National Guardsmen may soon use personal electronics in deployments – By Ryan White (Defense News) / June 28, 2022
WASHINGTON — National Guardsmen may soon be able to use their personal electronic devices for official functions during domestic deployments to help fill a resources gap and reduce mobilization time, according to the service’s chief information officer.
Speaking during a C4ISRNET webcast, National Guard CIO Kenneth McNeill said an initiative called “Bring Your Own Approved Device” would allow guardsmen to use personal mobile equipment to perform the same functions in the field that they would otherwise carry out at a desktop in their offices.
“In a typical state, all of our guardsmen, unfortunately, they may not have government furnished devices — mobile cellphones, iPads,” McNeill said. “It cuts down on time when we’re planning for a mobilization.”
The initiative, which is a in collaboration with the Department of the Army and the Pentagon’s cybersecurity office, is in a phase III pilot program consisting of a year-long trial with the largest sample size to date. After this trial, if deemed successful, the initiative will be enacted, McNeill said.