USS Milius Begins Installation of New Afloat Network

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Karolina A. Martinez, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Capt. D.J. LeGoff, the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) program manager at Program Executive Office, Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (PEO C4I) command, toured USS Milius (DDG 69) Jan. 23 to discuss and review the installation plans for the new CANES shipboard network program.

CANES is a new afloat network where five legacy networks are merged together to create one centralized program that will be used fleet-wide creating consistency within the ships. This strategy creates a stronger performance and network infrastructure, greater network security, and immensely decreases the total ownership cost. The Arleigh-Burke Class Guided-Missile Destroyer USS Milius will become the first ship in the fleet to possess the CANES system.

"We are trying to make it easier for the ITs (Information Systems Technicians) on board to do their job," said LeGoff. "The legacy systems were never built together, and they grew at different rates which made it very hard for our ITs to manage that infrastructure. With CANES, we wanted to build one system that met all of the system requirements."

The Milius will lead the way for other expected ship installations such as the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), the next ship slated for install. The tour consisted of discussions about the projected uses of the CANES program for Wi-Fi in spaces such as shipboard classrooms, internet cafes and the bridge.

"We are providing Wi-Fi inside the skin of the ship to be able to accommodate more users," said LeGoff.

LeGoff also said the user should see better performance and expanded capacity. Network administrators will see a lot more functionality and possess a better ability to manage the infrastructure.

"CANES is going to greatly improve the quality of life for the crew," said Cmdr. Stephen Shedd, commanding officer, USS Milius. "I am really looking forward to that aspect of the installation. The new capabilities that the technology is going to provide us is a vast improvement over what we previously had."

The CANES system will also help make computer based training such as general military training, advancement, and rating training more user friendly and easily accessible.

As part of the CANES program, selected information technology Sailors from the Milius will undergo specialized training from a network administrative perspective.

"There is a sense of responsibility I have for the rest of the fleet," said Shedd. "We need to make sure that we identify any issues that pop up and create feedback learned to benefit future installations of CANES on other ships."