Podcast: CIO Crossroads – U.S. Army Edition

*This interview was conducted in June 2020, some numbers mentioned in the podcast may no longer be current.

Federal IT’s ability to sustain delivery of vital services to citizens stands out as one of the brightest aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. MeriTalk is chronicling the untold stories of that heavy lift, and the lessons it holds for the future as the nation embarks on the journey toward a more certain future. In the latest chapter of CIO Crossroads, we look at the U.S. Army’s IT evolution four months into the fight.

Foresight, Innovation Drive Army’s Pandemic Response – CIO Q&A

In the U.S. Army and the other military service branches, one thing matters above all others, protecting our people and executing on the mission. In the spirit of “forewarned is forearmed,” Army leadership began to take action in February to adapt operations for the pandemic gathering force beyond the horizon.

As part of the Defense Department’s Telework Readiness Task Force that enabled more than 900,000 remote work user accounts by mid-April, the Army adapted and innovated at speed. The number of soldiers using Commercial Virtual Remote (CVR)/Microsoft Teams went from zero to the current state of 348,000, while the Pentagon itself jumped from 5 percent telework to 90 percent in less than a month.

In the role of operating and defending networks, the Army’s Cyber Command/Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) unit worked to boost enterprise capacity four-fold; half of all medical interactions went virtual; and the long-sought goal of virtual training capabilities got a big jumpstart to 5,000 classrooms in 14 locations and at 33 different schools. As personnel quickly adapted to virtual technology, Army IT trained them up with plain-language cybersecurity instruction.

In an exclusive interview with MeriTalk, Army CIO Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford says the quick pivot to a more virtual footing reflects two things that the service branch does very well: adapt and innovate. After just a few months, Army personnel have successfully worked the new tech into their battle rhythm and aren’t looking back.

MeriTalk: Please tell us about your largest priorities and greatest successes during the COVID-19 pandemic. What are you most proud of?

Lt. Gen. Crawford: In the context of priorities, Army leadership set four priorities for us back in February – protect the force, maintain readiness, support the whole of nation effort, while continuing to preserve the capability to build the future Army. These priorities were pretty powerful in setting conditions for us to be where we are right now, which is up and running, Army Strong, just like you want us to be.

The Army is big – the third largest organization of any kind in the world – and we do two things really, really well. We adapt and we innovate. I think both of those have been on display, given the Pre-COVID missions that we’ve been able to keep going. Among the things I’m most proud of – because there are many – is how quickly the Army adapted and innovated.

MeriTalk: Where do you see challenges?

Lt. Gen. Crawford: The greatest challenge, because there are several, has to do with the rapid expansion of the cyber-attack surface.

If you think about what we did almost overnight, we went from defending the traditional perimeter – post camps, stations, and the Pentagon – to literally defending the living room because of telework.

We went from probably five percent of the people teleworking to about 90 percent of the Pentagon teleworking within 30 days. In weeks, we had to go from defending the traditional perimeters – and I would argue we are the best in the world at that when you bring in NSA,