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Release : 1999
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Book Synopsis Realizing the Potential of C4I: Fundamental Challenges by :

Download or read book Realizing the Potential of C4I: Fundamental Challenges written by . This book was released on 1999. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Section 262 of the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 directed the Secretary of Defense to request that the National Research Council conduct a review of current and planned service and defense-wide programs for command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) with a special focus on cross-service and inter-service issues. (For purposes of this report, C4I systems include systems designed to support a commander's exercise of command and control across the range of military operations and to generate information and knowledge about an adversary and friendly forces.) Although the Cold War is over, new regional threats to U.S. interests are increasingly likely. The U.S. military, in its traditional role as an instrument of national power, will be required to deal with a more varied set of military tasks and missions, helping to both establish and maintain regional peace and stability and also coping with less traditional tasks such as humanitarian relief and disaster recovery. Budget pressures have already resulted in a significantly reduced force structure and withdrawal of U.S. military presence from many overseas locations. Joint operations are now the norm, and in many cases, U.S. military operations are combined with those of allied and coalition forces. Forces responding to contingencies are likely to be employed "come as they are," with only minimal time for preparation and deployment before entering the operational phase of a contingency. The military that must play these roles has many different C4I sys- tems, both old and new. Older systems often were built for single-purpose, stand-alone applications, and often rely heavily on military-specific technology. In contrast, current systems are increasingly being built to meet explicit requirements for interoperability and flexibility, and the Department of Defense has been increasingly capitalizing on commercial information technologies for C4I systems.