The Joint Spectrum Center (part of DISA for those of you who support the US DoD) sponsors and populates the premier electromagnetic environmental effects and spectrum supportability web site on the World Wide Web.
We in the business know that compliance with Spectrum Supportability (SS) requirements and control of electromagnetic environmental effects (E3) can be critical performance parameters for platforms, systems and electronic equipment acquired by the DoD. If these technical areas are not given the proper level of attention during the acquisition process, you can be sure that fielded systems will suffer from some level of operational degradation up to, and including, catastrophic failures or unacceptable operating restrictions. As part of their charter, the Joint Spectrum Center manages the DoD E3 Program, which includes a mandate to provide outreach and training services to the DoD acquisition community so that they understand E3 and Spectrum requirements and how to implement them in their specific programs. Thus was borne the Spectrum and E3 requirements Community of Practice (previously Special Interest Area) as part of the Defense Acquisition University Acquisition Community Connection (that’s a mouthful). The site is available at acc.dau.mil/e3 or acc.dau.mil/spectrum (no www!). Let me give you a quick tour….
The figure above is from the front page of the site and the icons provide and entry into the various sections of the website. Basically it starts with the Spectrum and Electromagnetics 101 icon at the 11 o’clock position and goes around counter clockwise, providing information on basic technical concepts, policy requirements and various DoD process and procedure requirements to ensure that E3 control and spectrum supportability is fully considered in the design, development, testing and fielding of military spectrum dependent systems.
Beyond these areas of technical and procedural guidance, there are various areas that provide links and information to relevant organizations, technical articles, and website, both commercial and military, that provide users with all the contacts and additional information they need to ensure EMC in their systems.
The site has a feature where you can become a member…don’t worry, it doesn’t cost anything and takes only a minute to join. Benefits of community membership include the ability to:
- Ask and/or answer questions;
- Connect with members/experts with a shared specific interest;
- Receive community-wide emails;
- Access restricted community knowledge.
Future plans include the development of a compendium page of EM-related blogs so that you could find all your favorite blogs (like this one!) in one spot! The Joint Spectrum Center is very interested in constructive feedback from the EMC and Spectrum communities on the site content (primarily) and construction. While the site layout and functionality is dictated by the DAU, we do have some control over the look. So dive in, join up and let the JSC know what you think!
-Brian Farmer
