Starting in October last year, several teams of Reserve Sailors have been supporting Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) by conducting surveys of Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) hub locations across the country to identify ways to improve network connectivity for the fleet.
The teams, part of the NAVWAR Reserve Program (NWRP), are a diverse, high-performing group of more than 400 Reserve Sailors, embedded amongst numerous units worldwide in fleet concentration areas, space facilities, high tech centers and NAVWAR centers of excellence.
“Sustainment and modernization of naval networks must be done with a focus on enabling warfighting and doing so with the urgency required to deliver the network that the Navy needs,” said Rear Adm. Eric Ruttenberg, NWRP Chief Engineer. “The efforts by our Reserve Component Sailors are critical in achieving our Department of Navy Information Superiority Vision.”
NWRP Sailors with the technical expertise to thoroughly review the status of the facilities and identify areas in need of improvement were brought in to ensure the quick assessment of key sites.
Teams from NWRP coordinated with Program Executive Office (PEO) Digital and Enterprise Services, Naval Enterprise Network (PMW 205), Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, Naval Warfare Center Pacific and Naval Sea Systems Command to gain access to datacenters, telecommunications closets and equipment rooms to ensure a thorough survey of all necessary facilities.
During the site surveys, NWRP Sailors documented and photographed the state of cabling, cooling, electrical safety, physical safety and other related items that had the potential to create bottlenecks in the networks and slow down fleet communications.
The information gathered will better prepare NAVWAR 5.0 for the planning of corrective actions.
The surveys are being completed on dozens of sites across the country with safety and health of the team being a top priority during the pandemic.
Upon completion of all site surveys, additional teams of NAVWAR Sailors will revisit the sites and execute corrective actions. These include fixing or organizing cabling, repairing loose grounding straps, removing or remediating physical hazards, improving equipment cooling, and testing unused fiber in preparation for significant routing, switching and firewall upgrades planned in 2021.
The mission of NAVWAR is to identify, develop, deliver and sustain information warfighting capabilities and services that enable naval, joint, coalition and other national missions operating in warfighting domains from seabed to space and through cyberspace. NAVWAR consists of more than 11,000 civilian, active duty and Reserve professionals located around the world.