The U.S. Coast Guard, which had enormous responsibilities even before 9/11, now finds itself playing a central role in the drive to enhance the nation's security at home.

The Coast Guard is now a member of the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a primary objective of which is preventing and responding to terrorist activities. To carry out this and its other functions effectively, the Coast Guard must have the best possible information, as well as clear channels of communication within the agency and between it and the other agencies with which it works.

MITRE, by developing an Enterprise Architecture (EA) for the Coast Guard, is helping the organization put just such a system in place.

MITRE's Center for Enterprise Modernization (CEM), which operates the Federally Funded Research and Development Center sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service, is developing the EA for the Coast Guard. An EA is a strategic information base that defines an enterprise's missions, the information used in carrying out the missions, and the technology and systems necessary to perform the missions. It contains a current or baseline architecture, a target architecture, and a transition plan of project investments. The EA guides investments in the information technology an agency needs to support the achievement of the mission capabilities identified in the target architecture, and guides the implementation of new processes and technologies in response to changing mission needs. The information it contains and the structure in which it conveys that information enable better decision making and more effective use of resources across an organization.

How will an EA help the Coast Guard? Among other things, an EA will help the service meet one of its most urgent needs: the enhancement of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). MDA is a concept that the Coast Guard defines as "the effective knowledge of all activities and elements in the maritime domain that could represent threats to the safety, security or environment of the United States or its citizens." That means the Coast Guard will better know who is where at what time, so that it can sort out "friendly" from "enemy" from "neutral." It means being able to track targets of interest ("high-interest vessels") about which it may have received information through intelligence communication channels. It means knowing which of its own assets can be diverted to intercept a high-interest vessel away from U.S. shores. And it means being able to communicate all that information to other components within DHS and to such other organizations as the U.S. Navy.

The MITRE EA team draws its members from CEM and other centers across the corporation in order to bring the wide range of MITRE experience to the Coast Guard. "That's the essence of what we're about—to look at the lessons we have learned from our work with other government agencies and reapply them to new opportunities," says Bruce Miller, lead for CEM's Coast Guard work.

Toward Modernization

To achieve a higher level of real-time situational awareness, the Coast Guard is modernizing the way it does business. In tracking data from ships at sea, for example, it will replace the paper chart, plastic overlay, and grease pencil with an automated software-based situation map capability. Modernization entails the development of better information flows, appropriate displays, and a command center infrastructure.

Through its "Deepwater Program" the Coast Guard is modernizing or replacing a number of its cutters and aircraft. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

The Coast Guard is modernizing a significant portion of its enterprise, a massive undertaking that includes replacing and modernizing its aging fleet of cutters and aircraft, and their supporting command and control and logistics systems, through its Integrated Deepwater System Program. It is also modernizing the maritime "911" VHF radio system known as Rescue 21. Among the results of this modernization, which will be guided by the EA, will be the Coast Guard's enhanced capability to develop MDA.

The DOD has established a framework for what an architecture should look like in the Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) environment. This framework is relevant to the operational aspects of the Coast Guard. But the Coast Guard also has business processes, including human resources, financial, payroll, and procurement systems, that need to be responsive to the Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF) driven by the CIO Council and the Office of Management and Budget. So CEM is developing the Coast Guard's EA using a hybrid of these two distinct but complementary frames of reference.

Going From Strength to Strength

On top of its new emphasis on homeland security, the Coast Guard is still responsible for fighting the flow of illegal drugs into the country, intercepting illegal immigration, enforcing fishing laws, promoting marine safety, and conducting search and rescue. In addition, the Coast Guard is the fifth military service and maintains a role in providing national defense distinct from its role in homeland security. Today, the Coast Guard has to do more with existing resources in order to continue to carry out all the missions that draw on those resources.

In developing the EA, CEM has addressed the Coast Guard's key missions within a five-part model designed to illustrate the flow of information throughout the service and with civilian and government agency partners.

"Because of our experience with both civilian agency and DOD architectures, we were able to help the Coast Guard develop architecture descriptions for its current operations within the very short time frame of four months," says Rick Tucker, Principal Enterprise Architect and lead project architect. Additional architecture work products were developed for a number of operational scenarios. These products have been used in coordinating with DHS architecture efforts. Subject matter experts identified gaps in operational capabilities in the baseline architecture, which will be addressed in the development of the target architecture and transition plan.

Success Measured by What Doesn't Happen

How will MITRE and the public know if the Coast Guard's modernization efforts are successful? The goal for the Coast Guard's homeland security mission is that a terrorist threat at a faraway airport or seaport or on the open seas can be headed off before the threat can appear, with potentially destructive consequences, at home.

"The impact will be a better level of public safety," says Miller. "Will the average person on the street see it or feel it? Probably not, because in addition to helping the Coast Guard protect our ports and our marine environment, ensure the safety of commercial vessels, interdict illegal immigrants, and fulfill all its other missions, enhanced MDA will help the Coast Guard develop a greater ability to detect threats to our homeland and to better deploy available assets to keep those threats away. The absence of an explosion or other terrorist attack on U.S. soil may be the best indication that the Coast Guard's contribution to homeland security mission is effective."

—by W. Russell Woolard

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