DOD focus on joint networks urged

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0520/web-dod-05-22-02.asp

By Christopher J. Dorobek 
May 22, 2002

The Defense Department should direct more resources toward information 
technology that can drive joint, networked operations, a former vice 
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

DOD has made strides toward joint forces, but the process is moving 
far too slowly, said retired Adm. William Owens, vice chairman and 
co-chief executive officer for Teledesic LLC, speaking May 21 at the 
Network Centric Warfare 2002 conference in Arlington, Va.

Instead of focusing on the evolutionary changes that can come from 
implementing network-centric operations, the military has been focused 
on such things as the Army's controversial Crusader weapon system or 
the Navy's next-generation warship, the DDX.

DOD officials need to focus on integrating systems and pulling 
together all of the pieces so they work jointly, Owens said.

However, DOD lacks a central authority that could look at using 
commercial technologies to improve warfighting efforts, he said. 
"Where do you go in DOD to talk about commercial technologies?" Owens 
asked. "That's the great strength of this country."

The United States needs to take this seriously because other countries 
are looking to leverage technology to find the U.S. military's weak 
points, he said. Other countries understand that they cannot take on 
the U.S. military in a conventional battle, so they are looking for 
new and innovative ways to enable their armed forces. The Chinese 
government, for example, has been spending money on such initiatives, 
he said.

"It's the next blitzkrieg," he said, and the United States is not 
spending adequate amounts of money or effort if it is going to 
maintain its superiority.

"We are here in the United States where we focus on mass" in terms of 
the size and strength of forces. But others are thinking about 
leveraging information technology and information warfare, he warned.

Owen also was critical of Defense agencies. Although many of those 
agencies were created in the hopes of enabling joint operations, that 
effort has largely failed. "We've wound up with nine additional 
stovepipes, and they are sucking up money," he said.



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