Wherein a civilian and former innocent is exposed to a heaping dose of the military-industrial complex... ;)
[For those not in the know: West 2010 is an annual gathering of policymakers, military personnel, academics and industry leaders to discuss issues related to naval policy, strategy and procurement. This year's event was heavily focused on the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), a congressionally-mandated review of Defense Department goals, configuration and planning. The 2010 QDR was released the day before the conference began, making this the first opportunity for most in attendance to analyze and discuss the document. The West 2010 Conference also includes a large number of exhibitors--mostly industrial, though there were also think tanks and similar organizations such as conference sponsors USNI and AFCEA].
Though for the last five years I have been up to my eyeballs in the personal end of the U.S. military--the experiences and needs of the individual warfighters--I have very little experience on the policy and industry end of things. That made attendance at West 2010 fascinating but head-swimmmingly intense.
Walking into the exhibit hall, the phrase "belly of the beast" came to mind. It was a sea of suits--mostly black and dark blue, with accents of white and khaki or green--seemingly the only approved colors of the tribe. Booth after booth was filled with salespeople--many obviously former military--and adorned with pictures of smart-looking soldiers using their devices, with all the proper buzzwords for someone looking for the latest foolproof wonder that would make the U.S. military thoroughly invincible. Or at least more effective...
I really wasn't sure what I had to offer by blogging about the conference, especially after seeing the hall, but I figured people more savvy than I knew better and so I persevered. I'm certainly glad I did, because the speeches and panel discussions were extremely informative and eye-opening... though I may not ever sleep as well as I did when I was more ignorant.
Besides the QDR, the conference focused on information systems/networks and how the military hopes to use and protect them. The short version of the topic is that we are extremely vulnerable, but we don't know how we're going to protect our constitutional rights and our information/cyber infrastructure at the same time. We are being attacked on a daily basis in "probing" or unsuccessful attacks, but there's a lot of non-classified stuff out there that isn't known by the general public, and most of the time we don't know from where the attacks truly originate. As the military relies more and more on cyber technology in both defensive and offensive tactical situations, as well as information/intel anaysis and communication, it becomes more and more vulnerable to cyber-based attacks--and because of the interconnectedness of the cyber world, defending against attack is not something the military can address in isolation.
Last week I listened in on some fascinating discussions with my more-expert fellow bloggers and some of the panelists, and it made for a frightening education. I couldn't help but think of something I've heard a few times, usually in context of marvelling that America manages to survive and thrive. Something like: God protects children, dumb animals and the United States of America.
However, I came away from the week both heartened and concerned--heartened to see the seriousness with which many good and creative people are thinking about the defense issues our country faces (whether or not those same people can put things into motion as they should be is another matter), and concerned to see how serious are the threats we face and how cumbersome the framework within which we must address them. And although I was thoroughly impressed by the Vice Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he freaked us out a bit on a certain point... You'll have to read my next post to find out what I mean...
Huge thanks to USNI and USNI Blog Editor Mary Ripley for arranging for me and some amazing bloggers to attend the conference--I was honored to rub elbows with all of them. I had a fantastic time, and felt like a sponge absorbing all the information to which I was exposed. Hopefully I can share some of that here...
Up Next: General Cartwright's speech
[For those not in the know: West 2010 is an annual gathering of policymakers, military personnel, academics and industry leaders to discuss issues related to naval policy, strategy and procurement. This year's event was heavily focused on the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), a congressionally-mandated review of Defense Department goals, configuration and planning. The 2010 QDR was released the day before the conference began, making this the first opportunity for most in attendance to analyze and discuss the document. The West 2010 Conference also includes a large number of exhibitors--mostly industrial, though there were also think tanks and similar organizations such as conference sponsors USNI and AFCEA].
Though for the last five years I have been up to my eyeballs in the personal end of the U.S. military--the experiences and needs of the individual warfighters--I have very little experience on the policy and industry end of things. That made attendance at West 2010 fascinating but head-swimmmingly intense.
Walking into the exhibit hall, the phrase "belly of the beast" came to mind. It was a sea of suits--mostly black and dark blue, with accents of white and khaki or green--seemingly the only approved colors of the tribe. Booth after booth was filled with salespeople--many obviously former military--and adorned with pictures of smart-looking soldiers using their devices, with all the proper buzzwords for someone looking for the latest foolproof wonder that would make the U.S. military thoroughly invincible. Or at least more effective...
I really wasn't sure what I had to offer by blogging about the conference, especially after seeing the hall, but I figured people more savvy than I knew better and so I persevered. I'm certainly glad I did, because the speeches and panel discussions were extremely informative and eye-opening... though I may not ever sleep as well as I did when I was more ignorant.
Besides the QDR, the conference focused on information systems/networks and how the military hopes to use and protect them. The short version of the topic is that we are extremely vulnerable, but we don't know how we're going to protect our constitutional rights and our information/cyber infrastructure at the same time. We are being attacked on a daily basis in "probing" or unsuccessful attacks, but there's a lot of non-classified stuff out there that isn't known by the general public, and most of the time we don't know from where the attacks truly originate. As the military relies more and more on cyber technology in both defensive and offensive tactical situations, as well as information/intel anaysis and communication, it becomes more and more vulnerable to cyber-based attacks--and because of the interconnectedness of the cyber world, defending against attack is not something the military can address in isolation.
Last week I listened in on some fascinating discussions with my more-expert fellow bloggers and some of the panelists, and it made for a frightening education. I couldn't help but think of something I've heard a few times, usually in context of marvelling that America manages to survive and thrive. Something like: God protects children, dumb animals and the United States of America.
However, I came away from the week both heartened and concerned--heartened to see the seriousness with which many good and creative people are thinking about the defense issues our country faces (whether or not those same people can put things into motion as they should be is another matter), and concerned to see how serious are the threats we face and how cumbersome the framework within which we must address them. And although I was thoroughly impressed by the Vice Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he freaked us out a bit on a certain point... You'll have to read my next post to find out what I mean...
Huge thanks to USNI and USNI Blog Editor Mary Ripley for arranging for me and some amazing bloggers to attend the conference--I was honored to rub elbows with all of them. I had a fantastic time, and felt like a sponge absorbing all the information to which I was exposed. Hopefully I can share some of that here...
Up Next: General Cartwright's speech
8 ^ )
You write about your experience of going to this conference. Though I tease you, I have the greatest respect for your willingness to go, this is especially true, *Now*!
You write, "....though I may not ever sleep as well as I did when I was more ignorant." My question, "Did your perceived ignorance take anything away from the factuality of the actual truth?" As you continue, you'll see the *Truth*, in a completely different light. Don't fight it, enjoy it."
Excellent post.
Right now I'm just taking the opportunities offered to me (and learning to not underestimate myself)... though I'm starting to drool over certain things like this: http://www.usni.org/conferences/details.asp?ID=36