Intercepts

CIO confusion. SecDef William Cohen who should have more insight than anyone into the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (except for Clinger) waited until June 2 - one business day after Emmett Paige Jr. departed the building as ASD/C3I - to send out a policy memo designating the ASD/C3I as the DOD CIO. This approach to policy-making ensures that no one will tinker with the intent of the act or the Cohen memo because the memo appeared after the slot was vacated. Cynics say this shows a real Hill approach to making policy: Anything goes as long as you have the right paperwork. Optimists believe the memo serves as a strong indication that Cohen has abandoned the notion of splitting ASD/C3I into a CIO organization and an ASD for intelligence. Don't look for anything to happen on this front soon as Cohen has other priorities such as developing dating rules for the armed forces.

* Airborne NT. My Fort Bragg antenna site has picked up strong signals that the entire Airborne Corps has signed on to Windows NT as its next-generation architecture along with the usual add-ons of Exchange 5.0 and Internet Explorer which probably has WebTV and Comcast cable service thrown in by Peter Hayes and the gang over at Microsoft Federal. I'm picking up faint signals that all computers in the Airborne will yell "Geronimo" when booted up.

* GTSI and Stamis II? Look for GTSI to broaden its reach beyond the box business with a concerted bid for the $400 million-plus Army Stamis II contract with former Zenith Data Systems Corp. pooh-bah and now GTSI VP Joel Lipkin leading the charge. The box portion definitely dovetails well with GTSI's current business - an assortment of laptops desktops and servers that the Army wants to buy at ridiculously low prices. But Stamis II also has a strong systems integration and services component which amounts to a new line of business for GTSI. Other potential bidders include services and integration veterans Telos Corp. and BTG Inc. Don't look for a bid from Electronic Data Systems Corp. on this one.

* Gauss to N6. My Courthouse Road mobile unit has picked up medium-strength signals that Rear Adm. John Gauss soon will leave DISA for the Navy Space and Electronic Warfare shop headed by Vice Adm. Arthur Cebrowski. This will make Gauss the boot admiral at N6 which already has quite a collection of admirals including deputy N6 Rear Adm. Richard Wilson and Rear Adm. Robert Nutwell director of allied and fleet requirements.

* Hot ticket. AFCEA has tapped Barbara Connor president of Bell Atlantic Federal Systems as the speaker at the Advanced Technology Luncheon during the annual TechNet confab at the D.C. Convention Center next week. This marks the first time a woman has spoken at an AFCEA Technology luncheon. Connor is definitely not your usual inside-the-Beltway type but rather a former Bell Atlantic treasurer who decided to stop counting the money and start making it.