1999 Fletcher Conference

Wednesday, November 3, 1999 10:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Panel 5:

Redefining Defense: Preparing U.S. Forces for the Future

Ambassador Richard L. Armitage
Congressman Mac Thornberry
Dr. Michael O'Hanlon
Dr. Edward L. Warner

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Analysis

The ability of the United States to anticipate the nature of the next war has been poor. New elements in warfare such as information systems, space operations and weapons of mass destruction are likely to increase the problems inherent in planning and preparing for future conflicts. Nevertheless, the Services must foster a culture that encourages innovation and adaptation in order to sustain America's military primacy across a broad spectrum of conflict in support of national security.

In order to promote innovation, the military must embrace the revolution in business affairs. Much like a large commercial entity with multi-national dimensions, the Department of Defense must embrace practices of the most successful business corporations wherever reasonable and possible. In particular, the DoD must benefit from approaches that can enhance its success as a military organization. The rapid developments in e-commerce, outsourcing, commercialization, and globalization will fundamentally transform and improve the military's conduct of business. The resulting increases in efficiency will help free up greater resources for modernization. As the DoD adopts modern business practices, it must become an agile and responsive organization that can more easily adjust to rapid and sudden changes in an uncertain security environment. An automobile company can bring a concept to production within two years while a computer company can change its manufacturing requirements in an even shorter period. In contrast, it takes the military many years to begin the production of new systems. Each of the Services must take steps to become more capable of rapid innovation and adaptation to the new challenges of the 21st century.

Successful innovation and transformation stem largely from a willingness to experiment with new technologies and organizational structures. The Services must develop a culture that promotes experimentation. One major inhibitor to successful experimentation is the continued disconnect between the vision of Service requirements and developments in science and technology. The establishment of battle laboratories and studies on next generation requirements have already yielded substantial results. However, to further enhance experimentation, the Services must engage in a joint approach. The Joint Forces Command is now spearheading a forward-looking effort on joint concepts and experimentation. The combatant command has examined key tasks, critical enablers such as C4ISR, and leadership reform from a joint perspective. In the past, systems were developed based on the requirements of a specific Service and then modified for joint compatibility. One of the main objectives of the Joint Forces Command is to examine ways to develop a process that would field joint rather than Service-specific capabilities. Each of the Services must test new approaches to joint acquisition. Above all, the Armed Forces must abandon the zero-defect concept and accept the possibility of failure as a necessary part of the process of innovation.

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