Security Proposal for Defense Contractor HMT: Armadillo Inc.
This proposal, prepared by Armadillo Security Incorporated, presents a comprehensive physical and information security assessment of Heavy Metal Technologies (HMT), a defense contractor headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. Following a site walk-through of HMT's North American facilities conducted in April 2010, the security team identified seven critical deficiencies in access control, personnel oversight, emergency planning, and security awareness. The paper recommends a series of countermeasures — including CCTV installation, proximity card readers, an exchange badge system, a personnel reliability program, and a formal security awareness training initiative — to bring HMT into compliance with U.S. Army integrity, confidentiality, and availability requirements for a sensitive defense enhancement program.
- Background: Heavy Metal Technologies and Its Facilities: Overview of HMT operations and facility locations
- Problem Statement and Security Requirements: Army's security integrity and confidentiality requirements
- General Information Assurance and Physical Security Deficiencies: Seven critical security gaps identified during site walk-through
- Recommended Countermeasures: Eight specific security measures proposed for implementation
- Conclusion: Urgency of recommendations and offer of continued support
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What makes this paper effective
- The proposal follows a clear professional structure — background, problem statement, deficiencies, countermeasures, and conclusion — making it easy for decision-makers to follow the argument and act on recommendations.
- Each countermeasure is framed with a stated purpose ("In order to..."), a description of the recommended action, and its specific operational benefit, giving the recommendations practical credibility.
- The paper grounds its context in real organizational detail (facility names, functions, geographic locations), which strengthens the relevance and specificity of the security recommendations.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates applied problem-solution writing within a professional security context. The author uses a consistent rhetorical pattern for each countermeasure: identify the gap, state the purpose of the fix, and describe the mechanism. This structure mirrors industry-standard proposal formats and reflects the information assurance framework outlined in the cited textbook by Schou and Shoemaker (2007).
Structure breakdown
The proposal opens with an abstract identifying the team, then provides organizational background on HMT and its facilities. A brief problem statement anchors the Army's security requirements. A numbered deficiency list precedes the central countermeasures section, which addresses each gap with a dedicated recommendation. The paper closes with a brief conclusion that reiterates urgency and offers continued support.
Background: Heavy Metal Technologies and Its Facilities
Heavy Metal Technologies (HMT) is a defense contractor headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. It is a relatively small corporation by Pentagon standards, with approximately $350 million a year in revenues, but it has an exceptionally strong track record in upgrading operational electronic combat systems to new or improved equipment standards (Schou & Shoemaker, 2007). As such, the company enjoys an extremely strong, long-standing relationship with virtually all branches of the Department of Defense, as well as several defense prime contractors. It has a very large installed base of products, a number of sole-source contracts, and a strong management and advisory team (Schou & Shoemaker, 2007).
The company's Electronic Combat Systems Group is located in several places across North America. In Kanata, Canada, the group specializes in the design and production of electronic warfare (EW) training systems, while in Buffalo, New York, the group provides circuit card assembly, electromechanical assembly, and environmental testing (Schou & Shoemaker, 2007). However, the main production operation is in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, where operations are actually constituted across four facilities (Schou & Shoemaker, 2007):
1. The Jackson Street Facility handles manufacturing and engineering functions. The main building is dedicated to electrical, software, and mechanical engineering and documentation control. Four other buildings are dedicated to machine shops consisting of CNC milling, lathes, sheet metal brakes, and coordinated inspection stations.
2. The Sunnyside Street Main Building houses the complex's administration, purchasing, finance, main shipping and receiving, quality assurance, contracts, legal, information technology, stockroom, program management, and business development functions.
3. The Oceanside Facility houses the bulk of the electrical manufacturing facilities, including printed circuit board component insertion, soldering, surface mount assembly and soldering, light painting and silkscreen, electrical and mechanical assembly, chassis wiring, subsystem and final system testing, environmental stress testing, stockroom, industrial engineering, and production management. It performs the same function as the Buffalo facility does for the entire company; however, it is focused strictly on work at Fort Walton Beach.
4. The Sunnyside West Facility houses the engineering staff for the electronic warfare unit.
References
Schou, C., & Shoemaker, D. (2007). Information assurance for the enterprise: A roadmap to information security. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
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