OMAHA, NEB., 03/23/2004 -- Lockheed Martin has entered a Mentor-Protégé partnership with All Native Systems, a local small business owned by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. Through the partnership, Lockheed Martin provides consulting and expertise to help All Native Systems expand and grow their business in voice and data telecommunications.

The Mentor-Protégé program was established by the federal government's Small Business Administration to help small businesses benefit from the expertise of larger, more established corporations. Through the partnership, Lockheed Martin helps All Native Systems in several aspects of successful business development, including marketing, proposal development, finance, contracts, and human resources. Representatives from Lockheed Martin have already begun helping All Native Systems formulate and execute strategies for capturing new business in the federal marketplace.

We've always been strong supporters of small businesses, and the Mentor-Protégé program is another great way to help small businesses gain that important foothold in the world of federal contracting, said Leroy Jeter, director of U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) programs for Lockheed Martin. It's truly a win-win situation. All Native Systems benefits from the expertise of a large corporation like Lockheed Martin, and we benefit by helping one of our key subcontractors grow even stronger in their area of expertise.

All Native Systems currently holds subcontracts with Lockheed Martin to perform work on programs in Omaha such as the Computing Environment STRATCOM Architecture (CESAR) program. They are also a teammate on Lockheed Martin's bid for the $355 million Integrated Strategic Planning and Analysis Network Modernization (ISPAN) contract, a USSTRATCOM program due to be awarded this Spring.

We're proud to support our customers with leading-edge voice and data communications solutions. This Mentor-Protégé partnership will help us grow into an even stronger company in the future. We look forward to working with Lockheed Martin on this partnership and also as one of their subcontractors, said Terry L. Mogensen of All Native Systems.

All Native Systems (ANS) is a Small Business Administration 8(a) and HUBZone certified information technology company that provides voice and data communication service solutions. ANS is a subsidiary of Ho-Chunk, Inc. (HCI). HCI is a tribally charted corporation wholly owned by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. Headquartered on the Winnebago Indian Reservation in Winnebago, Nebraska ANS provides employment and opportunities to tribal members.