Army to shift CIO from Reserves

The Army plans to eliminate its chief information officer position for its Reserve components as the Defense Department puts into play its transformation plans for the Reserves and the National Guard.

According to Army Maj. Gen. John Scott, the Army's chief integration officer, the Army is going to "disestablish" the Reserves' CIO shops and let the Army CIO assume control.

Patrick Swan, a spokesman for the Office of the Army Chief Information Officer, said the transition is scheduled to take place at the end of the month.

Scott said the move is intended to streamline the information technology acquisition and implementation process and ensure that all aspects of the armed forces are marching in step.

"We have the Army and Air National Guard and the Reserves located right next to each other, but running on three different networks," Scott said. "We can't integrate, we can't transform into one force without working on one network."

The Army Reserve CIO is Daniel Wiener II. The Army CIO, Lt. Gen. Peter Cuviello, is slated to retire this summer. His replacement, already confirmed by the Senate, is Maj. Gen. Steven Boutelle.

Marine Maj. Jeff Jurgensen, spokesman for the Marine Forces Reserve, said he was not aware of any organizational shuffling set to take place within the Marines and does not think it likely that the position of Marine Forces Reserve Assistant Chief of Staff, G-6 — equivalent to a CIO — would be eliminated.

"The Marine Forces Reserve, our guidance, systems, and standard operating procedures are already uniform from active duty to reserve," Jurgensen said.

Navy CIO David Wennergren said the Naval Reserve Forces are already within the Navy Department and under his control.

"I think that this could be an issue unique to the Army and its Reserves/National Guard," Wennergren said. "The Naval Reserve Force already is a command within the Department of the Navy, and they do fall under my purview. We work with them regularly, and they have been involved in a lot of innovative activity."

Scott said he did not know what would happen to the Army Reserve CIO's position, whether it would be completely eliminated or brought in under the command of the service CIO.