As a Marine friend says "Agility is the Capability" - open source software and methods is the enabler of this.
The DoD CIO office (or ASD-NII) just has posted new open source software guidance for the whole Department of Defense! Only took about 18 months to get through, so worth it. Hopefully this puts the FUD to bed.
Definitively open source software can be used inside the US Dept. of Defense. This is great news and shows that DoD is heading in the right direction to change how information intensive technology acquisitions programs can move toward a more dynamic OODA loop like model.
The entire policy is here: October 16 2009, Open Source Software Guidance Memo, text as follow:
To effectively achieve its missions, the Department of Defense must develop and
update its software-based capabilities faster than ever, to anticipate new threats and
respond to continuously changing requirements. The use of Open Source Software
(OSS) can provide advantages in this regard.
Doc Download 2009OSS
The link in the memo points nowhere, and now Wennergren is "Deputy CIO". I don't know if that's a promotion, demotion, or something else. The last memo listed on their page is from last year. Is the memo actually up anywhere on a .mil domain?
Posted by: Nathan Myers | October 27, 2009 at 16:10
John, thanks for the post. And congrats! This is a great memo and many of your thoughts seem to be reflected here.
Posted by: Bob Gourley | October 27, 2009 at 21:44
Here's the .mil link to the letter:
http://www.defenselink.mil/cio-nii/sites/oss/2009OSS.pdf
And an OSS FAQ:
http://www.defenselink.mil/cio-nii/sites/oss/Open_Source_Software_(OSS)_FAQ.htm
Posted by: Greg DePasse | October 29, 2009 at 19:27