`Smart' ID cards coming to MTMC's worldwide work force.In the near future, employees of the Military Traffic Management Command A major command of the US Army, and the US Transportation Command's component command responsible for designated continental United States land transportation as well as common-user water terminal and traffic management service to deploy, employ, sustain, and redeploy US forces on a will have a common plastic identification card that contains numerous dimensions of official and personal information. The Common Access Card will also have an embedded chip See embedded processor. that will be necessary to log on to your personal computer. "This is `smart card' technology," said Ron Lash, Project Manager of MTMC's implementation. "It has the attributes of high-level security with the everyday capabilities associated with identification cards." The cards will be issued throughout the Department of Defense, to include contractors. The card distribution will be prioritized, with the active military receiving the first cards. The first cards are already being distributed to active Army military units. The bulk of MTMC's civilian work force will probably receive their cards prior to the end of next fiscal year, Sept. 30, 2002, said Lash. "Look at it as a storage platform," said Lash. "Within that platform are `tokens,' which provide security and access to the Army's automated au·to·mate v. au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing, au·to·mates v.tr. 1. To convert to automatic operation: automate a factory. 2. systems." The initial tokens provided will include personal identification, electronic signature and encryption The reversible transformation of data from the original (the plaintext) to a difficult-to-interpret format (the ciphertext) as a mechanism for protecting its confidentiality, integrity and sometimes its authenticity. Encryption uses an encryption algorithm and one or more encryption keys. capability. "You will eventually be able to use this one card to enter a secure building, use your personal computer, and gain access to software systems within your authority. Lash was hired in May to lead MTMC's implementation of the new system. The card will bring far-reaching changes, he said. "In the future, this card will create instant manifests for service members getting on military airplanes or ships," said Lash. "It will also eventually be used by a service member to gain entry to a post exchange, make a purchase, and debit a checking account." Using video television conferences and trips, Lash is assembling the technical information necessary for successful implementation of the cards at MTMC MTMC Military Traffic Management Command (US DoD) MTMC Mount Marty College MTMC Micros-to-Mainframes, Inc. (stock symbol) MTMC Middle Tennessee Medical Center (Murfreesboro, TN) . "This concept has been a long time in coming to fruition fru·i·tion n. 1. Realization of something desired or worked for; accomplishment: labor finally coming to fruition. 2. Enjoyment derived from use or possession. 3. because the technology was not available," said Bob Hardiman, Director, Personnel & Logistics. "But now the use of the Common Access Card will make life easier for everyone, while reducing the pocketful of badges and passwords we all have to carry." The Common Access Card technology has the top support of Gen. Eric Shinseki Eric Ken Shinseki (born November 28, 1942) is a retired General in the United States Army and served as the 34th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1999 - 2003). He is the first Asian American in U.S. , Army Chief of Staff. "The Common Access Card has the potential to bring evolutionary change to The Army by providing the capability to alter the way the Army gathers, manages, shares and protects its information," said Shinseki. "Furthermore, the Common Access Card is one of the enabling technologies that can facilitate our transformation goals in multiple functional areas, such as personnel, readiness and logistics." More information is available at http://armyec.army.mil An Internet address domain name for a military agency. See Internet address. (networking) mil - The top-level domain for entities affiliated with US armed forces. . |
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