Remarks, NARA Press Conference,
September 8, 2005
Don Antonucci, Lockheed Martin President
Thank you, Professor Weinstein ... and Good Morning.
It is an extreme honor to be here today.
On behalf of the Lockheed Martin Corporation - and the companies that comprise our team on this critical initiative - let me thank the National Archives and Records Administration for selecting us. We truly understand how significant and vital this program is to our nation's heritage as well as its future.
Professor Weinstein, you are represented by a great team of professionals and Lockheed Martin is proud to support your agency at its defining moment. Our team stands ready to help the National Archives and Records Administration build its Electronic Records Archives system.
We are committed to meet the program's objectives to preserve and manage electronic records created by the federal government - records that will grow in volume, complexity and diversity.
We've created a premiere team comprised of companies with government information technology expertise in systems integration and software development, archiving, and program management. Together, we've had unparalleled success managing complex and challenging technical programs. Our world-class teammates are:
BearingPoint
Fenestra Technologies
FileTek, and
EDS Corporation
History Associates
Métier Limited
Image Fortress
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
Tessella
I want to thank and congratulate the ERA program management team for running such a professional and thorough program competition.
From working with the NARA team on the prototype contract, I know how diligently the entire team worked to bring this program closer to reality.
This is a milestone morning for the National Archives and also for the Lockheed Martin Corporation.
A year ago, I pledged my energy, my passion, and my Corporation's focus on this program.
I committed the best my great Corporation could bring to support your agency's mission.
I re-state that commitment today. My associates and teammates are excited and energized to proceed.
We truly understand the criticality of the project.
Most importantly, we know the trust you have afforded us and the honor you share by allowing the Lockheed Martin team to work side-by-side to help record and preserve the American experience.
It's indeed an honor.
The ERA system is a significant step toward saving our nation's valuable digital information. But it's a system that needs to be flexible to meet changing times and new frontiers.
With our colleagues in NARA, we will deliver an open, flexible and highly scalable solution. And, we're dedicated to helping the National Archives set new standards for authenticity, persistence and service.
From the onset, our team has been focused on developing a system that enables NARA to fulfill its mission as well as improve how it supports other federal agencies.
ERA will make it convenient for those with the legal right to information, to find records they need ... and easy for NARA to deliver those records in formats the people can use.
Consider the student who encounters original records research for the first time - and then imagine the excitement that comes with encountering an original witness to history, whether that is a journal written by a Revolutionary War soldier or e-mail traffic between 21st century government officials.
ERA is the start of a new archives solution. Our team's emphasis on scalability is producing a solution that is adaptable to the needs of other archives.
Our vision is that the ERA system can adapt to the diverse needs of state and local governments to keep their electronic records accessible for generations to come.
The challenge of preserving electronic records affects everyone - from federal agencies, to state and local governments, to the academic community, even to the private sector.
As I said earlier, the Lockheed Martin team has had a priority focus on this vital program. Allow me once again to say our Lockheed Martin team is proud to have been selected for this essential solution, and we will not fail you.
Thank you.
