[December 24, 2005] Boyd secures naval funding: Bay County base could get $2 million for projects if president OKs funding Tweet (News Herald, The (Panama City, FL) (KRT)) Dec. 24--The 2006 defense budget approved by Congress on Wednesday includes $2 million for a pair of new projects at Naval Support Activity-Panama City, U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla., announced Friday. After weeks of wrangling over several nondefense items added to the measure, Congress on Thursday passed the $453.3 billion defense appropriations bill, which pays for authorized military programs except base construction. With the separate passage of the defense authorization act, the legislation now goes to President George W. Bush for his signature. Boyd, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, secured $1 million for the Internet Protocol Version 6, or IPv6, and another $1 million for an Operations Security, or OPSEC, program at the Navy base. IPv6 is the next generation of the Internet that will exponentially expand the number of available Internet addresses and provide significantly greater encryption capability over the current Internet protocol version, Boyd said in a statement. The funding builds on efforts already under way at the Navy base to combine the military service's command and control systems into one common infrastructure to improve the flow of information to the command center. "This funding will be a tremendous asset to the Navy base and to the security of our nation," Boyd said in the release. "Providing easier access to information for our men and women in uniform will ensure that we keep our technological edge at home and on the battlefield." The funding for OPSEC will establish a comprehensive program to conduct joint operations security surveys for Navy units preparing to deploy, Boyd said. These surveys will evaluate unit operations security, and based on the information, OPSEC will develop training tools for unit commanders to strengthen operations security. "One of the greatest challenges our military faces is the protection of sensitive information," Boyd noted. "This funding will allow for a more effective way to safeguard our military operations and help keep our service men and women out of harm's way." Kirk Dye, technological operations manager at the Navy base, said that the two measures will significantly help the U.S. military carry out its operational responsibilities. "We appreciate all of what Congressman Boyd does for us," Dye said. "We're glad he counts on us to make a difference for the war fighter." [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]