Spinning the Web

Naval Network Warfare Command is integrating systems, capabilities, sensors, and people to achieve a netted warfighting force.

An interview with Vice Adm. Richard W. Mayo, commander, Naval Network Warfare Command.

Vice Adm. Richard W. Mayo recently was handed one of the biggest challenges in transforming the Navy: implementing network-centric warfare across the spectrum of naval capabilities. Mayo is in charge of introducing FORCEnet, which he describes as "the glue that will hold together the core warfighting capabilities [of the Navy]." In July 2002, he became the first commander of the Naval Network Warfare Command, headquartered in Norfolk, Va.

Mayo graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University in Providence, R.I., and received his commission through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1968. He commanded the guided-missile frigate USS Nicholas, the Master Communications Station in Wahiawa, Hawaii, and U.S. Naval Forces Korea.

Mayo earned a Master's degree in telecommunications systems management from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., in 1977. For three years prior to assuming his current command, Mayo served on the Chief of Naval Operations staff as the director for Space, Information Warfare, and Command and Control.

Sea Power: Why was the Naval Network Warfare Command [NETWARCOM] created?

MAYO: We concluded that the Navy would be better served if we moved several functional areas under a fleet operational command. That's what we did with the standup of Naval Network Warfare Command on 11 July 2002. We took the commands that had been involved in information assurance, information warfare, supporting the fleet, running our networks globally, and running our naval space activities globally and put them under NETWARCOM.

My most recent assignments on the Chief of Naval Operations Staff--as the director, Fleet and Allied Requirements Division, deputy director, Fleet Liaison, and ultimately as the director, Space, Information Warfare, Command and Control--led me to realize the Navy's need for a single organization to align the day-to-day operational issues at the fleet level, working for the commander, Fleet Forces Command, and supporting the fleet commanders because, after all, these functions directly support our naval warfighting capabilities.

Type commanders are normally thought of as training and equipping forces for deployment to the joint combatant commanders. Does NETWARCOM fit this mold?

MAYO: Yes, very definitely. NETWARCOM's main mission is to ensure the proper operation of the global networks of the Navy, afloat and ashore, on a daily basis, and to be accountable to the fleet commanders for any corrective action in the various areas of responsibility--the Atlantic, Pacific, Naval Forces Europe, or Naval Forces Central Command. I am the single point of contact for each of those fleet commanders for the efficient proper operations of the naval networks in their areas on a day-to-day basis. I am also responsible for the development of future information technology, information operations, and space requirements for the fleet, and I work those requirements and development efforts up through the fleet to the Navy staff in Washington for future validation and resourcing. I also have a mission and responsibility to serve as the Navy functional component for information technology, networks, and space to U.S. Strategic Command in Omaha [Neb.].

Your reporting senior is commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Do you anticipate a major role for your command in fleet battle experiments in the future?

MAYO: Network Warfare Command will be a key player in fleet battle experiments as the FORCEnet coordinator. Our job will be to help implement FORCEnet in the Navy. We will work with the fleets and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command [SPAWAR] to make sure that the requirements that are developed for FORCEnet meet fleet expectations and needs and fulfill warfighting capabilities. As we develop these requirements, they're subjected to an experimentation and evaluation process that has some discipline and analytical rigor. It helps us decide which capabilities will go forward, and which we will discard. We haven't done this in the past, so, as we move toward the capabilities of FORCEnet, which will enable and be the glue that holds together the core warfighting capabilities, FORCEnet will bring us a discipline and an experimentation and evaluation process that we haven't had before.

The term "network" in the name of your command instantly brings to mind the concept of network-centric warfare [NWC] introduced in the warfighting vernacular several years ago. What, if any, is your command's relationship with this concept of warfare?

MAYO: Naval Network Warfare Command is an organizational alignment that will help the Navy complete its transition to network-centric warfare. We've continued the transformation of our networks afloat with something called Information Technology for the 21st Century. We have started the transformation of our networks ashore, with the Navy-Marine Corps Intranet [NMCI], which is an ambitious program to get our networks ashore organized into a coherent, efficient, and secure network that we haven't really enjoyed before.

Do any of NETWARCOM's subordinate commands have any direct warfighting responsibilities?

MAYO: NETWARCOM's mission does not include bombs, bullets, planes, or ships. But we are a vital element in the battlefield commander's ability to accomplish his mission and deliver ordnance on target. Our responsibility is to send not just data or information, but the knowledge he needs to make those critical decisions.

We also conduct computer network attack and defense, electronic warfare, military deception, and psychological operations.

How has the global war on terrorism affected the focus of NETWARCOM? Will NETWARCOM be affected in any way by the recent establishment of the Department of Homeland Security?

MAYO: The terrorist attacks on American soil were a wake-up call for us as a nation to tighten security procedures and safeguard our valuable national resources and our population.

We have no direct link with the Department of Homeland Security. But all federal agencies will cooperate and exchange information and intelligence as necessary and warranted.

What kinds of threats do our data networks face?

MAYO: Navy systems are continuously being probed from foreign and domestic sources. Hackers continue to attempt to gain access to Navy systems. An extremely small percentage of these attacks succeed. The Navy has in place a series of defensive mechanisms to detect and thwart probes. We use both commercial and government firewalls and software patches along with Navy and DOD-wide procedures to create a "defense in depth" concept.

However, just like large corporations, adherence to an Information Assurance [IA] policy is not perfect. We have found that, in almost all cases when a network is successfully attacked, it is because a procedure has not been properly followed.

We work constantly to reduce these vulnerabilities, and from all indications we are successful. The bottom line is that Navy systems are protected when commands follow established policies and procedures. The recent "W32" worms [a family of mass mailing email worms that infected computers in July 2002] serve as an example. Navy-wide, there was less than a 0.1 percent infection, and no significant operational impact.

The Navy-Marine Corps Intranet is steadily being connected Navy-wide. What responsibilities does NETWARCOM have with regard to implementing or operating the NMCI?

MAYO: The NMCI Task Force and the lead contractor, EDS, are responsible for the implementation of NMCI Navy-wide. Once NMCI workstations are operational on the NMCI Intranet, monitoring that network becomes the responsibility of NETWARCOM, which is also the Designated Approving Authority for network operations and security.

What is the relationship of NETWARCOM to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR)?

MAYO: The commander, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, is assigned in an additional-duty capacity to NETWARCOM as the systems architect and acquisition authority for C4I [command, control, communications, computers, intelligence] systems across naval and joint forces in support of FORCEnet architecture.

The Chief of Naval Operations is rolling out a new operational strategy, Sea Power 21. How does NETWARCOM fit into this strategy?

MAYO: Sea Power 21 is about the Navy achieving its full warfighting capability in the core areas of Sea Strike, Sea Shield, and Sea Basing. Absolutely key to realizing our full potential in each of those areas is something I mentioned earlier called FORCEnet, which is about our ability to integrate all of our warfighting systems, capabilities, sensors, and people so that we can achieve the idea of a netted warfighting force. Before FORCEnet--in fact, how we operate today--we basically interface most of our systems after the fact, and try to get increased combat capability by netting them. But with FORCEnet and Sea Power 21 we will have a roadmap we can use that will start from the beginning with an effort to integrate our warfighting capabilities so that we can achieve maximum capability.

FORCEnet is much more than an idea at this point. It has been worked on for several years as a concept at the Strategic Studies Group in Newport [R.I.]. It was announced formally with the Sea Power 21 vision by the chief of naval operations and published in the Naval Transformation Roadmap. Naval Network Warfare Command will serve as the FORCEnet coordinator to help implement FORCEnet in the Navy. We will work with the fleets and Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command to make sure that the requirements developed for FORCEnet meet fleet expectations and needs and fulfill warfighting capabilities. We've also got to ensure that, as we develop these requirements, they are subjected to an experimentation and evaluation process that has some discipline and decides with some analytical rigor which capabilities will go forward, and which we will discard.

The Navy has taken significant steps toward becoming a network-centric organization, a process that is ongoing. At what point, in your estimation, will the Navy be considered to have reached that goal?

MAYO: We're making great progress. During the first phases of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, 80 percent of Navy strike sorties attacked targets that were unknown to the aircrews when they left the carrier. The networked sensors and joint communications enabled [aircrews] to decisively respond to active targets. As a result, over 90 percent of the ordnance dropped was precision-guided--a dramatic change from Desert Storm a decade earlier and a more effective and rapid application of U.S. military power while reducing risk and damage beyond those targets engaged.

More recently, the Giant Shadow experiment, which explored the projected capabilities of the SSGNs [nuclear-powered guided-missile submarines], showed the exceptional value of many diverse sensors and combat forces to accomplish very challenging missions of the type we are facing in the Global War on Terrorism.

In the future, the increased use of unmanned or autonomous systems, miniaturized munitions, and ship- and submarine-launched long-range sensors, networked together, will link naval, joint, and national information grids to provide accurate timely information and intelligence to decision makers on the battlefront.

I believe that at that point we will have reached our current goals, but I see Network Centric Warfare and FORCEnet as having no end-state--they will continue to evolve as technologies allow.

Now that you have been in your job for seven months, how has the NETWARCOM changed over that period as its roles and missions jelled?

MAYO: We're making excellent progress as the Navy's type commander and central authority for Networks, Information Operations, and Space. Additionally, we've added FORCEnet development and experimentation through Sea Trial to our core functions. Our focus is on enhancing the security and warfighting capability of the existing infrastructure.

To date, we have established a firm configuration management process with SPAWAR to oversee all changes made to the afloat and ashore operational networks. We have catalogued network threats and developed a system-wide network "defense in depth" architecture.

In information operations, we have been designated the Navy's functional component to USSTRATCOM [the U.S. Strategic Command], headquartered in Omaha for computer network attack and defense, as well as Navy network operations, and conducted a Navy-wide Web site risk assessment to ensure operational security compliance and creation of an authoritative Web site database. We're also leading the effort to define the fleet's FORCEnet requirements.

In conclusion, why are the Navy and the nation better off because of the existence of NETWARCOM?

MAYO: The FORCEnet capabilities we are developing will bring command and control decision aids that are more adaptive and more automated than what we have today. They will bring multitiered sensor and weapons grids to the battlespace that are more rugged, more expeditionary, and more adaptable to the fleet and to the field.

Today, I would describe our network-centric warfare capabilities at sea as fragile. Under FORCEnet, we'll have multipath and survivable networks. We will really work on developing the warfighting potential of this new naval warfare mission of information operations, which is about effects-based operations. *

Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM)

The Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM) is the Navy's central operational authority for space, information technology requirements, network, and information operations in support of naval forces afloat and ashore.

NETWARCOM operates a secure, interoperable naval network that will enable effects-based operations and innovation. Also, it coordinates and assesses the Navy's operational requirements and use of network, command and control, information technology, information operations, and space. The command is the advocate for operational forces in the development and fielding of information technology, information operations, and space, and serves as a functional component commander for U.S. Strategic Command.

Subordinate Commands:

Naval Network and Space Operations Command (NNSOC)

The NNSOC, headquartered in Dahlgren, Va., was formed in July 2002 by the merger of elements of the Naval Space Command and the Naval Network Operations Command. NNSOC operates and maintains the Navy's space and global telecommunications systems and services, and directly supports warfighting operations and the command and control of naval forces. It promotes innovative technological solutions to warfighting requirements. NNSOC operates the Naval Space Operations Center and the Fleet Surveillance Support Command.

Fleet Information Warfare Center

Established on 1 October 1995 as the U.S. Navy's "Center of Excellence for Information Operations," the Fleet Information Warfare Center (FIWC), headquartered at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Norfolk, Va., provides Information Operations (IO) support to naval forces worldwide. In its brief history, the command has provided highly skilled IO teams to deploying fleet staffs and naval units; developed IO doctrine and tactics; and pioneered computer network defense and electronic warfare support throughout the Navy. In March 2000, FIWC was awarded the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation.

Commander, Navy Component Task Force

For Computer Network Defense (NCTF-CND)

NCTF-CND, headquartered in Washington, D.C., coordinates the defense of Navy computer networks and systems and directly supports the Navy's commitment to Presidential Decision Directive (PDD-63), Critical Infrastructure Protection, and Joint Vision 2010 Full Spectrum Dominance, which includes the capability to collect, process, and disseminate a secure uninterrupted flow of information.

Additional Duty Commands:

Naval Security Group (NSG)

The Naval Security Group, headquartered in Washington, D.C., provides cryptologic and communications security support to fleet, joint, and national commanders.

Space and Naval Warfare Command (SPAWAR)

Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., SPAWAR is the Navy's acquisition authority for developing and maintaining the Navy's command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems, information technology, and space systems.