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Bruce Miller |
Extending MITRE Support to the Fifth Military
Service: Miller Helps the U.S. Coast Guard Prepare for Missions
Old and New
Bruce Miller
February 2004
Bruce Miller brought to MITRE knowledge of the military and extensive
experience in information technology. It was that background that
recommended him to his managers at the Center for Enterprise Modernization
(CEM) as it took on a new client—the U.S. Coast Guard.
It turned out to be an inspired choice. Miller's 20 years in the
Navy gave him a keen appreciation of military culture, although
there are some differences between the Navy and the Coast Guard.
That knowledge has proven important for the team Miller is leading
in an effort to develop an enterprise architecture (EA) to meet
the Coast Guard's evolving needs.
"You want a project leader to be able to understand the customer,
the customer problem set, what they need—and then to be able
to apply the technical capabilities that MITRE has within that customer's
domain," Miller says. "I think the real enjoyment is being able
to relate to both disciplines—not only the domain knowledge
and understanding of the Coast Guard's missions, but also the application
of the technical procedures that are used in developing their enterprise
architecture."
An EA, a strategic information base designed to help an organization
better prepare to meet present and future responsibilities, is especially
important for the Coast Guard. The agency is now part of the Department
of Homeland Security and will take on an expanded role, one that
will require a new focus and an EA flexible enough to accommodate
it. Additionally, the Coast Guard is undergoing its largest modernization
program ever called Deepwater. This program will upgrade or replace
all of their long-range cutters, fixed and rotary wing aircraft,
and provide improved command and control systems.
"While the Coast Guard is the nation's fifth military service,
they view themselves fundamentally as lifesavers, which has been
their central mission. So it took some time to really understand
how their missions and culture differed from the Navy's," he adds.
But, thanks to his expertise, it didn't take as much time as it
might have. Because of his knowledge of military culture, he was
able to work with his team on developing a roadmap for the EA effort
that was tailored to meet Coast Guard needs. Another asset was his
experience in building CEM, still a fledgling federally funded research
and development center (FFRDC) when Miller joined MITRE in March
2000. He helped recruit many of the personnel who worked on projects
for the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (now, like the Coast
Guard, a part of DHS) and the Internal Revenue Service. Miller also
drew on his experience leading the Program Management and Analysis
Practice Area, one of several practice areas within CEM that focus
on sharing information and experience drawn from multiple enterprise
modernization programs and training staffers to support modernization
more effectively.
Because of early success with the EA task, MITRE has been asked
to assist with the modernization of the Commandant's command center
at Coast Guard headquarters, and with an assessment of changes that
may be needed for the Deepwater program resulting from increased
demands on the Coast Guard following 9/11. "The most exciting part
of working at MITRE is being able to draw resources and experience
from across the company to assist on Coast Guard problems. Our experience
base and talent are really tremendous."
Miller first became aware of MITRE in the mid-1980s. While still
a Naval officer, Miller was a member of the board of directors of
the Military Operations Research Society, which sometimes held board
meetings in a room just across the hall from Miller's present-day
offices in McLean, Virginia. After retiring from the Navy, he spent
time at the Institute for Defense Analyses (another FFRDC), and
in the private sector. He also worked at Mitretek, a company spun
off from MITRE in 1996—an experience that gave him a taste
of the MITRE culture and paved the way for his eventual decision
to join the company.
"I certainly always had [working at MITRE] in the back of my mind,"
Miller says. "Even though [Mitretek] was a separate company, it
was very similar in terms of the way it did business and the type
of activities that it engaged in. Everybody that I worked with were
prior MITRE employees, and so I found that to be a very good cultural
match for me in terms of my values and what I wanted to do. At the
time CEM contacted me, the challenges were very interesting and
sounded like a good opportunity that I'd enjoy and make a difference
with.
"I'm proud of the relationship we've built with the Coast Guard
and the work we've done in helping to move them forward."
—by W. Russell Woolard
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