Utah Engineers Journal 2021 Issue

46 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Digital Galaxy finishes with body of knowledge 3.14 (Pi). If you remember, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy had two mice. They studied while the dolphins (the smartest mammals on the planet) were off playing and having fun. As our Air Force Digital Campaign has studied the digital galaxy, we have concluded that: • We are only starting our journey. • We should pay attention to the fish. (The fish are the digital galaxy’s computer gamers who seem to have a lot of fun.) The Air Force Digital Campaign has benefited from collaborative interactions and continues to gain from lessons learned from digital pathfinders, industry, and academic advisers. The Air Force Digital Campaign is expanding every day because of these collaborations and observations. There is a long way to go seeking to understand the potential of this complex Digital Galaxy. The Galaxy is being realized through: • The centralized computational power of the clouds • The need for high-speed communication networks • The important integrated environments, and • Pilot understanding of improvements through machine learning and artificial learning We know the ultimate answer is “42.” Now we need to find the ultimate question to the ultimate answer. So please, Marvin (a paranoid android): “Don’t panic.” Special thanks to Mr. Paul White and Mr. Mark Kassan for guidance and consultation on this project. Thomas A. Lockhart, Jr. Thomas A. Lockhart, a senior executive service member, is the Director of Engineering and Technical Management, Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Hill AFB, Utah. He enhances warfighter support as the center’s lead for nuclear systems and digital engineering, weapon system integrity, cybersecurity, test and evaluation, workforce development, technology insertion, and multi-domain system support for Minuteman III, Air-Launched Cruise Missile, and Command and Control (C2). Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Lockhart was the Air Force Research Laboratory’s director for both its Plans and Programs Directorate and its Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation Directorate, managing the processes that define Air Force Research Laboratory’s $2 billion annual investment in technologies for future Air Force systems and enable the alignment of Science and Technology resources. Mr. Lockhart has had two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. In his last tour as the NATO Resolute Support Essential Function for Sustainment, Kabul, Afghanistan, he exercised oversight of Afghanistan National Defense and Security Forces sustainment for 385,000 Ministry of Defense and Interior military and police forces’ yearly budgets of over $3.2 billion. Mr. Lockhart began his career in 1987, working as a journeyman engineer in training and simulation at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. He has served as an engineer, chief engineer, acquisition program manager, group director, combatant command financial manager, deputy program executive officer (PEO) and security cooperation director. Continued from the previous page 4. Popular SysML/MBSE Modeling Tools, https://mbse4u.com/sysml-tools/ , Model Based Systems Engineering - Knowledge, Practice, and more. 5. TechTarget, https://searcherp.techtarget.com/definition/ product-lifecycle-management-PLM, no web date 6. Merriam Webster Dictionary, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/analysis, 19 Dec 2020 7. System Engineering Body of Knowledge, https://www.sebokwiki.org/, 14 October 2020 This Article was inspired by the following books by Douglas Adams: • The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams, 1980 • Life, the Universe and Everything, Douglas Adams, 1982 • So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Douglas Adams, 1984 References 1. International Council on System Engineering (INCOSE), info@ incose.org , 7670 Opportunity Rd, Suite 220 San Diego, CA 92111-2222 USA 2. Digital Engineering Strategy, June 2018, Office of the Deputy Assistance Secretary of Defense for System Engineering, Washington, DC 3. System Engineering Research Center, https://sercuarc.org/ , Systems Engineering Research Center Located at Stevens Institute of Technology 1 Castle Point on Hudson Hoboken, NJ 07030