U.S. Military Reaches Transformational Crossroads

Lt. Gen. John R. Wood, USA, deputy commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command, opens Transformation Warfare with a presentation about the challenges to transforming during wartime.

The pace of transformation must accelerate and the focus must shift if the U.S. military is to succeed against adversaries who adapt to new tactics as fast as the services deploy them. This was the assessment of Lt. Gen. John R. Wood, USA, deputy commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command, at AFCEA International’s newest venue for its summer conference and exposition, Transformation Warfare, titled “Reconstituting and Reinventing the Force.” The general was the opening speaker at the event, taking place this week at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.

The U.S. Defense Department must determine and understand fully what it will take to fight in a new environment comprising both traditional and irregular warfare against an enemy with the global aspirations, will and patience to achieve its goals. The most recent conflict in Lebanon is a glimpse of future threats, Gen. Wood said, because it involved an adversary not only had capabilities similar to those of the United States but also had post-operation plans to help residents recover from the devastation of war, gaining their allegiance.

Changes in its own environment also are pushing the need to accelerate and refocus transformational efforts, the general added. If funds are reduced, the military is likely to spend what it has on traditional capabilities, and innovation and transformational concepts will suffer as the Defense Department turns inward, Gen. Wood said. This reality combined with an adversary who has adaptive fighting tactics has led to the strategic nexus the U.S. military is in today: It must decide if it will increase or decrease its efforts to change, or simply stay the current course. Leaving innovation behind because of budget constraints will surely lead the military to revert to old fighting methods, which are not likely succeed against this new type of enemy, Gen. Wood contends.

Networks Tie Forces Together

Adm. Gary Roughead, USN, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, describes a number of future initiatives that will enable the U.S. Navy to operate in ways it never has in the past.

In his luncheon address, Adm. Gary Roughead, USN, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, spoke about the need to bring the surface, subsurface, aviation, network enterprise and Naval Expeditionary Combat Command closer together. “Solutions must work on all platforms, from submarines to aircraft carriers,” he stated.

Among the U.S. Navy’s newest endeavors is the Maritime Headquarters with Maritime Operations Center, or MHQ with MOC. This global network will bring together members of U.S. military and nongovernmental organizations as well as comparable agencies from around the world. “The MHQ with MOC will raise the U.S. Navy to a coalition operations level never seen before,” Adm. Roughead said.

To achieve such milestones, the service needs to change its acquisition processes particularly in the area of information technology. “Computer acquisition is different than purchasing ships, so it is key that the enterprise can react and answer queries quickly and acquire capabilities faster.

Key is the open architecture approach the service is taking so it can develop, operate and maintain systems at different levels. “Don’t propose anything that’s not open architecture,” the admiral advised audience members. Specific solutions the Navy is interested in include enhancements in data throughput, data security and data compression as well as automated target recognition technologies.

Regarding information sharing, the admiral admitted that the services have suffered from inertia in the area of gathering, classifying and parsing information. “We must share information at the unclassified level and build information up to the classified level as needed. Most information sharing is stymied not by technology but by policy,” he said.

“Networks will be our battleground. Wars will be won or loss on this battleground, and we need to know if we’re ready to win or to lose,” Adm. Roughead stated.

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