Marine Corps general criticizes Intranet project

A senior Marine Corps general on Tuesday offered a harsh assessment of the Navy Marine Corps Intranet program and he blamed the prime contractor--Texas-based EDS--for the project's failings.

Lt. Gen. Edward Hanlon, the commanding general of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, cited poor connectivity and slow delivery, along with other flaws and deficiencies in the system, and called them "unacceptable." He described NMCI's progress as "rocky and problematic."

"It is not going as smoothly as we hoped and expected," Hanlon said at the 2004 NMCI Industry Symposium in New Orleans. "I believe that EDS was not prepared to handle the implementation."

EDS spokesman Kevin Clarke said the company appreciates Hanlon's candor. "We know there are challenges with the Marine Corps implementation," he said. "We are working with the Marine Corps to mitigate those."

Hanlon's comments came as a sharp contrast to the overall tone of the conference, where the NMCI project has received lavish praise from an array of service officials. Earlier Tuesday, Navy Secretary Gordon England praised NMCI and said there are a "few bugs" in the system, but "you're always going to have them."

"That's the way it is with my own personal [America Online] account," England said.

Navy Capt. Craig Madsen, program manger for the Navy's side of NMCI, said that problems are bound to occur as people are integrated into the system, but added that most users are generally happy with the program. He said he has heard stories about problems, but hard data shows an 80 percent customer satisfaction rate. As the number of people who have to be integrated declines, customer satisfaction rates will go even higher, he said.

Hanlon said, however, that he uses his NMCI station to communicate with personnel in Iraq, and the connection has failed him too many times. The Marine Corps has received 9,000 NMCI "seats" out of a total goal of 89,000, he added.

"Implementation is moving too slowly," he said. "At the current rate, it would take far too long to reach the objective."

Toward the end of his remarks, Hanlon said he did not want his comments to be misconstrued. He emphasized the Marine Corps' commitment to the development and fielding of NMCI and said he is "confident we will get there."

"I know that came across as negative," he said, regarding his opinion of EDS' performance. "But don't take it that way."

Clarke agreed with this assessment, noting that Hanlon "has a good working relationship with EDS."

The crowd of industry and military information technology officials at the conference gave Hanlon a standing ovation after his speech.