Bob Goldblum
Associate Editor
If there is one good thing we can say about our Government, it is that it has a great deal of momentum. Thus, in spite of the significant number of key players who recently retired from the Government E3 community, the EMC programs continue to move ahead without a hitch. One can keep up-to-date on the Government’s latest DoD E3 programs by attending the upcoming DoD Electromagnetic Environmental Effects Program Review scheduled for 23-25 March 1999 at the Colorado Springs Sheraton Hotel in Colorado Springs, CO. This Program was initiated six years ago to bring Government, industry E3, and spectrum management personnel together to assess overall program progress and exchange technical information pertinent to E3 and spectrum management related topics. Although most of the attendees are from the Government, industry is invited to participate. Government design engineers, system integrators, personnel involved in standards, innovators of specialized E3 automated software tools, etc. can mingle freely with their Industry counterparts. This year’s Program Review will feature guest speakers from the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Joint Staff, Service System Commands, Service Laboratories and private industry. Those interested in registering for the event should contact Mr. George Johnson, R & B Enterprises, 703-486-7023, E-mail: gjohnson@RBitem.com, for general hotel and conference information.
Progress is slow but steady in the MIL-STD-461 revision process. A draft of the “E” version is currently being circulated among Government personnel. When it is released after completion of the coordination process, the intention is to post it for public access on the Internet at that time. If the Committee does not need to deal with many technical comments, MIL-STD-461E should be released by early Summer 1999. For more information about the status of this standard, the point of contact is Mr. John Zentner at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, E-mail: zentnejc@asc-en.wpafb.af.mil.
The latest upgrade of DoD’s Acquisition Streamlining and Standardization Information System (ASSIST) was activated on 1 October 1998. The DoD developed Assist capability as part of the Government’s move to a paperless acquisition environment. Assist allows users to download full text PDF versions of military and federal specifications, standards, commercial item descriptions, qualified manufacturers and qualified parts lists. Assist can be accessed at web site https://assist.daps.mil. Users must register for Assist, but there is no charge for registration nor a charge to access documents.
The Government continues to publish its Joint E3 Bulletin through the auspices of the Joint Spectrum Center. The January issue should be on line at www.jsc.mil or www.RBitem.com by the end of January.