USTRANSCOM to take lead role in protecting defense infrastructure
USTRANSCOM's critical infrastructure protection defense infrastructure sector assurance plan will define actions the command will take to reduce risks to both physical and cyber infrastructure.
USTRANSCOM is the lead agent for the defense transportation sector. The final phase is currently scheduled for completion in fiscal year 2003.
USTRANSCOM has played an active role in developing the Department of Defense's critical infrastructure protection program development.
The command has designated a chief infrastructure assurance officer (CIAO), a command-wide working group, held workshops to develop the program, and held conferences with other national and defense transportation sector organizations.
The transportation sector focuses on eight primary functions: deployment/redeployment, sustainment, patient movement, passenger movement, cargo movement, personal property movement, vendor shipments, and special missions.
The critical infrastructure protection program will follow a four-phase action plan.
"Our future is dependent on others and other people's technology and infrastructure. This effort will involve the whole transportation community-a vertical integration of critical infrastructure (physical and cyber) and its potential vulnerabilities," said Army Col. Darrell L. Roll, CIP program manager for USTRANSCOM.
Interdependence requires a coordinated effort.
"We've become so interdependent and that is why we must take a simple, but coordinated approach to a complex problem," Roll said. "The approach allows a planned, phased approach to identifying what is critical, identifying risks and fixes needed, and consequence management when vulnerabilities become a reality."
Phase one will focus efforts on program definition. Actions in this phase include team development, sector definition, process prototyping, hiring contract support personnel, identify and assess sector infrastructure assets and developing a sector action plan.
In phase two the organization will spotlight prevention measures. The USTRANSCOM CIP team will continue to build the action plan, analyze and assess capabilities, assess vulnerabilities, estimate risks, take steps to prevent vulnerabilities, and evaluate threats.
Phase three will see the program concentrate on detection and response to infrastructure disruption. Team members will finalize indications, warning, monitoring and reporting mechanisms. The team will also evaluate mitigation capabilities and reconstitution process.
The final phase, phase four, will evaluate detection and response measures. The team will test response capabilities, refine reconstitution procedures, conduct an operational test, establish policies and procedures, and monitor funding programs for critical infrastructure.
The Transportation Component Commands (Air Mobility Command, Military Sealift Command and Military Transportation Management Command, including MTMC Transportation Engineering Agency) and the command directorates within USTRANSCOM play key roles in protecting the infrastructure.
TRANSCOM's Critical Infratructure Protection Program translates requirements from current DOD Directives and Presidential directives. The President issued a Presidential Decision Directive entitled Critical Infrastructure Protection to initiate a national program to prepare for future threats to both physical and cyber infrastructure.
The directive created a national structure which delineates responsibilities over nine sectors and defined special function agencies. The Department of Defense is among the special function agencies. DOD defines ten defense sectors and assigns defense transportation to USTRANSCOM.
The national plan directs the Department of Defense to focus on readiness and operations, national and international infrastructure, national defense, and global projection.
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