Cisco Provides Core Network Infrastructure for World's Largest Multinational Military Exercise; IP Leader a Major Supporter of U.S. European Command's Global Interoperability Exercise

Cisco Systems(R) (NASDAQ:CSCO) announced today that it
will provide the core network infrastructure for Combined Endeavor
2006, a two-week operation designed to test and document the
interoperability of vital communication systems for multinational
forces deployed in humanitarian, peacekeeping and disaster relief
efforts. Data gathered from earlier exercises has played a key role in
recent multinational operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and
Kosovo as well as humanitarian operations in Pakistan and the
tsunami-affected areas.
More than 1,000 tests beginning this week will focus mainly on the
ability to pass data with a high level of security over an Internet
Protocol (IP) backbone, using voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP),
private mobile radio, high frequency and satellite communications.
Information assurance is another key focus area for the participating
nations. In cooperation with the German Ministry of Defense, the U.S.
European Command is sponsoring the communications and information
systems interoperability exercise. Forty-one nations are taking part,
including NATO, Partnership for Peace and non-aligned or strategic
partner nations.
"Combined Endeavor 2006 is breaking new ground in many of the
network areas that are being tested such as in multinational
information sharing," said Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Verbeck, the
director of the International Interoperability, Concepts and
Experimentation Directorate (ECJ9). "Our goal is to tackle these types
of challenges long before the call comes to deploy, certainly as part
of Phase Zero operations."
Combined Endeavor officials knew from experience that upgrading
its core backbone was crucial in working to ensure a more realistic
test of simulated operational networks. Because the complex systems of
more than 40 nations and organizations are involved, finding a common
thread was the key to success. Since Cisco equipment is common to
networking in most nations, the company is playing a major role in
this year's exercise.
"As military units worldwide are being challenged to perform at
ever higher levels in conflicts and disaster recoveries, multinational
forces are increasingly driving to an IP standard," said Kevin
MacRitchie, vice president of Global Defense Space and Security for
Cisco's Global Government Services Group. "As the world leader in IP
networking, Cisco, through its IP backbone will help ensure that
interoperability testing for all equipment from participating nations
will be held to the highest standards of performance, furthering the
information assurance and security enhancement goals of this
exercise."
Cisco technicians will provide real-time video teleconferencing
and Web casting as well as the administrative local area networks
(LANs) that will register and transport information and analyze
results.

About Combined Endeavor 2006

Combined Endeavor 2006 (CE 06) is the 12th in the series of U.S.
European Command (USEUCOM) sponsored "in-spirit-of" (ISO) Partnership
for Peace (PfP) exercises planned and executed to identify, test, and
document command, control, communications, and computer systems (C4)
and information systems (CIS) interoperability between NATO and PfP
nations' fielded military strategic and tactical communications
information equipment systems. The overall objective is to develop an
integrated interoperability guide to assist deployment planning within
a coalition network. Documentation of interoperability is a tremendous
achievement toward operational readiness and further enhances theater
security cooperation.
News and information are available at http://www.ce.pims.org/.

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