For warfighters, no such thing as too much information

Network-centric warfare and Global Information Grid are all about getting information to where warfighters needs it, a top official at the Defense Information Systems Agency said at an industry meeting today.

"It's all about information," Anthony Montemarano, director of DISA's Information Assurance/NetOps programs, said at an Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association luncheon in Arlington, Va.

"The networks are a given, computers are a given," he said. "The war fighter needs information."

The NetOps program?a component of network-centric warfare that focuses on using commercial best practices to operate, manage and defend the GIG?is really about positioning data where the war fighter need it, he said.

The GIG has to be thought of as a weapon system, with the same command and control. Just like a commander needs to be able to aim a gun and know if its operating properly, he needs to have control over the GIG and know its status.

"We've got to make our data machine agnostic, so you can harvest that data and create your own user defined operational picture," Montemarano said.

Rather than sharing screens, commanders need the ability to paint the screen that best helps them with their responsibility. He compared it to instant replay in football, where several camera angles played at various speeds help dissect the play.

"That's the expectation and we need to get our tools ready," he said. "That's what [private industry] has to help us with. NetOps is kind of disorganized right now. We just have to bring that thing together and make it happen."