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Transformation and be Damned

Following on from Horatio's article in May's journal 'Transform and be Damned' and members comments on this made on the web site, it became apparent to me that a brief explanation may assist those who are befuddled by the language that surrounds this topic. I too at first was bemused until articles in the USNI Proceedings magazine put flesh on a concept that a buzzword was coined for. I also think it would be a detriment to the service if due to a lack of descriptive clarity by our friends from across the ocean, members cannot contribute to this debate. Therefore, in an attempt to clear the fog of warfare jargon, I have put together the following review that takes in a number of the issues that are contained in transformation. Please appreciate that this is my interpretation of what I understand to be the meaning of transformation, therefore, any errors and ambiguities are of my own making.

The development of the Internet into a medium for high-speed networking has lead to the emergence of Network-centric computing, where data intelligence can be easily created, distributed and accessed around the globe. IT dependent businesses, such as those within the financial securities market, have linked their stand alone computer system to a joint market network or system of systems. By doing so they have advanced the assessment of risk made from delayed collated data into a seamless comprehensive evaluation made in real time.

Leading US companies understand and know how to exploit the advantages this brings, locking-in success and locking-out competition, i.e. consider the dominance of Bill Gates Microsoft 'Windows'. The US military seeks to achieve a comparable locking in-out effect in warfare. So Net-centric computing has mutated to Net-centric warfare.

How would this work for the military? The critical elements at operational level are sensor and engagement grids that are backed by an information network and supported by partially automated command and control processes. Net-centric warfare will provide a faster and more effective war fighting style, where time plays a critical role.

The USN uses CEC, (cooperative engagement capability) which is a high speed situational awareness/battle-management system that uses a secure radio frequency network that connects and inter-acts with information obtained from a variety of air, sea and land based sensors. The USN is also developing IT infrastructure (IT-21) that has a common operating environment, in which all assets are linked, interoperability. This shares advanced command, control, communications, computers & intelligence (advanced C4I), using intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), linked to precision, guided munitions (PGMs).

Analytical superiority will accelerate the deployment of precision weapons that puts an end to the opposition's plans before they are commenced. "That stops wars - which is what network-centric warfare is all about" Admiral Cebrowski.

How will this be achieved? "We must examine our organizations, our training, our equipment and our institutional attitudes and set a deliberate course to cultivate the capabilities we will need tomorrow" General Krulak US Marine Corp.

The move from a platform to a network based form of warfare will require a change in how operations are directed. A shift from the conventional top down direction form of control, in which command uses collated data to coordinate weapon platforms for a planned strike at an opponent, to a bottom up process where enhanced situational awareness enables a commander to coordinate a real time strike using weapons on dispersed platforms. A benefit derived from all sharing a common picture is the ability for a subordinate command to act on their own initiative, to manage risk as they occur and to respond to threats more rapidly and effectively.

Therefore, depending on the circumstance, the rules on which combat is conducted have in effect been reversed, with the addition of high reliance on technology. Reforming to Net-Centric warfare will require a revision of operational direction that extends to formulating innovative concepts that incorporate new thinking on tactics and technology. For example, Sea-Power 21, Link 16, littoral combat ship, unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle (UAV), smart ship, Aegis, and joint surveillance and targeting attack radar (JSTARS) see further in the May edition, Admiral Hill's review of USNI Proceedings July 2002 - January 2003.

So, how will people use Net-Centric systems, how do we create an effective joint doctrine? As information moves bottom up to command, the top down chain in command hierarchy will flatten. Adjusting to this change will require the development of people who are allowed and encouraged to be creative, who are end to end thinkers, who can handle the challenges to authority and are IT literate. This will call for a managed change in operational culture, along with a willingness to adapt, if not agree with, change to Net-Centric and other aligned innovations. Successful change management will be as important as IT development and the principles of warfare that develop from it, for without it transformation cannot be achieved.

TONY WILSHIRE