SIGNAL Magazine is the only international news magazine serving the critical information needs of government, military and industry decision makers active in the fields of C4ISR, information security, intelligence, research and development, electronics, and homeland security.

SIGNAL explores the art of the possible, expanding beyond new products and applications to include comprehensive coverage of programs and solutions.

Every issue of SIGNAL focuses on a vital theme while providing other relevant news and information through special reports and stand-alone articles. High ranking leaders of government, military and commercial organizations are the primary sources for most SIGNAL articles. Their input is complemented by articles that also address management and user perspectives. 

The authoritative writing style in SIGNAL appeals to the informed professional who wants to keep abreast of important developments in his or her field. This style is powered by in-house staff journalists who collectively have decades of extensive experience in the field. They provide 90 percent of the writing and all of the editing. This ensures quality, accuracy and credibility that are matched by none.

By adhering to professional journalistic standards and ethics, SIGNAL’s news coverage delivers a balanced look at key issues without pushing any hidden agenda. The magazine does not adopt editorial stands on political issues or candidates. The SIGNAL reader can bank on receiving an unbiased account without any favoritism being shown to any individual or organization.

And SIGNAL is more than a magazine; it is AFCEA. For more than 60 years, SIGNAL has delivered cutting-edge news to AFCEA’s information systems professionals. It is the only publication that consistently reaches the AFCEA community each month and that reports on the dynamic interaction of international leadership within AFCEA events.

Only AFCEA’s international journal can offer its readers a comprehensive perspective on the dynamic changes taking place in the 21st century. The experienced staff and its ability to tap in-house AFCEA resources ensure timely access to the right newsmakers. SIGNAL is the network.

SIGNAL Magazine is proud to be the publication against which all others in the field measure themselves. SIGNAL's storied history, its importance to its reader community, its ethics and its commitment to current and future needs can be summed up in the magazine's motto: SIGNAL—Reading Loud and Clear

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Welcome to Digital SIGNAL, August 2008. In these pages you’ll find in-depth reporting of Army Technologies and Information Security. The staff of SIGNAL is pleased to deliver the magazine in this new, unique format.

COVER – Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sorenson, USA, discusses battlefield communications with Col. John B. Hildebrand, USA, commander of the 11th Signal Brigade, in Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq. Cover design by SIGNAL Art Director Chris D’Elia

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Behide the Lines:

Reporters are not supposed to get too close to their stories, and SIGNAL Magazine’s staff of professional journalists hews closely to that and other tenets of journalistic integrity. But neither are reporters supposed to behave as if they were heartless automatons that do not take stock of what is happening in the world that they cover. So when Senior Editor Maryann Lawlor conducted long-distance interviews with some uniformed U.S. military personnel serving in Iraq for last month’s issue, their situation was not lost on her.

The wonders of modern telecommunications allow deployed forces to talk with friends and loved ones in real time, but that does not alleviate all of the loss experienced by separation over several months. In an off-the-record conversation, Lawlor learned that the troops in Iraq really appreciate many of the small gestures that the rest of us take for granted— receiving hand-written letters and small items from the United States, for example. So, she took it upon herself to put together a care package for the joint forces whom she interviewed.

Everyone at SIGNAL chipped in with items that Lawlor counseled would be appreciated in theater, and a few wrote notes for the troops. When other AFCEA employees learned of her effort, they responded enthusiastically as well. Lawlor had to switch to a bigger box to include the many items, which ranged from simple snack foods to books and DVDs, along with an assortment of fine cigars for an officer who admitted to enjoying one every now and then. Her contacts in Iraq received the items last month, and they expressed gratitude across the board.

Lawlor currently is working on a follow-up shipment, and she is encouraging everyone so inclined to follow her example if they know just one person in theater in Southwest Asia.

This issue of SIGNAL continues its coverage of the effect that the Iraq War is having on U.S. forces. This month’s cover story is built around an interview with Lt. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sorenson, USA, the U.S. Army’s chief information officer(CIO)/G-6. Gen. Sorenson describes how the Army’s LandWarNet program is adapting to changes wrought by input from warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan (page 19).

One far-reaching Army program is Future Combat Systems (FCS), which comes under the sharp eye of Business Editor Henry S. Kenyon. The FCS program has undergone considerable changes, and Kenyon describes its current status beginning on page 27.

Lawlor goes overseas (again, telephonically) to report on a U.S. Army intelligence cell in Germany that is waging its own war in cyberspace. These cyberthreat experts analyze enemy cyberattacks more for their characteristics than for technology (page 35). Which segues nicely to the other focus area of the August SIGNAL—information security. Leading off is an article on page 43 describing the cyberthreat faced by U.S. industry. The source of this information is none other than Dr. Joel Brenner, national counterintelligence executive in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Kenyon weighs in on page 49 with a report on how government agencies must focus on preparing human capital for cybersecurity—training personnel. Meanwhile, News Editor Rita Boland describes on page 57 how a newly formed multinational organization hopes to combat cybercrime. And, in a business profile on page 67 by contributing writer Michael A. Robinson, the chief executive officer of a leading security software company warns of increased threats to government computers.

Obtaining security clearances for workers continues to be a major challenge both for the government and for the civilians seeking the clearances. Lawlor returns on page 72 to shed some light on the process and on efforts to reform it.

ABOUT AFCEA INTERNATIONAL:

AFCEA International (Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association) is a non-profit membership association serving the military, government, industry, and academia as an ethical forum for advancing professional knowledge and relationships in the fields of communications, IT, intelligence, and global security.

AFCEA Participants

    * 19,000 individual members

    * 13,000 corporate associates

    * 1,600 corporate members

AFCEA’s members, sponsors and associates are among the world’s leading designers, planners, manufacturers, testers and users of systems, services and components for communications, intelligence, imaging and information systems.

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