A collection of news and information specifically for the C4ISR community

Vol. 4, No. 8
February 28, 2008

Hanscom consolidates IT support under new contract

By Kevin Gilmartin
66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

For the first time in a decade, a single contractor will be providing centrally managed desktop and network support as well as a number of other information technology services at Hanscom under the base’s new Integrated Communication and Information Services contract.

Northrop Grumman Corporation will begin providing the consolidated Services March 5 after being awarded a one-year contract, which includes an option for a second year, with a total potential value of $43.8 million. The company began its transition period Feb. 18.

Northrop Grumman was the incumbent for the network services contract, while the Centech Group held the field services contract and other companies handled desktop support. Among the services consolidated in the contract along with network and desktop support are cabling, personal wireless communications, information assurance, and web page development. It also includes an additional optional task of video teleconferencing support.

“Consolidating the services will save money up front, thanks to certain economies of scale, and allow us to better serve our customers across the base,” said Joe Boeggeman, Plans and Programs flight chief in the Communications and Information Services Directorate. “The transition to the new contract should be seamless, but the way people acquire technical support will change.”  (More)

Keeping an eye on the skies

Battle Control System operators monitor the skies from the floor of the program’s Eastern Defense Sector location. BCS, a program managed by the 650th Electronic Systems Squadron, is a command and control system that incorporates feeds from a network of radars to alert operators of airborne threats in the continent’s airspace. Born in part from the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, BCS serves as key technology for North American Aerospace Defense Command, United States Northern Command and Pacific Command, and their mission of providing homeland defense.   (Thales Raytheon photo)

Linda Jean to wrap up 32-year government career tomorrow

Ed Bohn (left), acquisition program manager, presents Linda Jean (right), director of Contracting’s Enterprise Acquisitions Division, with a Hanscom throw during a luncheon to celebrate her retirement Feb. 26. Capt. Charles Harding, Electronic Systems Center PKE, looks on in the background. (Photo by Mark Wyatt)

By 2nd Lt. C. Michaela Judge
66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

After 32 years of service as a federal employee -- 19 of which were spent at Hanscom -- Linda Jean, director of Contracting’s Enterprise Acquisitions Division, will retire tomorrow.

Through her time in service, Ms. Jean moved around to a number of agencies, and with those moves came a breadth of experience across the government workforce – a success she credits to the men and women she worked with along the way.

Her federal career began in 1976 as a GS-04 clerk with the Public Health Administration in Portland, Maine, after graduating from the University of Maine with a bachelors of science degree in criminal justice.

After just a few months on the job, Ms. Jean accepted a position as a criminal investigator with the Department of Health and Education and Welfare in Washington D.C.  (More)

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Chief Master Sergeants William Wood (left) and Juan Casto tack on new Technical Sergeant stripes to Angelica Larson following her STEP promotion by ESC Commander Lt. Gen. Ted Bowlds during a commander’s call Tuesday.  (Photo by Jason Bishop)

By Kevin Gilmartin
66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE-GUNTER ANNEX, Ala. -- Staff. Sgt. Angelica G. Larson got the surprise of her Air Force career as she approached the stage to brief Electronic Systems Center Commander Lt. Gen. Ted Bowlds during a commander’s call Feb. 26 – an on-the-spot promotion.

General Bowlds shocked Sergeant Larson, the NCOIC of Program Control in the Installation and Logistics Systems Maintenance Division at the 754th Electronic Systems Group, with a new set of stripes under the Stripes for Exceptional Performers, or STEP program. Under the STEP program, commanders are periodically allowed to instantly promote an outstanding enlisted member, based on an exceptional career record both on and off the job.  (More)

ESC commander visits 754 ELSG

Electronic Systems Center Commander Lt. Gen. Ted Bowlds discusses ESC’s strategic goals during a commander’s call with members of the 754th Electronic Systems Group at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base Ala. Tuesday. This was his first visit to the 754th since taking command of ESC in November. While there, the general received a number of briefings on the unit and attended the graduation dinner for the Senior NCO Academy at Maxwell-Gunter.  (Photo by Jason Bishop)

Air Force contracting executive to lead new human performance wing 

Mr. Thomas S. Wells

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Air Force officials announced Feb. 21 that Thomas S. Wells, a member of the federal Senior Executive Service, will lead the new 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright-Patterson AFB.

Mr. Wells comes to the new wing after serving as deputy director, then director, of contracting at Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command since November 2003. Prior to coming to Wright-Patterson AFB, he served in a variety of leadership positions after joining the civil service in 1981.

It has not been determined when Mr. Wells will report to his new job, but he said he was looking forward to it.

"I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to lead what will be a unique, world-class organization," Mr. Wells said. "The wing will seek to enhance the human aspects of flight in the 21st century using the same kind of vigor and vision that the Wright Brothers first applied to the aero-mechanical aspects of flight here in Dayton some 100 years ago."  (More)

Chief discusses strategy white paper at AFA symposium 

By Staff Sgt. Monique Randolph
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

ORLANDO, Fla.  -- The chief of staff of the Air Force helped kick off the Air Force Association's 24th annual Air Warfare Symposium and Technology Exposition Feb. 21 in Orlando, Fla.

Before hundreds of Airmen and civilians, Gen. T. Michael Moseley spoke about the future of the Air Force and also took the opportunity to introduce his vision for the Air Force as detailed in the "CSAF White Paper" released earlier this month at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.

"This is a wonderful chance for us to share ideas and thoughts, and get feedback, and to give you an idea of how we see things progressing and where we're going," General Moseley said. "I chose to (introduce the White Paper) at Maxwell, because I believe (the officers and senior noncommissioned officers who attend the courses there) are the future intellectual engine for our Air Force. They are the folks who are going to take the vision and turn it into a reality. They are the folks who will continue to adapt, learn and move the Air Force into the 21st Century," he said.  (More)

Mark your calendars: Health Expo, VPP Fair to be held March 6

By Rhonda Siciliano
66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

The Hanscom community is invited to attend a Team Lean Challenge Health Expo and Voluntary Protection Program Fair March 6 at the Fitness and Sports Center from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Attendees will have the opportunity to gather information from a number of base organizations that will be on hand for the event including: the Airman and Family Readiness Center, Health and Wellness Center, Youth Center, Family Advocacy, Hanscom Fire Department and representatives from Hanscom’s Voluntary Protection Program and Safety Office.

The event will feature information on wellness, nutrition, safety and exercise.

“Participants will have the opportunity to walk away with a wealth of information and some giveaways. It’s an event you won’t want to miss,” said Will Carpenter, Hanscom Health and Wellness Center Health Promotion manager. Attendees concerned about finding a parking space are reminded that additional parking is available behind the Base Library and Outdoor Recreation facility.  (More)

AFMC honors ESC wife as spouse of the year

Virginia “Ginger” Dosedel displays some of the adaptive clothing she creates for the charity “Sew Much Comfort.” Ms. Dosedel was chosen as Air Force Materiel Command spouse of the year. (File photo)

By Kevin Gilmartin
66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

The wife of an Electronic Systems Center officer from the 754th Electronic Systems Group at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, has won Air Force Materiel Command “spouse of the year” honors for her efforts to provide adaptive clothing for severely injured military members returning from Iraq or Afghanistan.

Virginia “Ginger” Dosedel, the wife of Lt. Col. Stefan Dosedel, is AFMC’s nominee for the Joan Orr Award, an Air Force Association award that honors the Air Force level civilian “spouse of the year.” The award is named for the wife of former Secretary of the Air Force Verne Orr.

Ms. Dosedel founded the non-profit charity that provides adaptive clothing for injured military members, called “Sew Much Comfort,” in January 2005, and saw it grow considerably. Since its inception, the organization has provided over 35,000 free items of adaptive clothing to severely injured service men and women with amputations, shrapnel injuries, broken limbs, and severe burns

Ms. Dosedel, a mother of three children, is a 1988 graduate of Villanova University with a degree in Economics. She has worked in a number of positions, including as a financial analyst for the Air Force at both the Pentagon and Wright-Patterson, and as a patient advocate for children recovering from severe medical concerns. For the last three years, she has served as executive director of Sew Much Comfort.  (More)

Satellite shootdowns not a threat to DOD space assets, analyst says
-- Federal Computer Week
The Navy’s use of an anti-ballistic missile to shoot down a falling U.S. satellite Feb. 20 did not inaugurate a new era of vulnerability for high-bandwidth military communications, said David Mosher, a Rand Corp. senior policy analyst specializing in issues related to the militarization of space and ballistic missile defense.

Raytheon now fields an ISR advice team
-- Business Aviation
Raytheon believes that the global market for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) equipment is worth $20 billion over the next five years alone.

The evolution of cyber warfare
-- The Council on Foreign Relations
n the spring of 2007, when Estonian authorities removed a monument to the Red Army from its capital city, Tallinn, a diplomatic row erupted with neighboring Russia.

Predicting terrorist activity
-- Government Computer News
Researchers at the University of Maryland’s Institute for Advanced Computer Studies announced this week that they have launched an online portal that will let analysts query rules on the behavior of terrorist organizations and forecast their future behavior.

TSAT decision slipping
-- Aviation Week
The decision between Boeing and Lockheed Martin designs for the Pentagon's Transformational Satellite Communications (TSAT) program is being delayed by at least one month to June, according to Boeing officials.

command comments ...

... Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) is the foundation of Global Vigilance, Global Reach, and Global Power. It cuts across all domains and affects almost every mission area. Today, ISR efforts make up the majority of the operations required to achieve our security objectives. These operations range from finding the enemy, to deconstructing its network and intentions, to making it possible to deliver weapons or other effects on target, to subsequently assessing the results of those efforts. ...

The Air Force has demonstrated its commitment to the importance of ISR by establishing a 3-star Deputy Chief of Staff for ISR, the Air Force ISR Agency, and formed a global organization for the processing of ISR data from a variety of sources. These initiatives demonstrate the Air Force has shifted the way it manages ISR capabilities from a Cold-War platform perspective to a 21st Century holistic capability-based approach. ...
 

-- Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne and Air Force Chief of Staff T. Michael Moseley

The Integrator is a weekly product of the 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs Office designed to give ESC decision makers a snapshot of news affecting the C4ISR community.  This e-publication is approved by Kevin Gilmartin, Chief of Public Affairs, (DSN) 478-4110 or commercial (781) 377-4110.  Back issues are available online.  To facilitate service, please select a link for your e-mails:  
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