NECC the sum of its parts

The Net-Enabled Command Capability (NECC) will replace the Global Command and Control System (GCSS) family of services, which includes GCCS-Joint, GCCS-Army, GCCS-Maritime and the GCCS-Air Force.

Increment 1 of NECC will include various elements in what will essentially be a hybrid capability, said Laura Knight, program manager for NECC at the Defense Information Systems Agency.

Where it makes sense, parts of the GCCS family of systems will be reused as the foundation of capability modules, what Knight called adapting the GCCS capability to the new architecture. Some elements of the system use parts of GCCS in as a back-end interface to enable capability modules to interact with the GCCS systems in the Global Information Grid computing nodes. This will be discontinued after the module development spirals are mature enough to provide the complete capability of the GCCS themselves. When that full capability exists and has been implemented in the local GIG nodes, the Defense Department will make its decision on transitioning from GCCS to NECC However, it’s not NECC’s responsibility to determine how this transition happens or when GCCS will finally shut down, Knight said.

The development of a common data model for all of DOD still needs work. That development is not the responsibility of NECC, but it is something the command has planned for and will use once it’s available, she said.