Under Secretary of the Air Force and Director of the National Reconnaissance Office Peter B. Teets announced today the formation of the Transformational Communications Office to coordinate, synchronize and direct execution of the Transformational Communications Architecture. The Transformational Communications Architecture will be a joint effort with full involvement by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence and the Defense Information Systems Agency.
"We are excited about this opportunity to form this National Security Space team to develop a Transformational Communications Architecture that will assure we have maximum compatibility to meet the growing communications requirements of our warfighters and the Intelligence Community," said Mr. Teets. "The success of this new architecture is going to be a team effort from across the military services, the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community and NASA."
RADM Rand Fisher, the head of the NRO Communications Directorate and Commander of the Navy SPAWAR Space Field Activity, was named the director of the office and Ms. Christine Anderson, the Director of the Milsatcom Joint Program Office at the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center, will be the deputy director. They will lead a small team joined by representatives from the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community and NASA. Both officials also retain their current positions.
The Transformational Communications Office will coordinate the acquisition execution of system elements of the Transformational Communications Architecture under existing program offices using established authorities and budgets. This allows the office to use best practices program management and contracting resources across a broad spectrum of organizations.
The Transformational Communications Office has support from across the military services, the Defense Information Systems Agency, the Intelligence Community and NASA. Although service and agency acquisition executives retain all existing authorities, they will involve the Transformational Communications Office in decisions and activities that affect the Transformational Communications Architecture.
"Our military operations in Afghanistan have once again highlighted the critical importance that communications brings to success on the battlefield," said Mr. Teets. "We believe there is an urgent need to deliver a Transformational Communications Architecture because communications connectivity and interoperability is an imperative. This new office is going to help make that communications transformation a reality."
