Dacus, A: Impact of C4ISR/Digitization and Joint Force Abili

The end of the Cold War marked the end of an era in United States national security. The bi-polar global balance of power, which defined our nation's defensive strategy for more than 30 years, was replaced with the uncertainty of failed nation-states, rogue authoritarian regimes, and international terrorist organizations. A new world was emerging with the rapid increase in computer technology, the internet, satellite communications, and global economic markets. In 1991, the United States conducted its first major conventional war using smart bombs, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), satellite communications, and space-based imagery technology. These systems were further refined during operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Haiti, and Somalia. Joint Forces were being deployed to all parts of the globe in ways that had not been anticipated before, and the concept of employing a large conventional force was largely becoming too cumbersome and obsolete. A lighter and more rapidly deployable force that provided the same lethal capabilities was required to meet the new challenges of the twenty first century. The Chief of Staff of the Army, General Eric Shinseki, provided a vision of force transformation in order to meet the new challenges for the future. One of the main concepts that emerged as an essential component of force transformation was the ability to achieve information dominance through network-centric warfare. The new paradigm of being a Joint Expeditionary Force that is more rapidly deployable, adaptive, lethal, and able to bring all Joint Force capabilities to bear in any given operation requires the technology that will provide commanders the ability to see the enemy first, understand the situation, and take decisive action. Whether it was low-intensity combat, humanitarian relief, counter-insurgency/counter-terrorist operations, or major combat operations, adapting to new policy demands set the stage for the deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq following the attack o