CrossTalk, the Journal of Defense Software Engineering is a thirty year established publication that promotes software excellence through information dissemination, tailored specifically for the Department of Defense (DoD) software engineering audience. Formed in 1988, CrossTalk began as an effort of the Air Force Embedded Computer Support Improvement Program (ESIP). CrossTalk still exists and continues to perform its original function as an advocacy for software tools, methods, and environments. The publication has reached professional recognition with nearly 29,000 active subscribers to date. CrossTalk was approved by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OSD) Periodicals and Pamphlets Review Board in 1994.
In the March 17, 1992 Information Memorandum by Lloyd K Mosemann II, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, it is established that CrossTalk is a part of the Software Technology Support Center (STSC) that possesses an Air Force charter for information exchange. It states "The STSC has developed an information exchange program that can keep the DOD community in contact with, aware of, and knowledgeable about successful and unsuccessful processes and technologies within the software community." Furthermore, "The STSC has products and services available to transition software technology to Air Force organization s" as well as "Among them are... a monthly software technical report entitled "CrossTalk." It was this information exchange charter that CrossTalk was originally established, and continues to achieve, for the past three decades.
CrossTalk is a product that is currently being sponsored by the 309th Software Maintenance Group (309 SWEG). CrossTalk is in the unique position of being able to gather world-renowned expertise for the most up-to-date case studies, trends, metric analysis, and procedures for the successful implementation of the AFSC Way. In this way, not only does it function as an essential training function, but also assists in the recruitment of talented engineers and establishes the 309 SWEG as a focal point for software expertise within the DoD community.