News From USJFCOM: Command, DoD leadership look at future capabilities


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Command, DoD leadership look at future capabilities

Leaders from DoD and U.S. Joint Forces Command recently looked at a number of emerging technologies as part of the Joint Capability Technology Demonstration annual review, hosted by the Joint Concept Development and Experimentation Directorate.

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By Army Sgt. Josh LeCappelain
USJFCOM Public Affairs

(NORFOLK, Va., May 28, 2010) -- U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) presented the latest status of the command's Joint Capability Technology Demonstrations (JCTD) to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)'s JCTD program sponsor during the Joint Concept Development and Experimentation Directorate (J9)'s annual JCTD review May 19-20.

JCTDs are OSD-sponsored programs focused on combatant commanders' warfighting requirements. They involve joining with DoD, interagency and international partners to take validated warfighter gaps or shortfalls, integrate technologies to develop solutions to those shortfalls, test those solutions in an operationally relevant environment, and transition them into enduring capabilities.

Jim Clark, USJFCOM JCTD program manager, said J9 had two goals during the review.

"The first was to provide an annual update to the OSD - as the program's sponsor - on our portfolio of JCTDs. This gives us a chance to highlight the great work being done by each of the JCTD [project] teams as well as bring issues to the OSD's attention," Clark said. "The second was to provide a forum for a community-wide exploration into opportunities to leverage capabilities and expertise between JCTD programs, joint experimentation, and science and technology."

Navy Rear Adm. Dan Davenport, J9 director, praised USJFCOM'S work with JCTDs, but he sees room for growth.

"Collectively, we must do better integrating experimentation, science and technology, and JCTDs," Davenport said. "We are working with the OSD's Rapid Fielding Directorate (RFD) to make this happen."

Clark added that Earl C. Wyatt, OSD Rapid Fielding director, and other attendees said they felt J9 hit the mark on both areas.

According to Wyatt, there are a few things he looks for during these annual reviews, that all combatant commands (COCOM) conduct.

The JCTD program stretches its dollars by incorporating the needs of other potential participants and beneficiaries, like other COCOMs or other federal agencies, Wyatt said. To enhance those opportunities, conferences like this one are expanded to include people from outside the USJFCOM community.

"This gives us the chance to enhance our efficiency and cut down on expenses," he said.

Wyatt added that USJFCOM has been involved in more than 40 JCTD/Advanced Capability Technology Demonstration (ACTD) activities since the program's inception in 1994, in areas like battlespace awareness, net-centric operations, force protection and force application.

"Part of [USJFCOM's] contributions have helped us in innovation. A large part of what we do is trying to respond to a known need," he said. "When it comes to innovation, sometimes it's doing what you currently do more efficiently and sometimes it's introducing something entirely different. Predator and Global Hawk are examples of USJFCOM helping to introduce something completely different. Their help in introducing Predator and Global Hawk has resulted in opening the door to unmanned systems and unmanned aerial vehicles so sometimes we really do get out of the box."

Clark highlighted some of the JCTDs USJFCOM currently is working on. "We have a wide-ranging portfolio, with many of our directorates actively involved in sponsoring individual JCTDs," he said. "The Future Immersive Training Environment, sponsored by the Joint Training Directorate/Joint Warfighting Center, has [USJFCOM Commander Marine] Gen. [James] Mattis' personal interest as it attacks a critical shortfall in DoD's ability to provide realistic immersive training for troops in a dismounted fight.

"The command surgeon's office is leading the Joint Medical Distance Support and Evacuation JCTD focused on providing medical care in the 'golden hour' to troops operating on a distributed battlespace," he continued. "The Adaptive Planning Global Force Management Planning and Execution JCTD, sponsored by the Operations, Planning, Logistics and Engineering Directorate, is addressing a[n] area of adaptive planning."

Wyatt suggested that people interested in coming in with a JCTD proposal not feel daunted by the requirements.

"The JCTD team is ready to work with teams that have innovative proposals. You could say we are mercenary in our approach because we will take a concept or technology from a variety of sources, he said. "The RFD portfolio has offices that assist non-traditional performers partner with the DoD to help deliver solutions to our warfighters. The RFD operating model focuses on urgent, emerging and anticipated needs coming from the combatant commanders and looks to provide a variety of solutions - not just JCTDs - inside the normal budget cycle.

"But to demonstrate that it works within the concept operations of the troops, so that it is transparent to the operator, it needs to fit within the infrastructure and can be supported, and [show] that they've tried to minimize the workload for the individual soldier, sailor, Marine or airman," he continued. "If they think they have an innovative approach, they will have captured our attention."

Wyatt offered some advice going forward to USJFCOM's operational managers.

"USJFCOM has the challenge of trying to meet the needs of multiple COCOMs. With the idea of getting the biggest bang for your investment, keep those other COCOMs engaged while ensuring that the end solution is something that the originator asked for and has some use," said Wyatt. "Oftentimes, if we open the aperture a little more, it serves the needs of multiple people."