BRIEFING BOOK
Stop the presses. The Defense Logistics Agency has hired KPMG Peat Marwick of New York to review the Defense Automated Printing Service operations with an eye toward privatization. The fiscal 1999 Defense Authorization Act mandated the independent review. DOD must submit the findings to Congress by March 31. "The study is intended to be an objective assessment of DAPS' current structure and operations, so we can have a valid and reliable database from which to make decisions
Stop the presses. The Defense Logistics Agency has
hired KPMG Peat Marwick of New York to review the Defense Automated Printing Service
operations with an eye toward privatization.
The fiscal 1999 Defense Authorization Act mandated the independent review. DOD must
submit the findings to Congress by March 31.
The study is intended to be an objective assessment of DAPS current
structure and operations, so we can have a valid and reliable database from which to make
decisions on how and from whom the Defense Department obtains printing and automation
support in the future, said Fred Baillie, executive director of resources, planning
and performance for the Defense Logistics Support Command.
Sore joints. Four of DODs five joint centers may be unable to
execute their missions because of date code problems, according to a report the DOD
inspector general released last month.
The report, Joint Centers Year 2000 Issues, found that the DOD centers have not
done enough to prepare their systems for 2000.
Several of the centers, including the Joint Battle Center in Suffolk, Va., have not
conducted assessment, certification and documentation on all mission-critical systems;
developed contingency plans, or coordinated remediation efforts with the U.S. Atlantic
Command and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, IG auditors found.
Because the Joint Battle Center has not dealt with its own computing problems, it may
be unable to participate fully in the year 2000 operational evaluations scheduled with
DODs nine unified commands for next year, the report said.
Code maintenance. The Standard Systems Group at the Gunter Annex of
Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., last month finished a $3.5 million date code conversion
project for the Air Forces Core Automated Maintenance System.
The Standards Systems Group had been working on CAMS fixes for nearly two years.
The CAMS year 2000 team deployed the new software release to bases in the United States
and Pacific in September. The upgrade for European bases wrapped up last month.
CAMS has interfaces with many legacy systems, including the Reliability and
Maintainability Information System. An estimated 120,000 aircraft, missile, communications
and electronics maintenance personnel at 78 DOD installations around the world tap into
CAMS for maintenance information.
New lease. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization
at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., has awarded MCI Worldcom a set of fixed-price contracts for
leased commercial communications services at locations in the United States, Europe and
Southwest Asia.
Gregory Slabodkin
gslabodkin@gcn.com