by John McHale

MCLEAN, Va., - U.S. Navy leaders are looking to experts at Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) in McLean, Va., to develop and deploy electronic cards that contain important information about individual members of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

Officials of the Navy eBusiness Operations Office in Mechanicsburg, Pa., are awarding engineers at the SAIC Information Systems Development Group in McLean, Va., a follow-on task order to transition smart card technology within the Navy from a pilot and prototype effort to a formal program linked to the deployment and employment of the CAC program and its associated PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) credentials.

SAIC will provide on-site support at the Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) facilities in Mechanicsburg, and at the Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM) in Quantico, Va.

The CAC program is the new standard for providing physical and logical access to U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and Navy installations and information technology systems, and must be issued to all active military and selected reserves personnel, DOD federal civil servants, and authorized contractors, SAIC officials say.

In addition to CAC issuance, the SAIC team will be developing and maintaining the Navy formal program documentation, assessing and making recommendations for approval and acceptance for fielding of current and future proposed CAC-enabled applications, and managing approved pilots and prototypes, SAIC officials say.