"We're forward thinking and forward looking. We're trying to harness the power of information and information sphere technologies to better prepare the U.S. Joint Forces for war about five years from now," he said. During Spiral 3, held the first two weeks in June, military members from all service branches worked together, planning and becoming familiar with the computer-based "tools" linked to the simulation.
One of the experiment's objectives is obtaining information superiority over an adversary. The goal is to rapidly access, share and process information in order to develop plans and execute them -- almost simultaneously. The computer-based tools make that possible. [Information superiority is certainly important, but what is more important is to translate Information Superiority into Decision Superiority as in this will give the US forces an enormous advantage over the enemy. WEN] -----Original Message----- From: ARMY LINK NEWS LIST ArmyLINK News Story Sent: 30 July 2002 15:22 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Joint experiment explores future warfare by Master Sgt. Debra Bingham Joint experiment explores future warfare by Master Sgt. Debra Bingham SUFFOLK, Va. (Army News Service, July 30, 2002) -- There's an experiment underway at the U.S. Joint Forces Command at Suffolk, Va., and dozens of locations around the country, but you won't find any test tubes or beakers in this "laboratory." The experiment, Millennium Challenge 2002, is designed to simulate a realistic battlefield in the year 2007. Part of a Department of Defense-wide transformation process, MC02 will explore new methods of planning, organizing and fighting in a joint service environment, officials said. The MC02 experiment is taking place at 17 simulation sites and nine live sites across the country. It's the largest joint military experiment and exercise of its kind in history, with more than 13,500 military and civilian personnel participating. MC02 runs July 24-Aug 15. Lt. Gen. B.B. Bell, Commanding General of III Corps and Fort Hood, is wearing a different hat during MC02. He's serving as the commander of the Joint Task Force Headquarters. About 200 soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas, worked with Bell at Suffolk prior to the exercise start for a final planning and rehearsal exercise called Spiral 3. Bell said he is excited about the role Fort Hood soldiers are playing in helping the U.S. Joint Forces Command and Department of Defense explore innovative concepts for battle and command and control. "We're forward thinking and forward looking. We're trying to harness the power of information and information sphere technologies to better prepare the U.S. Joint Forces for war about five years from now," he said. During Spiral 3, held the first two weeks in June, military members from all service branches worked together, planning and becoming familiar with the computer-based "tools" linked to the simulation. One of the experiment's objectives is obtaining information superiority over an adversary. The goal is to rapidly access, share and process information in order to develop plans and execute them -- almost simultaneously. The computer-based tools make that possible. During the experiment, operators can quickly retrieve information from military and governmental agencies, as well as economic and academic sources. "These tools give us instant communication, instant collaboration and enormous capability to retrieve data to help us in our decision making process," Bell said Computer tools also enable commanders and staff to simultaneously talk with each other. Hundreds of people can be brought together in a virtual auditorium for an interactive meeting, without the "attendees" leaving their workspaces. Bell said the aim is to tap into the knowledge base of people "sitting" in the auditorium. "It's quite probable that some great thinker, one who is normally buried in an office somewhere, will have an idea or concept or know something about the enemy that is so important to us that we'll be able to grab it and bring it into our thinking immediately," Bell said. Spiral 3 gave participants a chance to master computer tools and allowed them to leap into the future. Bell said mastering the computer skills was not as difficult as changing traditional military decision-making mindsets and finding new approaches and answers to problems. "We've got to reconfigure ourselves, both in terms of the way we would perceive fighting today and project ourselves to the way the Joint Forces Command believes we would be able to fight 5 years from now," Bell said. Part of that new way of thinking is being explored in a concept called Rapid Decisive Operations. RDO brings a vast knowledge base, command and control elements and operations together to bring about a desired effect on an adversary. Bell said it means moving away from traditional, time-consuming sequential operations, where plans are issued from the top and trickle down to subordinate levels, to a faster, collaborative approach. By using technology to communicate, plans and combat operations can be developed simultaneously. "We can bring our thinking together very, very rapidly and conduct operations quickly and decisively," Bell said. The collaborative process includes thinking about the kind of effect or impact planners want to have on an adversary, a concept called Effects Based Operations. "What we're learning in this process is a better way to look at the enemy, in terms of what he is capable of doing, and what kind of effect we want to achieve with regard to the enemy," Bell said. The effect could be a military action, or it could be economic, information or diplomatic one, he said.. Although MCO2 is an experiment, it is expected to provide insight into how to transform the military to meet future challenges. (Editor's note: Master Sgt. Debra Bingham is assigned to the 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office.) Link to original news item: http://www.dtic.mil/armylink/news/Jul2002/a20020730mc073002a.html IWS INFOCON Mailing List @ IWS - The Information Warfare Site http://www.iwar.org.uk
