D -- INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, INCLUDING TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES, COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEMS The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Command and Control Joint Warfighting Capabilities Assessments (C2 JWCA) team is conducting an assessment of command and control systems interoperability. Purpose: As part of its ongoing assessment, the C2 JWCA seeks to find possible "middleware" solutions to interoperability deficiencies among computer-based command and control systems. This is a request for information only, no contract will result from responses received for this RFI. However, the Department of Defense may issue a formal Request for Proposal (RFP), or other appropriate legal instrument, at some future time in order to implement specific "middleware" solutions. Background: Command and control systems interoperability has long been a difficult goal for defense associated organizations to reach. Often times, success is only achieved through the use of liaison teams or other work-arounds, such as loaning similar equipment to another organization. This situation is further exacerbated by the inability toagree on where or to what degree interoperability should occur. In many cases, command and control systems were never intended to exchange information with one another. However, today's military situation has more than suggested that economic and operational efficiency is gained when interoperability is designed and built into the system. The goal of the assessment is to discover near and long term solutions of both a technical and procedural nature. The assessment focus is on computer-based command and control systems employed at the National Command Authorities, Unified Command, Joint Task Force, and Service component levels. Particular attention will be paid to those systems used to conduct deliberate and crisis action planning in support of a geographical Commander in Chief (U.S. Pacific Command, U.S. European Command, etc.). Vendor and product information should be sent to LtCol Thomas Bane JS/J6E, via e-mail, by 15 July 1999. LtCol Bane can be reached by e-mail at thomas.bane@js.pentagon.mil. E-MAIL: LtCol Thomas Bane, USMC, JS/J6E, thomas.bane@js.pentagon.mil. Posted 06/24/99 (W-SN346975).

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