President Bush nominated John G. Grimes, a former Raytheon Co. vice president, to the top IT job last June; the Senate confirmed him in late October.

This isn't, however, his first stint at DOD. Although he had worked in industry for the last decade, he previously held senior DOD posts in counterintelligence and security countermeasures; in command, control and communications; and at the National Security Council. Just two hours after being sworn in and starting work as CIO, Grimes sat down with DEFENSE SYSTEMS editor Dawn S. Onley to discuss the job before him.

DEFENSE SYSTEMS: What are your immediate goals?
GRIMES: First, establish a true Information Age CIO. Specifically, we need to move out of the Industrial Age mentality that puts computers, data and their support in an administrative support role.

Instead, we must recognize that it is all about information, and we must view information as a strategic asset. Timely, accurate and trusted information lies at the heart of network-centric operations. Second, tell a clear and compelling story of where we are headed and why. Unlike designing a tank or launching a satellite, our transformation to network-centric operations is traversing new ground. We stand at the brink of an era when networked capabilities will increase efficiency, enhance mission success, save lives and potentially reduce force structure both at home and in theaters of operations.

Third, create a 21st century workforce of information pioneers. We have embarked on the most significant change in the Defense Department since the 1947 Key West Agreement that restructured the services. We have been through fundamental transformations in the past, and today we are at a similar crossroads.

DEFENSE SYSTEMS: What is your overall vision for DOD networking?
GRIMES: Net-enabled operations, while clearly complex, can actually be described quite simply.

It is all about ensuring timely and accurate information gets where it's needed, when it's needed and to those who need it most. It's about making sure that decision-makers at all levels can access the data that they need to make better decisions faster.

It's also about creating an environment where information sharing and collaboration are the norm, not the exception. Rather than the separate information stovepipes of the past, data must be organized, tagged and stored to make it visible, accessible and understandable.

"Unlike designing a tank or launching a satellite, our transformation to network-centric operations is traversing new ground."

DEFENSE SYSTEMS: Why are you right for this role?
GRIMES: I'd suggest to you that I've been in training for 50 years to qualify myself for this job. But I felt that after I was asked by the secretary and the White House to take this important position, I should agree to it. I'm here to make a change and hopefully to implement the department's transformation-and, of course, net-centric operations and IT are enablers to do that.

DEFENSE SYSTEMS: How will DOD make the leap from the Industrial Age to the Information Age for its IT programs?
GRIMES: We must ensure that every person in the department has the requisite skill to be part of the Information Age workforce. But even more important, we must excite, attract and leverage the cutting edge talent that it will take to reach the vision of network-centric operations. We must become a magnet and draw in the very best and the very brightest-and then keep them so engaged that they don't want to leave.

DEFENSE SYSTEMS: What are the primary technical issues or impediments to DOD information sharing and interoperability?
GRIMES: Surprisingly, creating the technical means to achieve net-enabled operations is not what keeps me up at night. While the challenge is significant, I believe there may be others that are even harder to address.

The National Defense Strategy clearly laid out our biggest challenge: changing behavior.

The second challenge, which lies somewhat beyond our control, is the increasing demands placed on the Defense budget. The global war on terrorism is consuming vast resources for both operations overseas and for equipment refurbishment and replacement. Balancing current ops with future capabilities is a well-known dilemma, but all the more so in wartime.

Finally, we are building the net-centric Global Information Grid while at the same time addressing the reality of legacy systems. IT capabilities have evolved far more rapidly than our ability to stay current. Due to extensive acquisition policies and timelines, systems only recently fielded reflect decade-old technology.

Our challenge is to figure out what we can curtail, what we need to amend and where we need to start from scratch.

DEFENSE SYSTEMS: Tell me about your previous job at Raytheon.
GRIMES: I was vice president of Washington operations for intelligence and information systems. The focus was on critical infrastructure protection programs for DOD, which the department now relies on for its critical command and control and business systems. I was also involved in nuclear command and control assessments of Defense operations.

And then also I sat on the Defense Science Board and a number of taskforces on information sharing and information assurance protection. So I stayed involved, especially in the last 10 years, in the Defense IT field.

DEFENSE SYSTEMS: How connected are you?
GRIMES: You might enjoy this one. The CEO of Raytheon instructed me to get a BlackBerry probably four or five years ago, and I said, "I'm already tethered to you by my cell phone." But I researched it and found I could get a BlackBerry, but it was going to cost $7,000 to put a server in to operate on the Raytheon system, so I never got one.

I show up here, and, in 30 seconds, I have a BlackBerry and I'm receiving continuous messages.

DEFENSE SYSTEMS: What do you do for fun? What are your hobbies and interests?
GRIMES: Golf is my pastime and hobby. That and traveling, a number of cruises. I used to fly airplanes, ski and race motorcycles but that goes way back when I was young and did aerobatics and crazy things on motorcycles.

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