DISA placed at the core of DOD Public Safety Communications modernization

by John Holloway
Deputy Director - Global Public Safety Communications Ecosystem Modernization
February 28, 2022 

The DOD Command, Control and Communications Modernization Strategy, anchored to the National Defense Strategy, identified the Defense Information Systems Agency as the executive agent for the Public Safety Communications (PSC) IT architecture implementation.

DOD Directive 8422, DOD Public Safety Communications Capability (awaiting signatures by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, DOD Chief Information Officer, and Deputy Secretary of Defense), states that DISA must designate an Office of Public Safety Communications with the assigned roles, responsibilities and authorities for implementing the DOD PSC IT ecosystem. That office must also share the architecture and other PSC related information with our mission partners.

This effort supports established laws such as the National Telecommunications Act of 1996 as modified by recent laws such as the National 911 Act, Kari’s Law, Section 506 of Ray Baum’s Act, National Suicide Hotline Act, and Federal Communications Commission mandates.

The National 911 Act declares that 911 is the three-digit number that everyone in the United States dials to access emergency services, e.g., law enforcement, fire, medical, etc. Most nations have adopted a similar construct such as dialing 112 in Europe or 112 or 119 in Korea.

Kari’s Law mandates that you can call 911 without using a prefix such as “9” or “99” to access an outside line. Ray Baum’s Act specifies that by July 2022 all calls made to 911 will have the exact location information such as the latitude and longitude of a caller. Then in the summer of 2023, location information of the call will also contain the elevation, providing responders with the floor in a multistory structure the call is coming from.

The recently passed National Suicide Hotline Act stipulates that by July 2022, a person in trouble can dial 988 and be connected to a suicide prevention counselor. The American Disability Act implemented the requirement to provide a Text-to-911 capability.

DOD PSC modernization efforts will affect all DOD family members, active duty, retired, reserve, National Guard, civilians, dependents, contractors and visitors. It will also cross into various mission areas such as fire, medical, mental health, law enforcement and counterterrorism.

It involves upgrading all PSC capabilities from legacy TDM technology to IP as well as hosting some applications in IL5 cloud environments. It increases cybersecurity capabilities and provides a more exact location of the caller based on geospatial information versus street addresses.

This effort will also address wireless capabilities on smart devices for first responders with the use of LTE broadband solutions, P25 compliant Land Mobile Radio solutions, and emerging 5G-enabled solutions. A critical element to this modernization will be the establishment of an Enterprise Mass Warning Notification system.

The multitude of mission partners include various DISA directorates, the House Armed Services Committee, and entities within the Office of the Secretary of Defense who are responsible for Emergency Management and PSC elements within the services. Also included are other federal agencies, every state and territory 911 coordinator, and every municipality that a DOD installation is bounded by.

As this is a global effort, our overseas mission partners include the emergency management entities in 21 countries and numerous municipalities that range from Diego Garcia to the Middle East, into Europe and over to Asia and the Pacific.

PSC experts from the DOD, federal sector and professional organizations such as the National Emergency Number Association, Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, and National Association of State 911 Administrators have been invited to the third DISA hosted Public Safety Communications Symposium being held in conjunction with DISA AFCEA TechNet Cyber in April.

For more information, visit the DISA’s Global Public Safety Communications website.