The year 2000 computer problem will not threaten national security because the Defense Department is working hard to fix its most important computer systems, the Pentagon's second-ranking official said last week. But DoD can expect to be roundly criticized for minor systems failures anyway, he said.
In a speech at the Fortune 500 Chief Information Officers Forum in Aspen, Colo., Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre predicted the nation's most important defense systems will not malfunction at the turn of the century, but the Pentagon does expect some glitches.
"I don't believe our nation's security is going to be at risk. We're, for example, taking each one--there are 76 systems that are involved in nuclear command and control--we're taking every one of those and we're doing dedicated enterprise testing on those to make sure there isn't any problem there," Hamre said. "But I think we're probably going to be the poster child for failure. Nobody cares if the Park Service's computers don't come on. But what's going to happen if some don't in DoD? Let's face it, we're going to be the poster child for failure if something happens, even if it's trivial in scale. People are going to really try to make fun of us."
The Defense Department has at least 28,000 computer systems, 2,800 of which are considered "mission-critical." So far, the department has fixed about a thousand of its mission-critical systems, Hamre said. The Clinton administration has set a March 1999 deadline for agencies to complete fixes of their most important systems.
Last month, the Pentagon released a list of 30 mission-critical computer systems that would not be Y2K-compliant by the administration deadline. For some systems, including the Army's Enhanced Tactical Combat Service Support Computer System and the Defense Attache Worldwide Network, the predicted compliance date isn't until December 1999. No completion date has been set for the much-troubled Army Standard Installation/Division Personnel System.
Hamre said the department has much work ahead of itself, citing embedded chips, communications links with other nations and extremely outdated, hidden codes as particular worry spots.
Another problem bogging down Y2K efforts is the organizational structure of the department, Hamre said.
"We are still largely dominated by stovepipe organizations. We automated our stovepipes to reinforce their bureaucratic rigidity," he said.
Asked about international concerns, Hamre said the U.S. would work with other nations to address the problem, but DoD has to get its own house in order.
"We've got our hands full just trying to get our own problems fixed," Hamre said.
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