Intercepts

Hall and Oates, and Gen. Croom?
Believe it or not, they are part of the lineup this month at the Warner Theatre, a Washington, D.C., landmark. You can also check out former TV star Valerie Harper and a jazz band.

No, you won’t catch Air Force Lt. Gen. Charles Croom, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency, singing “Rich Girl” with Hall and Oates. But vendors — even aging rock fans — will find Croom’s gig at the Warner just as compelling as he presides over DISA’s annual industry day March 23, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Find a link to register for the event on FCW.com Download’s Data Call at www.fcw.com/download.

We hope the Warner Theatre location will inspire vendors to sing — Hall and Oates’ “Forever for You” seems a natural fit for former MCI and now Verizon government veep Marlin Forbes, who is seeking to retain DISA biz. “Starting All Over Again” seems a good tune for former MCI veep Diana Gowen, now looking to beef up DOD business at Qwest.

Will JPTA learn how to say ‘eh?’
Canadian Brig. Gen. David Fraser, commander of 2,300 Canadian soldiers operating in Afghanistan, formally took over command of coalition forces Feb. 28. His command includes British, Dutch and U.S. troops operating in the southern part of that country.

The U.S. Military Health System has already started work to provide Canadian troops with access to a critical Web-based patient-tracking application to help support evacuations, said Col. Jack Sweeney, a U.S. Army doctor.

Sweeney, director of the Deployed Warrior Medical Management Center at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, told us the Canadian Forces HQ in Kandahar, Afghanistan, will be equipped with the Joint Patient Tracking Application (JPTA) to help them and center personnel manage evacuees from Afghanistan to Landstuhl.

JPTA, developed at the medical center, is the standard application for tracking and managing the evacuation of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and Iraq. Combatant commanders, including Army Lt. Gen. John Vines, commander of the 18th Airborne Corps, have praised the system.

A new year, a new buzz phrase
What’s a new year without a new buzz phrase? We salute Adm. Mike Mullen, chief of naval operations, for hatching the best of the 2006 buzz crop so far.

Mullen wants the Navy to use “effects-based thinking,” which he defines in an all-hands message as a “new but powerful planning process” that “requires us to begin the new task with the end state clearly in mind.”

Effects-based thinking, Mullen said, “allows us to continually measure progress against a discrete set of metrics…to achieve concisely stated desired effects.”

We’re not sure what that means, but we believe it represents “a new paradigm” for the Navy, meaning last century’s paradigm shifting has new legs in the 21st century. Intercept something? Send it to bbrewin@fcw.com or ftiboni@fcw.com.