Joint Vision 2010 is the conceptual template for how America’s Armed Forces will channel the vitality and innovation of our people and leverage technological opportunities to achieve new levels of effectiveness in joint warfighting. Focused on achieving dominance across the range of military operations through the application of new operational concepts, this template provides a common direction for our Services in developing their unique capabilities within a joint framework of doctrine and programs as they prepare to meet an uncertain and challenging future.

Introduction

JV 2010 begins by addressing the expected continuities and changes in the strategic environment, including technology trends and their implications for our Armed Forces. It recognizes the crucial importance of our current high quality, highly trained forces and provides the basis for their further enhancement by prescribing how we will fight in the early 21st century. This vision of future warfighting embodies the improved intelligence and command and control available in the information age and goes on to develop four operational concepts: dominant maneuver, precision engagement, full dimensional protection, and focused logistics.

Each of the operational concepts incorporates America’s core strengths of high quality people and information-age technological advances, builds on proven competencies, and focuses the development
of future joint capabilities. Together, the application of these four concepts by robust high quality forces will provide America with the capability to dominate an opponent across the range of military operations. This Full Spectrum Dominance will be the key characteristic we seek for our Armed Forces in the 21st century. Joint Vision 2010 then examines the six critical elements required to transform the operational concepts into joint capabilities: people, leadership, doctrine, education and training, organizational structure, and materiel. In its conclusion, JV 2010 assesses the challenges and opportunities in moving toward implementation of the vision. This vision draws on our most fundamental source of strength—our people. People are the Armed Forces; at the end of the day, our success, in war or in peace, will rest ultimately on the men and women of the Armed Forces. The skills and vitality of our people will also provide the driving force for shaping change. Channeling our strengths with this vision, we will move toward a common goal: a joint force—persuasive in peace, decisive in war, preeminent in any form of conflict.

Threads of Continuity

As we build our forces to this joint vision, there will be strong threads of continuity with the contemporary strategic and operational environment. Among these threads are American goals and interests, as well as the
missions, tasks, strategic concepts, and quality of our Armed Forces.

America’s enduring goals include: protecting the lives and safety of Americans both at home and abroad; maintaining the political freedom and national independence of the United States with its values, institutions, and territory intact; and providing for the well-being and prosperity of the nation and its people. These goals, in turn, generate American interests which must be protected and advanced. Our fundamental interests lie in enhancing US security, promoting prosperity at home, and promoting democracy abroad. The United States has undertaken foreign and security policies aimed at securing these interests. Ensuring strong relations with our allies, protecting our rights of transit on the high seas, and enlarging the community of free market democracies are examples of policies we are likely to continue to pursue in the years ahead. On the whole, there is likely to be far more continuity than change in these interests and policies.

To protect our vital national interests we will require strong armed forces, which are organized, trained, and equipped to fight and win against any adversary at any level of conflict. Concur-rently, we must also be able
to employ these forces in operations other than war to assist in the pursuit of other important interests. The primary task of the Armed Forces will remain to deter conflict—but, should deterrence fail, to fight and win our nation’s wars. In addition, we should expect to participate in a broad range of deterrent, conflict prevention, and peacetime activities. Further, our history, strategy, and recent experience suggest that we will usually work in concert with our friends and allies in almost all operations. America’s strategic nuclear deterrent, along with appro-priate national level detection and defensive capabilities will likely remain at the core of American national secu-rity. However, the bulk of our Armed Forces will be en-gaged in or training for worldwide military  opera-tions. In these operations, we will largely draw upon our conventional warfighting capabilities—we will fight if we must—but will also use these same capabilities to deter, contain conflict, fight and win, or otherwise pro-mote American interests and values. To ensure we can accomplish these tasks, power projection, enabled by overseas presence, will likely remain the fundamental strategic concept of our future force. We will remain largely a force that is based in the continental United States (CONUS). However, our permanently stationed overseas forces, infrastructure and equipment, temporarily deployed forces, and the interaction between US and
foreign militaries together demonstrate our commitments, strengthen our military capabilities, and enhance the organization of coalitions and multinational operations to deter or defeat aggression. Power projection from the United States, achieved through rapid strategic mobility, will enable the timely response critical to our deterrent and warfighting capabilities. Our overseas presence and highly mobile forces will both remain essential to future operations.

Currently, our Armed Forces are the best trained, best equipped, and most ready force in the world. The quality of our people is unequaled at all levels of the chain of command. Leaders in each of our Services are developed through well-conceived, intensive, and long-term programs. Our equipment is first-rate and it is sustainable in all operations. Together, our personnel, leadership, and equipment are molded into exceptionally able forces through stressful training, which closely ap-proximates wartime condi-tions and requirements. Since the mid-1980s, this high quality has been the essence of the Armed Forces. Military operations are planned knowing that leaders truly understand the requirements, the equipment is operable and safe, and the men and women at the cutting edge have the skills and character to execute their tasks successfully. However, this quality force has been achieved only at great expense and effort. It has required the creation of institutions and procedures, sharpened over more than two decades of experience, to develop these Armed Forces in the most effective and efficient manner possible. These institutions and procedures, and the high quality forces they have produced, remain at the very center of Joint Vision 2010.

Attracting people with the intellectual tools, physical skills, and motivation to serve effectively in the military was foremost among the requirements for building a professional, robust, and ready force. In the late 1970s, over 15 percent of our enlistees scored in the lowest category for military qualification examinations. Today, less than 1 percent are in that category and over 90 percent of our enlistees have graduated from high school. The combination of careful targeting of requirements, recruiting incentives, quality of life initiatives, and challenging opportunities has been very effective in attracting the personnel needed to sustain our quality force. Retention of highly trained Service members in sufficient numbers has also been a key requirement, and we intend to sustain
these efforts. Our first-term reenlistment rates have risen by 10 percent over the last fifteen years. Higher retention is the result of a committed effort by top leadership throughout the government toward raising career
satisfaction, improving command climates, keeping pay competitive and benefits stable, maintaining time at home and deployed at an acceptable balance, and focusing on quality of life initiatives. Another element of our success has been effective leadership development. From deliberate and intensive processes involving  institutional, on-the-job, and self-study methods, the men and women of our Armed Forces gain the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required to accomplish their required tasks across the range of military operations. These formal development processes are designed to balance timing, costs, and operational requirements, at each level of leadership. We will retain those innovative processes to ensure that we maintain the best possible leadership for our Armed Forces. Realistic and stressful training has been the primary way to keep readiness high and prepare our men and women to face the challenges of combat. Such training, consisting of carefully balanced programs of individual, crew, and larger organizational training and assessments, is central to training the way we will fight. From individual or crew mission simulators, through full-blown field exercises at home or abroad, realistic, evaluated training is and must remain our best combat multiplier. Joint, coalition, and combined training and exercises have improved our interoperability and understanding of the strengths of each individual Service as well as allies and coalition partners. From the individual warfighter to large multinational forces, this systematic approach has enabled our men and women to hone their skills in practice many times before ever having to perform actual combat missions. These training innovations must be sustained. Today, our highly trained, quality force has the tools to perform its warfighting tasks. Just 15 years ago, our forces were less well equipped, spare parts inventories were critically short, and sustainability was low. Since then, we have modernized our force and ensured that we procured the parts and provided the training required to take full advantage of this new equipment. Technologically superior equipment has been critical to the success of our forces in combat. This first-rate equipment, when combined with our top quality forces, has been a key element of our continuing operational successes. We must continue to ensure our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines are fully capable of fulfilling their required tasks with equipment that is engineered to provide superior mission performance as well as
safety and reliability. We must maintain a careful balance between equipping and sustaining our forces and between tooth and tail in our force structure. We must also work to assure an efficient and effective support structure and re-sources for all of our forces.

Dynamic Changes

Accelerating rates of change will make the future envi-ronment more unpredictable and less stable, presenting our Armed Forces with a wide range of plausible futures. Whatever direction global change ultimately takes, it will affect how we think about and conduct joint and multinational operations in the 21st century. How we respond to dynamic changes concerning potential adversaries, technological advances and their implications, and the emerging importance for information superiority will dramatically impact how well our Armed Forces can perform its duties in 2010.

America’s Armed Forces are smaller than we have been in over 40 years, and we have decreased the percentage of our forces permanently sta-tioned overseas. Faced with flat budgets and increasingly more costly readiness and modernization, we should not expect a return to the larger active forces of the Cold War period. The American people will continue to expect us to win in any engagement, but they will also expect us to be more efficient in protecting lives and resources while accomplishing the mission successfully. Commanders will be expected to reduce the costs and adverse effects of military operations, from environmental disruption in training to collateral damage in combat. Risks and expenditures will be even more closely scrutinized than they are at present. Simply to retain our effectiveness with less redundancy, we will need to wring every ounce of
capability from every available source. That outcome can only be accomplished through a more seamless integration of Service capabilities. To achieve this integration while conducting military operations we must be
fully joint: institutionally, organizationally, intellectually, and technically. Future commanders must be able to visualize and create the “best fit” of available forces needed to produce the immediate effects and achieve the desired results.

It is not enough just to be joint, when conducting future operations. We must find the most effective methods for integrating and improving interoperability with allied and coalition partners. Although our Armed Forces will maintain decisive unilateral strength, we expect to work in concert with allied and coalition forces in nearly all of our future operations, and increasingly, our procedures, programs, and planning must recognize this reality.

There will continue to be states or groups that oppose or threaten American interests and values or those of our friends and allies. Our recognition of these threats and challenges will continue to drive our national security efforts. Greater global interaction will strongly influence the nature of future threats. Wider access to advanced technology along with modern weaponry, including weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and the requisite skills to maintain and employ it, will increase the number of actors with sufficient military potential to upset existing regional balances of power. Modern systems are sufficiently powerful that smaller numbers can dramatically alter the threats facing us. A number of potential adversaries may acquire the military hardware to make themselves distinctly more dangerous. Our most vexing future adversary may be one who can use technology to make rapid improvements in its military capabilities that provide asymmetrical counters to US military strengths, including information technologies. Alternatively, the high leverage associated with
modern systems means that significant improvements in military capabilities can occur very rapidly, outrunning the pace of compensating political or military countermeasures. The application of these technologies against us may also prove surprising. Our adversaries will have an independent will, some knowledge of our capabilities, and the desire to avoid our strengths and exploit vulnerabilities. We anticipate the probability of facing technological or operational surprise will increase in the period ahead. In sum, the US must prepare to face a wider range of threats, emerging unpredictably, employing varying combinations of technology, and challenging us at varying levels of intensity.

This era will be one of accelerating technological change. Critical advances will have enormous impact on all military forces. Successful adaptation of new and improved technologies may provide great increases in specific capabilities. Conversely, failure to understand and adapt could lead today’s militaries into premature  obsolescence and greatly increase the risks that such forces will be incapable of effective operations against forces with high technology. Long-range precision capability, combined with a wide range of delivery systems, is emerging as a key factor in future warfare. Technological advances will continue the trend toward improved precision. Global positioning systems, high-energy research, electromagnetic technology, and enhanced stand-off capabilities will provide increased accuracy and a wider range of delivery options. These capabilities will increase the combat power available for use against selected objectives, resulting in enhanced economy of force and a higher tempo of operations.

The ability to produce a broader range of potential weapons effects, from less-lethal to hard target kill, from sensor-fused to directed energy weapons, will further enhance precision capability. Advances in target effects technologies will be integrated into existing weapons and give commanders greater flexibility. These improvements will result in increasingly discrete and precise capabilities, which can achieve optimum
results in both combat and other operations. Advances in low observable technologies and the ability to mask friendly forces will also continue over the next 15 years. Signature reduction will enhance the ability to
engage adversaries anywhere in the battlespace and improve the survivability of forces who employ it.

Stealth will strengthen the ability to accomplish surprise, reduce overall force requirements in many operations, and make forces less visible to an unsophisticated or disoriented adversary. Micro-miniaturization will also
promote signature reduction and greatly increase the capabilities available for individuals and small units. Concurrently, multispectral sensing, automated target recognition, and other advances will enhance the
detectability of targets across the battlespace, improving detection ranges, turning night into day for some classes of operations, reducing the risk of fratricide and further accelerating operational tempo. Improvements in information and systems integration technologies will also significantly impact future military operations by providing decision makers with accurate information in a timely manner. Information technology will improve the ability to see, prioritize, assign, and assess information. The fusion of all-source intelligence with the fluid integration of sensors, platforms, command organizations, and logistic support centers will allow a greater number of operational tasks to be accomplished faster. Advances in computer processing, precise global positioning, and telecommunications will provide the capability to determine accurate locations of friendly and enemy forces, as well as to collect, process, and distribute relevant data to thousands of locations. Forces harnessing the capabilities potentially available from this system of systems will gain dominant battlespace awareness, an interactive “picture” which will yield much more accurate assessments of friendly and enemy operations within the area of interest. Although this will not eliminate the fog of war, dominant battlespace awareness will improve situational awareness, decrease response time, and make the battlespace considerably more transparent to those who achieve it.

The combination of these technology trends will provide an order of magnitude improvement in lethality. Commanders will be able to attack targets successfully with fewer platforms and less ordnance while achieving objectives more rapidly and with reduced risk. Individual warfighters will be empowered as never before, with an array of detection, targeting, and communications equipment that will greatly magnify the power of small units. Strategically, this improvement will enable more rapid power projection and reduced logistics tails. Operationally, within the theater, these capabilities will mean a more rapid transition from deployment to full operational capability. As a result, we will improve our capability for rapid, worldwide deployment while becoming even more tactically mobile and lethal. The implications of this increased lethality for overall force structure requirements are unclear. Given current technology, today’s force structure is adequate to meet our full range of global needs, but barely so. While these prospective improvements in lethality clearly offer promise of reducing the number of platforms and the amount of ordnance required to destroy targets, many military missions will require occupation of the ground, and intensive physical presence. For these missions the promises of technology are less certain, especially in environments such as cities or jungles. During all operations, advanced technology in the hands of
an adversary will increase the importance of force protection at all echelons. Any efficiencies garnered by our offensive systems must be underwritten by appropriate redundancies to safeguard against unanticipated technological, strategic, or operational surprise. Adaptations to this increasingly lethal battlespace will be warranted. These adaptations are likely to take the forms of increased stealth, mobility, dispersion and pursuit of a higher tempo of operations among elements within the battlespace. To cope with more lethal systems and improved targeting, our forces will require stealth and other means of passive protection, along with mobility superior to the enemy’s ability to retarget or react to our forces. Increased stealth will reduce an enemy’s ability to target our forces. Increased dispersion and mobility are possible offensively because each platform or each individual warfighter carries higher lethality and has greater reach. Defensively, dispersion and higher tempo complicate enemy targeting and reduce the effectiveness of area attack and area denial weaponry such as weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The capability to control the tempo of operations and, if necessary, sustain a tempo faster than the enemy’s will also help enable our forces to seize and maintain the initiative during military operations. Greater mobility and increased dispersion will, in turn, require additional communications and coordination capabilities since the synchronization of these dispersed elements will become even more important. Fortunately, the technology for this improved systems integration is at hand. The implications of improved
systems integration are both profound and complex. New technologies will allow increased capability at lower echelons to control more lethal forces over larger areas, thus leveraging the skills and initiative of  individuals and small units. These capabilities could empower a degree of independent maneuver, planning, and coordination at lower echelons, which were normally exercised by more senior commanders in the past. Concurrently, commanders at higher echelons will use these technologies to reduce the friction of war and to apply precise central-ized control when and where appropriate. Even for higher level commanders, the accelerated operational tempo and greater integration requirements will likely create a more stressful, faster moving decision environment. Real-time information will likely drive parallel, not sequential, planning and real-time, not prearranged, decision making. The optimal balance between centralized and decentralized command and control will have to be carefully developed as systems are brought into the inventories.

Throughout history, gathering, exploiting, and protecting information have been critical in command, control, and intelligence. The unqualified importance of information will not change in 2010. What will differ is the increased access to information and improvements in the speed and accuracy of prioritizing and transferring data brought about by advances in technology. While the friction and the fog of war can never be eliminated, new technology promises to mitigate their impact. Sustaining the responsive, high quality data processing and information needed for joint military operations will require more than just an edge over an adversary. We must have information superiority: the capability to collect, process, and disseminate an uninterrupted flow of information while exploiting or denying an adversary’s ability to do the same. Information superiority will require both offensive and defensive information warfare (IW). Offensive information warfare will degrade or exploit an adversary’s collection or use of information. It will include both traditional methods, such as a precision attack to destroy an adversary’s command and control capability, as well as nontraditional methods such as electronic intrusion into an information and control network to convince, confuse, or deceive enemy military decision makers. There should be no misunderstanding that our effort to achieve and maintain information superiority will also invite resourceful enemy attacks on our information systems. Defensive infor-mation warfare to protect our ability to conduct information operations will be one of our biggest challenges in the period ahead. Traditional defensive IW operations include physical security measures and encryption. Nontraditional actions will range from antivirus protection to innovative methods of secure data transmission. In addition, increased strategic level programs will be required in this critical area.

Conduct of Joint Operations

Our forces have been largely organized, trained, and equipped to defeat military forces of our potential adversaries. Direct combat against an enemy’s armed forces is the most demanding and complex set of requirements we have faced. Other operations, from humanitarian assistance in peacetime through peace operations in a near hostile environment, have proved to be possible using forces optimized for wartime effectiveness. Technological advances will magnify the advantages provided by our high quality force. The promise provided by these technologies is best viewed from an operational perspective. In the past, our capabilities often required us to physically mass forces to neutralize enemy power. The time needed to build up and employ massed combat forces, including the platforms, weapons, and associated logistics, required to achieve success resulted in military operations that were largely sequential in nature and tactics which too
often saw ground, maritime, and air forces massed in time and space. By 2010, we should be able to change how we conduct the most intense joint operations. Instead of relying on massed forces and sequential operations,
we will achieve massed effects in other ways. Information superiority and advances in technology will enable us to achieve the desired effects through the tailored application of joint combat power. Higher lethality weapons will allow us to conduct attacks concurrently that formerly required massed assets, applied in a sequential manner. With precision targeting and longer range systems, commanders can achieve the necessary destruction or suppression of enemy forces with fewer systems, thereby reducing the need for time-consuming and risky massing of people and equipment. Improved command and control, based on fused, all-source, real-time intelligence will reduce the need to assemble maneuver formations days and hours in advance of attacks. Providing improved targeting information directly to the most effective weapon system will potentially reduce the traditional force requirements at the point of main effort. All of this suggests that we will be increasingly able to accomplish the effects of mass—the necessary concentration of combat power at the decisive time and place—with less need to mass forces physically than in the past. This will enhance our combat capabilities against opposing military forces. To be sure, this will not obviate the ultimate need for “boots on the ground” in many operations, nor will it relieve our Service men and women of the need to be physically present at the decisive points in battle or in other operations, or to be exposed to conditions of great danger and hardship. However, in all operations technological advances and our use of information will give our warfighters at the individual, crew, and small unit levels major qualitative advantages over potential adversaries. Our forces will be able to sense dangers sooner. They will have increased awareness of the overall operational environment, including the situation of friendly forces, allowing them to make better decisions more rapidly. They will have an enhanced ability to produce a range of desired effects by bringing together the correct mix of assets at the place and time most favorable to success. When tied to a more rapid resupply, reinforcement, and reengagement capability, they will be better able to provide the best response at less risk to themselves, based on the mission objectives and circumstances of the battlespace. Whether operating from dispersed locations or in close proximity to each other, the confidence of each individual warfighter or crew will be bolstered by enhanced
connectivity to comrades, supporting elements, and higher commands. In sum, by 2010 we should be able to enhance the capabilities of our forces through technology. This will, in turn, expand our greatest advantage: the adaptability, initiative, teamwork, and commitment of our people at every level. To exploit the enormous potential of technology, we must develop in a systematic manner the full range of required enhancements. This
process must begin with a new conceptual framework for operations. The basis for this framework is found in the improved command, control, and intelligence which can be assured by information superiority. These are the most straightforward applications of much of the new technology; however, the full impact of these technologies is more profound. Enhanced command and control, and much improved intelligence, along with other applications of new technology will transform the traditional functions of maneuver, strike, protection, and logistics. These transformations will be so powerful that they become, in effect, new operational concepts: dominant maneuver; precision engagement; full dimensional protection; and focused logistics. These operational concepts will provide our forces with a new conceptual framework.

Dominant Maneuver

Dominant maneuver will be the multidimensional application of information, engagement, and mobility capabilities to position and employ widely dispersed joint air, land, sea, and space forces to accomplish the assigned operational tasks. Dominant maneuver will allow our forces to gain a decisive advantage by controlling the breadth, depth, and height of the battlespace. Through a combination of asymmetric leverage, achieved by our positional advantages, as well as decisive speed and tempo, dominant maneuver allows us to apply decisive force to attack enemy centers of gravity at all levels and compels an adversary to either react from a position of disadvantage or quit. Dominant maneuver will require forces that are adept at conducting sustained and synchronized operations from dispersed locations. They must be able to apply overwhelming force in the
same medium and create asymmetric advantages by attacking cross-dimensionally, such as air or sea against ground or ground and sea against air defenses. These forces must have the ability to outpace and outmaneuver the enemy. Current systems, enhanced by information superiority, will provide a clearer picture of enemy and friendly locations. Information superiority also will allow joint commanders to coordinate widely dispersed units, receive accurate feedback, and execute more demanding, higher precision requirements. Increasingly lethal direct and indirect fire systems, with longer ranges and more accurate targeting, will increase the punch of these forces as they maneuver. The tailor-to-task organizational ability will provide the additional advantage of self protection —another key element for successfully achieving dominant maneuver. The combination of seamless operations with reduced “buildup time” and a smaller, more widely dispersed footprint will make it much more difficult for an adversary to find and attack our forces. Other defensive measures, low observable technologies, signature reduction, and enhanced deception capabilities will provide similar advantages for protection and improve our chances for mission success. Altogether, the organizational concept of dominant maneuver is a prescription for more agile, faster moving joint operations, which will combine air, land, and maritime forces more effectively to deliver decisive combat power.

Precision Engagement

Precision engagement will consist of a system of systems that enables our forces to locate the objective or target, provide responsive command and control, generate the desired effect, assess our level of success, and retain the flexibility to reengage with precision when required. Even from extended ranges, precision engagement will allow us to shape the battlespace, enhancing the protection of our forces. Information operations will tie together high fidelity target acquisition, prioritized requirements, and command and control of joint forces within the  battlespace. This combination will provide a greater assurance of delivering the desired effect, lessen the risk to our forces, and minimize collateral damage. Precision engagement will build on current US advantages in delivery accuracy and low observable technologies. It will use a wide variety of means, including very accurate aerial deliver-ies or air drops, discriminate weapon strikes, and precise, all-weather stand-off capability. Enhanced jointness will ensure reater commonality between Service precision engagement capabilities and provide future joint force commanders with a wider array of responsive, accurate, and flexible options.

Full-Dimensional Protection

We must also protect our own forces from the very technologies that we are exploiting. Unless we provide an adequate measure of protection for our forces, these new operational concepts will be highly vulnerable to disruption. We will achieve this required level of protection through the concept called full dimensional protection. The primary prerequisite for full-dimensional protection will be control of the battlespace to ensure our forces can maintain freedom of action during deployment, maneuver and engagement, while providing multi-layered defenses for our forces and facilities at all levels. Full-dimensional protection will enable the effective employment of our forces while degrading opportunities for the enemy. It will be essential, in most cases, for gaining and maintaining the initiative required to execute decisive operations. The concept will be proactive, incorporating both offensive and defensive actions that may extend well into areas of enemy operations. Full-dimensional protection will be built upon information superiority which will provide multidimensional awareness and assessment, as well as identification of all forces in the battlespace. Information warfare will support this effort by protecting our information systems and processes, while denying an adversary the similar capabilities. Upon this information base, we will employ a full array of active and passive measures at multiple echelons. Active measures will include battlespace control opera-tions to guarantee the air, sea, space, and information superiority that is needed to gain the degree of control to accomplish the assigned tasks. Active measures will also include an integrated, in-depth theater air and missile defense that will exploit Service-unique capabilities to detect, identify, locate, track, and deny enemy attacks on our joint forces. Passive measures will
include the inherent protection provided by information superiority and dispersal to increase our warning of attacks. Operational dispersion will further reduce risks to our forces. New sensors and information dissemination systems will be deployed to detect chemical or biological attack at great ranges and provide warning to specific units that may be affected. Enhanced deception and camouflage measures, increased individual and collective protection, and a joint restoration capability against the effects of WMD are also key ele-ments for achieving full dimensional protection. Most importantly, these active and passive measures will be combined to provide a more seamless joint architecture for force protection, which will leverage the contributions of individual Services, systems, and echelons. The result will be improved freedom of action for friendly forces, and better protection at all echelons against precision attack, weapons of mass destruction, and other conventional or  on-conventional systems.

Focused Logistics

Each of the preceding concepts relies on our ability to project power with the most capable forces, at the decisive time and place. To optimize all three concepts, logistics must be responsive, flexible, and precise. Focused logistics will be the fusion of information, logistics, and transportation technologies to provide rapid crisis response, to track and shift assets even while enroute, and to deliver tailored logistics packages and sustainment directly at the strategic, operational, and tactical level of operations. It will be fully adaptive to the needs of our increasingly dispersed and mobile forces, providing support in hours or days versus weeks. Focused logistics will enable joint forces of the future to be more mobile, versatile, and projectable from anywhere in the world. Logistic functions will incorporate information technologies to transition from the rigid vertical organizations of the past. Modular and specifically tailored combat service support packages will evolve in response to  wide-ranging contingency requirements. Service and Defense agencies will work jointly and integrate with the civilian sector, where required, to take advantage of advanced business practices, commercial economies, and global networks. Active and reserve combat service support capabilities, prepared for complete integration into joint operations, will provide logistic support and sustainment as long as necessary. Information technologies will enhance airlift, sealift, and pre-positioning capabilities to lighten deployment loads, assist pinpoint logistics delivery systems, and ex-tend the reach and longevity of systems currently in the inventory. The combined impact of these improve-ments will be a smaller, more capable deployed force. It will require less continuous support with a smaller logistics footprint, decreasing the vulnerability of our logistics lines of communication.

Each of these new operational concepts will reinforce the others and will allow us to achieve massed effects in warfare from more dispersed forces. This synergy will greatly enhance our capabilities in high intensity conventional military operations. However, the synergy of these four concepts transcends intense conventional warfighting. Without overspecialization, the development of these new operational concepts has great potential to fulfill more effectively the full range of tasks assigned to us. That is, taken together these four new concepts will enable us to dominate the full range of military operations from humanitarian assistance, through peace operations, up to and into the highest intensity conflict.

Information superiority will provide a commander with enhanced awareness of his area of responsibility, whether his objective is to close with and engage an adversary or render assistance in a humanitarian operation. Surveillance, reconnaissance and knowledge of the precise location of dispersed friendly forces with the ability to direct effectively their efforts are applicable for all military tasks. Likewise, the tactical mobility required for dominant maneuver which enables our forces rapidly to move into position to overwhelm an enemy will also allow commanders to place forces in positions of control in counterdrug, counterterrorism, or peace-keeping operations. Precision engagement capabilities designed for warfighting tasks will also enable greater discrimination in the application of force against an emerging threat during peace enforcement operations. Full-dimensional protection will allow freedom of action for our forces and limit their vulnerability during combat and noncombat operations. Focused logistics will ensure delivery of the precise amount and types of supplies required for our joint forces to succeed in combat or noncombat operations.

Although the positive implications for enhancing our capabilities across the range of military operations seem obvious, we cannot assume that all new concepts will be equally valuable in all operations. In intensive
combat, target destruction may be essential in the early engagements of an operation, but extensive physical presence may later be necessary to accomplish the assigned mission. This presence may be required to fully neutralize enemy forces, deal with prisoners and potentially hostile populations, or otherwise assure that success in attacking targets is followed through to achieve the overall objectives of the operation. For noncombat operations, physical presence will likely be even more important. Thus, we must ensure that capturing the new technologies does not overspecialize the force; we must retain balanced and sustainable capabilities. We recognize that, regardless of how sophisticated technology becomes, the individual warfighter’s judgment, creativity, and adaptability in the face of highly dynamic situations will be essential to the success of future joint operations. The human element is especially important in situations where we cannot bring our technological capabilities fully to bear against opponents who seek to nullify our technological superiority by various means. In these cases, our success will depend, as it has historically, upon the physical, intellectual, and moral strengths of the individual soldier, sailor, airman, and marine— especially their adaptability in the face of the unexpected.

To sustain the Armed Forces and instill these new operational concepts will require high quality people—the key ingredient for success. The judgment, creativity, and fortitude of our people will remain the key to success in future joint operations. Turning concepts into capabilities requires adapting our leadership, doctrine, education and training, organizations, and materiel to meet the high tempo, high technology demands posed by these new concepts.

Thus, recruiting and retaining dedicated high quality people will remain our first priority. Only a force that has the courage, stamina, and intellectual ability to cope with the complexity and rapid pace of future joint operations will have the capability to achieve full spectrum dominance. We cannot expect risk-free, push-button style operations in the future. Military operations will continue to demand extraordinary dedication and sacrifice under the most adverse conditions. Some military operations will require close combat on the ground, at sea, or in the air. The courage and heart of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines will remain the foundation of all that our Armed Forces must do.

The dynamic nature of joint operations in the 21st century battlespace will require a continued emphasis on developing strong leadership skills. While we must do everything possible to leverage the power of advanced
technologies, there are inherent limitations. Confronting the inevitable friction and fog of war against a resourceful and strong minded adversary, the human dimension including innovative strategic and operational thinking and strong leadership will be essential to achieve decisive results. Effective leadership provides our greatest hedge against uncertainty. We will build upon the enduring foundation of functional expertise, core values, and high ethical standards. Our future leaders at all levels of command must understand the interrelationships among military power, diplomacy, and economic pressure, as well as the role of various government agencies and non-governmental actors, in achieving our security objectives. They will require a sophisticated understanding of historical context and communication skills to succeed in the future. The evolution of command structures, increased pace and scope of operations, and the continuing refinement of force structure and organizations will require leaders with a knowledge of the capabilities of all four services. Without sacrificing their basic service competencies, these future leaders must be schooled in joint operations from the beginning of their careers. This leadership development must begin rigorous selection processes and extend beyond formal education and training. Hands-on experience in a variety of progressive assignments must stress innovation, dealing with ambiguity, and a sophisticated understanding of the military art. In short, our leaders must demonstrate the very highest levels of skill and versatility in ever more complex joint and multinational operations.

As we change the way we fight, joint doctrine will remain the foundation that fundamentally shapes the way we think about and train for joint military operations. Joint doctrine is a critical ingredient for success because the way in which leaders think and organize their forces will be as important as the technology we use to conduct future joint operations. Future joint doctrine must articulate the process required for successful joint planning but must be flexible enough to serve as a broad framework to guide our forces in joint and multinational operations. It is the key to enhanced jointness because it transforms technology, new ideas, and operational concepts into joint capabilities. We will discover new ways to change the development process for joint doctrine. Thus, we must integrate “top-down” doctrine throughout the development cycle, while continuing to ensure that joint doctrine fully incorporates the strengths that each Service brings to joint warfare.

Our education and training programs must prepare joint warriors to meet the challenges of the future battlespace. These programs must emphasize employment of new technologies and achieving the operational concepts  outlined in this vision. It is essential that our Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) programs provide our warfighters with an understanding of strategic concepts in the future environment where military force will be applied, as well as an in-depth understanding of individual Service systems and how the integration of these systems enhance joint operations. The requirement for high quality, realistic, and stressful training that amplifies education and fully prepares our forces for joint operations is similarly important. We must emphasize integration of joint capabilities and develop skills that increase individual and organizational effectiveness. Our training must reflect emerging threats and include both information saturation and total interruption of information flow. Enhanced modeling and simulation of the battlespace, when coupled to on the ground evaluation with real soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, can improve the realism of training, upgrade the levels of day-to-day readiness, and increase our opportunities to test innovative concepts and new strategies. Simulations must be interconnected globally—creating a near-real-time interactive simulation superhighway between our forces in every theater. Each CINC must be able to tap into this global network and connect forces worldwide that would be available for theater operations. This network will allow selected units in CONUS to train with forces located in an overseas theater without actually deploying there. Similarly, we will pursue improvements in our campaign modeling and analysis to exploit the concepts of this vision. This global simulation network must include our Reserve and National Guard units, as well as selected multinational partners, to increase their readiness and interoperability.

In order to make optimum use of the technologies and operational concepts discussed earlier, we must carefully examine the traditional criteria governing span of control and organizational layers for the Services, commands, and Defense agencies. We will need organizations and processes that are agile enough to exploit emerging technologies and respond to diverse threats and enemy capabilities. As we move forward, we may require further reductions in supervision and centralized direction. All organizations must become more responsive to contingencies, with less “startup” time between deployment and employ-ment. Because we rely on the total force to provide the full range of military capabili-ties, we also require respon-sive Reserve components that can rapidly integrate into joint organizations. Increased organizational flexibility will enhance our responsiveness. We will seek organizations that can support flexible force packaging and work to smooth the process further.

Since most of the platforms expected to be in service in 2010 are already designed or operational, we will  emphasize high leverage, leading edge technology enhancements to increase our capabilities. We will also place greater emphasis on common usage between Services and increase interoperability among the Services and multi-national partners. We will need a responsive research, development, and acquisition process to incorporate new technologies. This process must leverage technology and management innovations originating in the private sector through responsive access to commercial developments.

Implementing Joint Vision 2010

We must proceed with implementing Joint Vision 2010 in a way that captures the promise of these new concepts while sustaining our readiness and flexibility through every step of this evolution.

The implementation plan will involve CINCs, Services, and joint organizations. Each element must participate in developing and testing these new concepts and their overall integration. Modeling, demonstrations, simulations, technology wargames, and joint exercises will help assess and validate these concepts, as well as assist in developing new operational procedures and organizations. The implementation process will integrate ongoing initiatives, such as the Joint Requirements Oversight Council, Joint Warfighting Capabilities Assessments, and Advanced Capabilities Technology Demonstrations (ACTD), to promote the integrated development of operational capabilities.

Concurrently, joint education and doctrinal development must keep pace. As we implement this vision, affordability of the technologies envisioned to achieve full spectrum dominance will be an important consideration. While we anticipate that some significant improvements in capability may be gained economically, for example through dual-use technologies for C 4 I, others will be more difficult to achieve within the budget realities that exist today and will exist into the next century. We anticipate the need to be selective in the technologies we choose, and thus expect continuing assessment and adjustments for affordability as well as for other lessons learned during the implementation process. Achieving the full promise of this vision will largely depend on how well we structure our defense program. We will have to make hard choices to achieve the tradeoffs that will bring the best balance, most capability, and greatest interoperability for the least cost. Ultimately, we will have to measure continuously the affordability of achieving full spectrum dominance against our overarching need to maintain the quality of our forces, their readiness, and the force structure needed to execute our operational tasks between now and the year 2010.

As we implement this vision, we must acknowledge that strong leadership, warfighting skill, and innovative thinking will be central to developing the detailed requirements and decision points. Our organizational climate must reward critical thinking, foster the competition of ideas, and reduce structural or cultural barriers to innovation. Both in peace and war, the creative talents of our men and women provide us a critical advantage over those who would consider challenging us or our allies.

Conclusion

Today, America’s Armed Forces are the world standard for military excellence and joint warfighting. We will further strengthen our military capabilities by taking advantage of improved technology and the vitality and innovation of our people to prepare our forces for the 21st century.

Joint Vision 2010 creates the template to guide the transformation of these concepts into joint operational capabilities. It serves as the basis for focusing the strengths of each individual Service or component to exploit the full array of available capabilities and allow us to achieve full spectrum dominance. It will also guide the evolution of joint doctrine, education, and training to assure we will be able to achieve more seamless joint operations in the future. As we pursue this vision, we must remain mindful of our responsibilities: to prevent threats to our interests from emerging, deter those that do, and defeat those threats by military force if deterrence fails. In 2010, we will meet these responsibilities with high quality people and leaders, who are trained and ready for joint operations and able to exploit high technology equipment. Even during a time of unparalleled technological advances we will always rely on the courage, determination, and strength of America’s men and women to ensure we are persuasive in peace, decisive in war, and preeminent in any form of conflict.

Office of Primary Responsibility:

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
5126 Joint Staff
Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20318-5126