Marines eye thin client infrastructure to slim down IT outlays

Department of Defense

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The Marine Corps eventually could end up with more thin clients than PCs working off its networks as part of a shift to a virtual desktop environment, but such a move also has obvious pitfalls, Brig. Gen. Kevin Nally, the Marine Corps chief information officer, said here yesterday at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Cyberspace Symposium.

The Corps in 2011 equipped 200 senior officers working on a classified network with thin clients -- dumb terminals with only a keyboard and monitor -- which get their computing power from a remote server. But earlier this year someone literally unplugged the network cable, Nally said, an action that did little to advance the cause of thin client computing.

Despite that setback, the Marines have pushed ahead with industry research through a request for information , which closed Feb. 7, on the addition of a virtualized desktop interface bundle to the service's common hardware suite.

By turning to thin clients, the service could increase network security by putting all software on remote servers instead of desktop hard drives that users can tinker with. The model also could cut costs at a time when Marines have little money for new computer hardware. Teri Takai, the Defense Department's chief information officer, backed a departmentwide move toward thin computing in remarks here Wednesday.

Nally said he needs help developing reprogrammable software that can run across a wide range of platforms, including tablet computers. Tablets need to accommodate the military Common Access Cards, which allow users to sign on to Defense networks. For that reason, Nally says he uses a BlackBerry Playbook, which has a card reader.

In the field, Marines need more portable solar-powered systems to charge batteries, he said. Last year, a patrol from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, used solar panels in Afghanistan to recharge batteries for two weeks, which almost certainly saved lives because no one had to undertake risky battery resupply missions, he said.

In November 2011, President Obama said he planned to eventually deploy 2,500 Marines to Darwin, Australia, and Nally has been working with the Defense Information Systems Agency to develop a communications plan for that remote outpost.

Looking forward to a more austere budget, Nally said when it comes to information technology and communications acquisitions, the Marine Corps will have to separate what it needs from what it wants.