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Interim Report on Air Force Base Level Automation Environment Report to the Department of the Air Force Committee on Air Force Base Level Automation Environment Board on Telecommunications and Computer Application Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, DC January 1986 s
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special com- petences and with regard to appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors, according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. The Council operates in accordance with general pol- icies determined by the Academy under the authority of its congressional charter of 1863, which establishes the Academy as a private, non-profit, self-governing membership corporation. The Council has become the prin- cipa] operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in the conduct of their services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. It is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine were established in 1964 and 1970, respectively, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences. This is an interim report of work supported by Contract No. F49642-85-COi20 between the United States Air Force and the National Academy of Sciences. This document available from: Board on Telecommunications and Computer Applications Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems National Research Council 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418 Printed in the United States of America
COMMITTEE ON AIR FORCE BASE LEVEL AUTOMATION ENVIRONMENT IVAN SELIN (Chairman) Chairman of the Board American Management Systems, Inc. ROBERT B. ERSKINE (Vice Chairman) Manager, Production Resources Consulting Genera] Electric Company DUANE A. ADAMS Principal Research Scientist Carnegie-Mellon University JAMES D. BRUCE Professor of Electrical Engineering and Director of Information Systems Massachusetts Institute of Technology JOHN F. LUBIN Professor of Management University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School Air Force Liaison Officer Colonel Fred W. Mellor Staff Richard B. Marsten, Executive Director John Burton Stueve, Study Director Karen Laughlin, Administrative Coordinator Marlene R. Veach, Administrative Assistant JOSEPH L. MACKIN Director of Plant Operations RCA Astro-Electronics Division BROCKWAY McMILLAN Vice President (Retired), Military Systems Bell Laboratories A. ALAN B. PRITSKER President Pritsker & Associates, Inc. JACK B. ROBBINS Major General, USAF (Retired) Chairman of the Board Robbins-Gioia, Inc. WILLIS H. WARE Corporate Research Staff The Rand Corporation DANIEL J. FINK (Ex officio) President D. J. Fink Associates, Inc.
BOARD ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTER APPLICATIONS DANIEL J. FINK (Chairman) President D.~. Fink Associates, Inc. DANIEL BELL Professor of Social Sciences Harvard University HERBERT D. BENINGTON Technical Director Systems Development Corporation ELWYN R. BE Professor of Mathematics University of California ANTHONY J. DeMARIA Assistant Director of Research for Electronics and EJectro-Optics TechnoJoqy United Technologies Research Center GERALD P. DINNEEN Vice President, Science & Technology Honeywell, Incorporated GEORGE GERBNER Professor and Dean, The Annenberg School of Communications University of Pennsylvania DONALD M. KUYPER Group Vice President, Business Services GTE Telephone Operating Group Staff Richard B. Marsten, Executive Director John Burton Stueve, Senior Staff Officer Karen Laughlin, Administrative Coordinator Lois A. Leak, Administrative Secretary 1V ADRIAN M. McDONOUGH Professor of Management and Decision Sciences (Retired), The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania MISCHA SCHWARTZ Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Columbia University IVAN SELIN Chairman of the Board American Management Systems, Inc. CHARLES W. STEPHENS Vice President and Deputy Genera] Manager TRW Electronics & Defense Sector ERIC E. SUMNER Vice President, Operations Systems and Network Planning AT&T Bell Laboratories GEORGE L. TURIN Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science University of California KEITH W. UNCAPHER Executive Director, USC Information Sciences Institute, and Associate Dean, School of Engineering University of Southern California
PREFACE This is an interim report of work by a committee convened in June 1985 by the National Research Council `,~4RC) at the request of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management), to assess the Air Force strategy and program for base ~eve] automation and to make recommendations for improving the strategy and program. The Secretary noted that the Air Force is committed to providing automation support for mission-essential capabilities in the most effective manner possible. Therefore, he asked that the NRC's independent review and assessment include an examination of the Air Force "game plan" for the complete implementation of automation support for the base J eve] environment, as well as recommendations on the appropriate strategy for the Air Force to follow in the next decade and beyond. The Statement of Task for this assignment follows this preface. In response to the Secretary's request, the NRC established the Committee on Air Force Base Level Automation Environment (Committee) in May 1985. The Committee has divided its work into two phases. At the Secretary's request, the Committee established an accelerated schedule to address the management issues involved in base J eve] automation before the end of 1985, and it is presenting its initial findings and recommendations in this interim report. The Committee's investigation has focused on the computer and functional aspects of the Air Force's base level automation program. This has raised a number of important methodological questions about the way in which the Air Force does software engineering for admin- istrative systems, and about the ways in which it operates the procurement process. Methodological topics, and these two questions in particular, will form part of the basis for the Committee's deliberations in 1986. At all Air Force bases there are "housekeeping" functions (such as civil engineering, finance, and personnel) and mission support functions (such as operations, supply, maintenance). The scope of the Committee's study is all of the automation functions on ~ standard base, whether housekeeping or mission support, excluding command and control systems. The Committee began its review in early June 1985, and it has held meetings each month, culminating in two one-week workshops in November 1985. The committee members are pleased to acknowledge the excellent support received from the Air Force activities that have hosted the Committee's meetings or that have otherwise participated in its activ- ities. During its ]8 meeting dates, the Committee received 50 separate briefings and it was supplied 67 documents for review. In addition, the Committee drew on the report of the predecessor Committee on Modernization of t.hn II S. Air Force Base Level Automation SYstem.* *Modernizing the U.S. Air Force Base Level Automation System, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1981. v
On June 4-5, 1985 the Committee received initial briefings in Washington, D.C. on the Air Force's base level automation system capital replacement program (known as the Phase IV program), on the various application systems installed or under development for the bases, and on the Air Force philosophy, architecture, and organization for managing information systems. On July 17-~8 the Committee met at Headquarters, Strategic Air Command (SAC), Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha, Nebraska. Briefings were provided by base J eve] personnel who represented Offutt as being typical of many large operational bases. Briefings were also provided by HO SAC personnel who noted that their command was among the leaders in the imple- mentation of the Air Force's Phase IV implementation/conversion program. On August 29 the Committee met at Gunter Air Force Station, Alabama, to receive briefings from key personnel assigned to the Air Force Communications Command (AFCC) units that have primary responsibilities for baseJeve] automation, including Phase IV. This includes the Standard Information Systems Center (SISC) and two of its subordinate units, the Automated Systems Program Office (ASPO), which is the Project Engineering - Office for Phase IV, and the Data Systems Design Office (DSDO), which develops and maintains the standard systems and applications software common to al] Air Force bases. On August 30 the Committee met in Washington, D.C., where it received briefings on the Army and Navy information systems programs. The Committee also provided an informal progress report to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management). On September 11-12 representatives from the Committee and the NRC staff participated with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Information Systems Management) in a visit to Mather Air Force Base, California, to see the advanced concepts base facility, where a number of experimental ideas and prototypes are implemented on microcomputers. On September 26-27 the Committee met at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, for an overview of the Air Force Logistics Command (AFEC), its whoJe-saJe level information systems, and the Air Force's logistical philosophy and systems (dater supplemented by Air Staff briefings in Washington, D.C. on October 16~. The Committee also received briefings from the chairman of a team of industry executives who had independently evaluated the Air Force supply system at the request of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management), and from the Sperry Corporation, which is under contract to the Air Force to provide the hardware and services involved in the Phase IV capita] replacement and implementation/conversion. During its meeting on October 16, in Washington, D.C. the Committee reached agreement on the main issues that would be addressed in the interim report to the Air Force. During the Committee's workshop on November 4-S it prepared discussion drafts of the interim report and four issue papers, covering each of the four principal findings. The draft issue papers were circulated, through the Committee's Air Force Liaison V1
Officer, to the Air Force Secretariat, HQ USAF, and Major Command personnel who were being invited to attend the workshop. The issue papers served as the basis for discussion between the Committee and the Air Force representatives at the workshop. During the November 18-21 workshop the Committee drafted this interim report, and on November 26 the Chairman provided an informal progress report to senior representatives of the Air Force Secretariat and theAir Staff, including the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management), the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information Systems Management, the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force (AF/CVA), the HQ USAF Director of Operations (AF/XOO), and representatives of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Logistics and Communications), of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics and Engineering (AF/LE), and of the Assistant Chief of Staff, Information Systems (AF/SI). The Committee has enjoyed the full support and encouragement of the Honorable Richard E. Carver, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management). We especially appreciate the direct involvement and superb assistance of Mr. Andrew E. Bilinski, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Information Systems Management), and Colonel Fred W. Me1Jor, Assistant for Information Systems. We could not have reached this interim stage in our work without the support of the Air Staff, and we are highly pleased with and impressed by the cooperative spirit displayed by Major Genera] John T. Stih1, Assistant Chief of Staff for Information Systems, his deputy, Brigadier General Denis M. Brown, and Colonels Mark E. Anway and Woodrow M. Taylor of the Information Systems staff. In particular we wish to express our gratitude for the direct and sustained support provided by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas E. Harms and Captains Donnie Blanks and Eugene C. Bounds, who between them made most of the arrangements for the Committee's visits to Air Force bases and brief- ings by HQ USAF and other Air Force activities. This Committee, like others in the NRC whose members serve part-time and without compensation, must rely heavily on its professional staff. In this regard we are particularly grateful to Dr. Richard B. Marsten and Mr. John Burton Stueve. Tt is their outstanding and creative effort which has made it possible to convert the disjointed products of our several sessions into a smooth Committee report. A major committee effort like this imposes a heavy burden on its administrative support staff. We are very pleased to acknowledge the assistance of Ms. Karen Laughlin, Administrative Coordinator, and Ms. Marlene Veach, Administrative Assistant, for the outstanding quality of their work, especially during the two workshops. Finally, as the Committee Chairman, ~ wish to express my sincere appreciation and admiration to the committee members for their dedicated efforts. IVAN SELIN Chairman V1 1
STATEMENT OF TASK The Committee will conduct a comprehensive review of Air Force base J eve] automation activities and their direction and management. The review will provide a critical assessment of the Air Force approach toward satisfying the proliferation of automation requirements of (Air Force) functional users and toward technical solutions that would ensure opera- bility with the Air Force Base Level Automation Systems. The sequence of program reviews will start with Phase TV, and will include the Base Information Analysis Program at a point considered appro- priate by the Committee and Air Force officials. Base level automation initiatives will be reviewed as examinations of users' needs and the Phase IV program illuminate interfaces or possible areas of overlapping func- tion. The base J eve] architecture will be returned to periodically as base level automation initiatives and various stand-alone systems are considered. The Air Force plan for implementation of software systems to support base level automation will be examined. Recommendations will be made for planning for expected evolution of these automation systems as base J eve] functional needs change. After reviewing current Air Force automation strategies and objec- tives, the committee will review functional users' needs together with a review of thestatus of the Phase IV program and of other programs involved with the base level environment. Reviewers will look for compatibility with Air Force mission and base J eve] operating objectives and for minimum essential solutions to mission and operating needs. System integrity and universality of application will be emphasized, while standardization will be subordinate to characteristics of program plans and systems architec- ture that foster economical evolution of the entire base J eve] environment as functional, and even mission, needs change. Software and hardware concerns will be emphasized concurrently insofar as practical. The ability of systems and applications to meet wartime needs wild also be considered. Results should provide advice and recommendations to assist the Air Force in streamlining its base level automation initiatives so that: overall program may be simplified without loss of functional effec- tiveness; the broadest possible applications may be made of extant programs, systems, and initiatives; emerging standalone systems may be standardized for applications, interoperabiiity, and integration into the overall, evolving, Phase IV base level environment; and a strategy may be developed to facilitate the economical evolution of the hardware and soft- ware environment without need for any future, massive, capital replacement. Date: June 1985 . . . v ~ ~ ~
CONTENTS COMMITTEE ON AIR FORCE BASE LEVEL AUTOMATION ENVIRONMENT BOARD ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND COMPUTER APPLICATIONS. PREFACE. . . . . . . . . . STATEMENT OF TASK. . . . . I. . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1 .... 1v INTRODUCTION . . . . ; II. SUMMARY Of FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. . . . . . . A. B. C. _ Summary of Findings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary of Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . Correspondence of Findings and Recommendations III. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Air Force Progress on Base-Leve] Automation. . . . a. Concept of a Standard Base-Leve] Automated Support b. Phase IV Capital Replacement Program is Going Well c. Evolving Beyond Phase IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. A Window of Opportunity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. Dependence of Wing/Base-Level Units on Automation Support. 4. Development/Maintenance of Base-Leve] Information Systems. · · · · System. IV. RECOMMENDATIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i. Phase IV Post-Implementation Enhancement Plan. . . . . . . 2. Standard Base-Leve] Automation Facility Configuration. . . 3. Base-Leve] Logistics & Operations/Combat Support Functions 4. System Program Office/Prime Systems Contractor Concept . . APPENDICES A. B. C. Base-Leve] Automated Data Systems. . . . . Glossary of Terms and Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phase IV Post-Implementation Enhancement Plan (Outline). 1X 8 TO ~3 ~3 ~3 14 15 18 22 23 27 27 28 29 31 33 37 41
