29:21.259 --> 29:24.262 for Air Force acquisition and that's a brand new relationship 29:24.295 --> 29:28.466 and it's a brand new structure on how to operate and deliver capability. 29:28.700 --> 29:32.570 So I think a lot of myself, my leadership, my peers 29:32.937 --> 29:37.776 are really wrapping our heads around how do we make that new structure 29:37.776 --> 29:41.613 successful and possibly utilize that as a model into the future. 29:42.914 --> 29:44.616 Another thing that we're really proud of 29:44.616 --> 29:48.186 is just the partnerships, especially that we have up at Hanscom. 29:48.453 --> 29:52.123 We have a number of wonderful partnerships with MIT and Lincoln Labs, 29:52.123 --> 29:56.094 that lives actually right on Hanscom Air Force Base that operate. 29:56.094 --> 29:58.663 MIT operates the Lincoln Laboratory. 29:58.663 --> 30:00.465 And there's a lot of expertise there. 30:00.465 --> 30:03.468 The Miter Corporation is headquartered right outside 30:03.501 --> 30:06.571 in Burlington, Massachusetts, which is right next door to us. 30:07.272 --> 30:10.708 We have a number of partnerships with universities downtown 30:10.708 --> 30:15.380 and especially University of Massachusetts in Lowell, Massachusetts. 30:16.314 --> 30:19.317 And Northeastern has a beautiful facility 30:19.350 --> 30:24.255 that they're able to handle many different classifications of work 30:24.489 --> 30:28.660 that we can utilize their spaces if we don't have those spaces 30:28.660 --> 30:31.663 right on base on Hanscom to utilize, 30:32.163 --> 30:35.166 we have a great partnership with the community and with the state 30:35.333 --> 30:38.369 in different facilities in and around Hanscom Air Force Base. 30:38.369 --> 30:42.540 And one of the things that I'm very proud of is our Lantern facility, 30:43.408 --> 30:46.678 which is a collaborative digital environment. 30:47.011 --> 30:49.981 That organization can come to 30:50.048 --> 30:52.650 with either hardware or software, 30:52.650 --> 30:55.687 plug into this environment and do their testing 30:55.687 --> 31:00.458 in an appropriate level without impacting operational environments. 31:00.458 --> 31:00.692 Right. 31:00.692 --> 31:05.463 And taking down either space or taking down 31:05.830 --> 31:11.736 the space required to go for a program or an application that is providing 31:11.736 --> 31:14.772 value today and providing information of warfighters today. 31:14.973 --> 31:16.574 We don't want to interrupt that. 31:16.574 --> 31:20.044 We want to have this space, you know, off to the side that mimics 31:20.345 --> 31:24.749 that virtual environment that we can do a lot of testing of new capability. 31:25.083 --> 31:29.153 And our lantern facility, which is located right on Hanscom Air Force Base, 31:29.420 --> 31:32.423 we have a number of people coming from all over the country, 31:32.924 --> 31:35.960 either plugging into virtually or coming up to visit us and, you know, 31:35.960 --> 31:38.963 sitting down with hardware and plugging in. 31:39.264 --> 31:43.034 So I'm really excited where we're going to be able to take 31:43.601 --> 31:48.473 as far as IT for the future. I'd very much like Hanscom Air Force Base 31:48.806 --> 31:53.611 to be the testbed for, you know, the cutting edge of information technology. 31:53.711 --> 31:57.615 And I'd like it's a wonderfully it's a small enough base 31:57.882 --> 32:03.054 that we can control and access, but it's large enough to be representative 32:03.054 --> 32:07.659 of everywhere else that we're trying to implement these capabilities on. 32:08.192 --> 32:11.162 And I think it's a wonderful place with a wonderful 32:11.529 --> 32:14.032 associated community 32:14.032 --> 32:16.601 with the exact right skill sets that we need. 32:16.601 --> 32:18.903 Awesome is there anything you would like to add? 32:18.903 --> 32:20.772 No, I thought that that was a great closing. 32:20.772 --> 32:23.508 I thought I do that. I should have said that before the closing. 32:24.609 --> 32:26.210 I just want to say to 32:26.210 --> 32:29.213 the rest of the Life Cycle Management Center and to the rest of your audience, 32:30.148 --> 32:32.550 we are very proud of everything 32:32.550 --> 32:35.820 that we are doing up at Hanscom Air Force Base, working with Mr. 32:35.820 --> 32:39.290 Wert in PEO Digital and working with Mr. 32:39.290 --> 32:43.761 Hardiman in the Nuclear Command Control and Communications, which is an incredibly 32:43.761 --> 32:48.499 important subset of the capabilities that we are helping provide. 32:48.900 --> 32:52.570 So the collaboration between those three PEOs that belong 32:52.570 --> 32:56.641 to the Life Cycle Management Center up in Hanscom are very well-situated 32:56.641 --> 32:57.909 with each other. 32:57.909 --> 33:01.946 Our personnel know each other, have worked with each other for a very long time 33:02.146 --> 33:05.216 interchange amongst those three PEOs, 33:05.817 --> 33:09.387 because people love the New England area and, you know, usually are staying 33:09.387 --> 33:10.521 with us for a long time. 33:11.656 --> 33:12.690 Our collaborations 33:12.690 --> 33:15.927 with the state government and the governor 33:16.494 --> 33:20.198 and mayor of Boston has been some of the best that I've ever seen. 33:20.698 --> 33:22.567 So I'm very appreciative of that. 33:22.567 --> 33:27.138 And just the community at large has been very helpful to our mission. 33:27.405 --> 33:29.040 We like to say that, you know, 33:29.040 --> 33:32.677 the Boston area, especially the Bedford area where Hanscom 33:32.677 --> 33:36.447 Air Force Base is, it's the birthplace of American Command and Control, 33:36.781 --> 33:42.353 about 150 yards away from my house, a nice gentleman named Paul Revere and Mr. 33:42.353 --> 33:44.022 William Dawes and Mr. 33:44.022 --> 33:46.124 I can't remember his last name. 33:46.124 --> 33:47.425 Meanwhile, there were three people there. 33:47.425 --> 33:50.495 I'll remember it, but I think it was Dawes and Chamberlin 33:51.095 --> 33:54.098 on their midnight ride to inform 33:54.499 --> 33:58.202 the American colonists out at Concord that the British were on the march. 33:58.503 --> 34:02.473 And that happened right outside the gates of Hanscom Air Force Base. 34:02.673 --> 34:06.511 And I think we've taken that legacy into the 21st century, 34:07.278 --> 34:08.946 and we're very proud of that mission. 34:08.946 --> 34:10.982 And we are here to support everybody else. 34:10.982 --> 34:16.187 And that's part of my visits now and my visits into the future is helping 34:16.187 --> 34:19.857 everybody understand what we can do to help them with their missions. 34:20.058 --> 34:20.992 Awesome. 34:20.992 --> 34:21.692 One more question. 34:21.692 --> 34:25.563 So for folks, industry or folks across the Air Force or D.O.D. 34:25.563 --> 34:28.533 who would like to collaborate, how do we get in touch with you? 34:28.533 --> 34:30.001 Sure. 34:30.001 --> 34:32.136 I wish I had a placard to draw up here. 34:32.136 --> 34:36.541 We have a nice QR code to get you in touch with our5 collaboration team, 34:36.541 --> 34:39.644 but call the main number for Hanscom 34:39.644 --> 34:42.647 Air Force Base for our HN directorate. 34:42.914 --> 34:47.518 And it's 781-225-1605. We'll get you in touch 34:47.518 --> 34:51.656 with our innovation team and that'll be the gateway into HN. 34:51.856 --> 34:55.293 There are so many people out there with so many different capabilities. 34:55.460 --> 35:00.131 We actually have a group of folks set up to help field those initial calls 35:00.264 --> 35:04.035 and then filter them to where we think they can best try to help us. 35:04.902 --> 35:08.172 We would love for people to come up and visit us and utilize 35:08.172 --> 35:09.373 our Lantern facility 35:09.373 --> 35:12.643 if they have something they'd like to show us or demonstrate for us. 35:12.910 --> 35:15.079 So best way to get a hold of us. 35:15.079 --> 35:17.215 And right now I am only one of two. 35:17.215 --> 35:19.250 Genatempos in the Air Force Global. 35:19.250 --> 35:22.787 So if you look up my name, you'll absolutely be able to get a hold of me 35:22.787 --> 35:23.588 and I’ll get you in touch. 35:23.588 --> 35:25.389 You have some engagement events coming up, right? 35:25.389 --> 35:28.826 There's one at the end of the Summer Air Force Life Cycle Industry Days. 35:29.060 --> 35:29.460 Sure. 35:29.460 --> 35:33.064 We just got finished with our New Horizons conference last month, 35:33.064 --> 35:38.469 which is basically Hanscom’s version of the LCMC Life Cycle Industry Days. 35:38.469 --> 35:43.641 I will be back down here for back here in Ohio for the Life Cycle Industry Days. 35:43.941 --> 35:47.912 I participate in numerous conferences throughout the year. 35:48.813 --> 35:52.950 Air Force Association excuse me, Air Force Association conferences. 35:53.618 --> 35:56.621 We have a very strong presence and we actually have a booth 35:56.821 --> 35:59.790 for our cloud programs 35:59.891 --> 36:02.326 and for our 36:02.326 --> 36:06.631 identity folks that are working on our ICAM efforts. We actually have booths 36:06.631 --> 36:10.501 set up, you know, amongst the big array, you know, in the in the big 36:11.569 --> 36:14.839 the ballroom area, the expo area, we have our tiny little booth 36:14.839 --> 36:15.907 over there in the corner, 36:15.907 --> 36:20.111 but it's a great way to get our name out there and for both industry 36:20.111 --> 36:24.715 and for government personnel to go, wow, these people may be able to help me 36:25.082 --> 36:28.052 because what I'm finding more often than not, 36:28.052 --> 36:30.421 I think folks that are like me 36:30.421 --> 36:33.591 and I may be going out on a limb here, but I think folks that are like me 36:34.292 --> 36:38.462 know that they have something that needs to be done for their weapon system 36:38.696 --> 36:42.300 that is either software driven or an integration of software and hardware. 36:43.034 --> 36:46.070 But they're not exactly sure what to go or 36:46.470 --> 36:49.540 what's available to them to help them do that job. 36:49.941 --> 36:53.477 More often than not, we tend to rely on our industry partner, 36:53.477 --> 36:57.215 our contractor, our prime, when there's really 36:57.215 --> 37:00.218 a lot of Air Force 37:00.318 --> 37:04.188 inherent Air Force capability, government capability 37:04.488 --> 37:07.825 that is available to our own government teams 37:08.793 --> 37:09.827 to be 37:09.827 --> 37:12.863 able to do that work themselves and to have control of that work 37:12.863 --> 37:16.701 themselves and to be able to streamline that work for them. 37:16.701 --> 37:19.870 So I'm excited to share that message to them 37:20.104 --> 37:23.975 and to, you know, I'm hoping that 113 applications we have in the cloud 37:23.975 --> 37:26.310 right now, the next time I get to talk to you, 37:26.310 --> 37:29.180 I'm hoping to triple or quadruple that, quite honestly. 37:29.180 --> 37:29.413 Right. 37:29.413 --> 37:32.516 That's the type of pace that I would like us to be on 37:32.650 --> 37:35.653 in bringing people into this environment, 37:35.853 --> 37:40.024 because the more people we bring in, quite honestly, the lower those costs are. 37:40.024 --> 37:42.393 That's how the commercial environment works. 37:42.393 --> 37:46.464 The more users you have, the less each of you has to pay for that infrastructure. 37:46.464 --> 37:50.101 So I'm hoping that we get that momentum. 37:50.101 --> 37:53.104 And I believe with our president's budget, 37:53.137 --> 37:56.040 it's going to give us that momentum to start moving forward. 37:56.040 --> 37:57.408 Well, sir, thank you so much for your time. 37:57.408 --> 38:00.711 I really enjoyed talking to you and I hope that you can come back on. 38:01.012 --> 38:03.881 I would to come back and give you an update on how we're doing. 38:03.881 --> 38:06.384 So sounds great. Thank you very much.