Joint Military Operations: Weaknesses in DoD's Process for Certifying C4I Systems Interoperability
Abstract
The military services have a long history of interoperability problems during joint operations. For example, the success of the Persian Gulf war in 1991 a major joint military operation was hampered by a lack of basic interoperability. The current certification requirement was established to help address these problems. The Joint Staffs Director for C4 systems (J-6) is assigned primary responsibility for ensuring compliance with the certification requirement. DISA'S Joint Interoperability Test Command is the sole certifier of C41 systems. According to Joint Staff guidance, commanders in chief, the services, and DOD agencies are required to adequately budget for certification testing. They can either administer their own tests with Test Command oversight or ask the Test Command to administer them. Certification is intended to help provide the warfighter with C41 systems that are interoperable and to enable forces to exchange information effectively during a joint mission. Specifically, certification by the Test Command is confirmation that (1) a C41 system has undergone appropriate testing, (2) the applicable requirements for interoperability have been met, and (3) the system is ready for joint use. However, while a system may pass certification testing, it may not have been tested against all systems with which it may eventually interoperate. This is because some systems with which they must interoperate become available later and commanders sometimes use systems in new ways that were not envisioned during testing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA339040
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office