One Navy Unit's Struggle With N/MCI

By Dan Verton

May 20, 2002 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - Susan Keen is CIO at NAVAIR in Patuxent River, Md., the first Navy command scheduled to switch to N/MCI-based IT services. Keen recently ordered a halt to deployment until significant technical problems could be fixed.
In an internal May 6 memorandum obtained by Computerworld, George Kalnasy Jr., the N/MCI transition manager for NAVAIR, outlined major technical problems that have made the switch to N/MCI "painful" for the organization's IT workers.
"It has been painful for the NAVAIR folks who have built and delivered successful IT capabilities to the Navy," wrote Kalnasy, adding that "inoperative functionalities" have made N/MCI ineffective.
According to a source at NAVAIR, which is one of the major test beds for N/MCI, two-thirds of the organization's users have been forced to use two computers - one to access N/MCI and one for various legacy applications that either haven't passed security testing or don't run on Windows 2000.
The Kalnasy memo states that as of May 3, the major challenges facing NAVAIR included problems with its Remote Access Service that affected 675 out of 1,096 users; legacy applications that weren't fully operational, requiring the use of a second desktop or kiosk; nonoperational secure Web access; and problems with the ability of the help desk to solve problems in a timely manner.
Rick Rosenberg, program executive at EDS, the Navy's prime N/MCI contractor, said that all of the NAVAIR problems have been fixed and that the company has since started deployment of additional seats.
Navy Capt. Chris Christopher, deputy director for plans and oversight of the N/MCI program, acknowledged that NAVAIR "has proved to be a real technical challenge." However, any statements by users that the program isn't working or in danger of imminent failure "simply aren't accurate," he said.
- Dan Verton

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