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Subject: OASIS EM-TC clarification of the USAF CoT effort
To whom it may concern, A DHS FEMA contractor is trying to foster the use of the United States Air Force (USAF) Cursor-on-Target (CoT) xml schema as the definitive solution to all data interoperability issues of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ). He claims this would be accomplished by putting the CoT into the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM). At the same time he is using the name Emergency Data Exchange Language-Asset Tracking (EDXL-AT) which associates this effort with OASIS standards development. This enthusiastic, but uncoordinated, set of actions is creating confusion and discord within and among the data exchange projects currently underway in OASIS and the above mentioned departments. First, it is our understanding that CoT is an implemented data structure that is in wide use within US Air Force (USAF) systems. As such, change would have to be managed very carefully. Secondly, CoT is currently being considered by the OASIS Emergency Management TC Infrastructure Subcommittee (IF SC) but would require a sponsor to bring the proposed standard to the committee and that the standard be put through normal committee procedures. Initial discussions with the USAF, USSTRATCOM, and the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) to modify the CoT for use in the NIEM indicate broad support. The initiative will be officially named EDXL-Asset Tracker (AT) when approved by the OASIS EM TC. Until that time "EDXL-AT" should not be associated with or used in any data interoperability efforts external to the OASIS EM TC. Finally the NIEM process belongs to NIEM. It is not OASIS policy to interfere in any way with that process. Repeated attempts to discuss with this contractor the actual fit of CoT into the OASIS Emergency Data Exchange Language (EDXL) suite of work and NIEM have been ignored. His actions have been hasty, very premature and uncoordinated with accepted standards bodies. Therefore, the OASIS EM TC must now state emphatically that this FEMA contractor does not speak on behalf of its Committee and subcommittees. Regards, Elysa Jones, Chair OASIS Emergency Management Technical Committee
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