US embassy cable - 05CAIRO3179

UNCLAS CAIRO 003179 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR RM/IRP DAVID MCKEE AND EDIPLOMACY GERALD GALLUCCI FROM 
HARRY PONTING, TEAM LEAD, AND RAMKI UPPULURI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AINF, OTRA, EG, Net Centric Diplomacy, NCD 
SUBJECT: NET-CENTRIC DIPLOMACY TRIP REPORT, CAIRO, APRIL 
10-11 
 
 1. This cable was drafted by the Net-Centric Diplomacy (NCD) 
team from the Department and CITI that visited post from 
April 10-11 to install the NCD pilot system for publishing 
biographic files and telegraphic reports to the SIPRNet.  The 
NCD application was successfully installed on a ClassNet 
workstation and the local contractor was fully trained in its 
use. 
 
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Post Support 
------------ 
 
2.  Outstanding support was provided by Embassy Cairo. 
Control Officer Michael Kidwell (ESTH officer in the combined 
Economic and Political section) and OMS Felicia Lynch did a 
wonderful job of pre-briefing mission elements and arranging 
meetings. IPC staff Armando Asencio provided excellent 
support in the pre-visit days to make sure the technical 
infrastructure was in place ahead of the visit. Staff members 
at the post were very interested in providing content to the 
classified home pages using the NCD utilities, and asked a 
lot of questions on how this project would help them enhance 
the content on the home pages. Several OMSs and EFMs were 
available for training, and in the time the team was at Post, 
a large number of cables were posted to the servers.  The 
spectacular job done by Cairo with regards to pre-visit 
preparation and participation in training will be hard to top 
and will be our benchmark for other posts we will visit. 
Involvement by all levels of personnel at post shows a very 
positive commitment to the effort. It is interesting to note 
that a total of five OMSs and EFMs provide support as content 
managers for the site. 
 
---------------------- 
Briefings and Training 
---------------------- 
 
3.  The goals of the team were discussed with the A/DCM and 
control officer in a separate meeting prior to kicking off 
the project. The NCD team gave formal overview briefings to 
Economic and Political section (ECPO) officers and the A/DCM. 
 
4.  Hands-on NCD training was provided for Patricia Fitzhugh 
(CITI local contract hire), Suzanne Swanson, Twila Ray, 
Felicia Lynch, and Brooke Adams. For the time being, 
BioCapture will be handled exclusively by Ms. Fitzhugh, and 
CableCapture will be provided on the desks of all OMSs and 
EFMs involved in content management. 
 
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Hardware/Software 
----------------- 
 
5.  JRE was pre-installed on the ClassNet workstation 
set-aside for the NCD project. The power supply for the 
scanner that was shipped earlier was received in a damaged 
condition and the NCD team replaced this. 
 
6.  The scanner and associated software were installed and 
ready when we arrived and functioned normally. 
 
7. NCD Utilities were downloaded to a folder on the shared 
drive for ECPO, and short cuts to BioCapture and CableCapture 
were placed on the desktops of those who will use these 
utilities and manage content for the site. 
 
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Lessons Learned 
--------------- 
 
8.  Post preparation makes a huge difference.  The legwork 
done in advance by Cairo allowed us to get right to work. 
Despite a shorter training schedule due to outgoing flights, 
training was very easily completed ahead of time due to post 
personnel's familiarity with SIPRNet, interest, and 
enthusiasm. Close coordination on preparation work is 
essential and pays off. 
 
9.  Being savvy SIPRNet users helps.  Post personnel's use of 
the SIPRNet is definitely on the high end of the scale. 
 
 
Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo 
 
You can also access this site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. 
 
CORBIN