Composeable FORCEnet Command and Control: The Key to Energizing the Global Information Grid to Enable Superior Decision Making

Abstract : This paper will examine one of the most critical aspects of transforming information age concepts and technologies how do we think about the problem of Joint command and control. Our research has shown that warfighters operating in a Global Information Grid (GIG) and FORCEnet-enabled environment must be able to compose the command and control elements at their disposal to ensure superior decision-making to enable the Joint Force Commander to achieve the Joint Vision 2020 goal of Full Spectrum Dominance. The key word in this construct it composeable and our thesis is that commanders must have the ability to compose a command and control architecture that meets their warfighting requirements from a broad array of multi-tiered networked sensors, dynamic bandwidth capabilities and tailorable visualization. This paper will show that in the naval context, this requires that we engineer FORCEnet, from the keel up, not as a set-piece bundle of fixed capabilities, but as a fungible toolbox of capabilities that the commander selects based on the operational mission he must accomplish as well as a set of capabilities that fits seamlessly into the GIG. Composeable FORCEnet enables warfighters to make the superior decisions necessary to win in battle. We will describe how Composeable FORCEnet unlocks the power of the GIG to fundamentally alter the way in which military decision makers view, manage and understand the information environment in a Joint and combined warfighting context. We will show how Composeable FORCEnet supports shared situational awareness across strategic, operational and tactical levels to enable superior decision-making.