Air & Space Power Journal, Air University, Maxwell AFB, AL / Published January 06, 2021
Lt Gen Mary F. O'Brien, USAF We are engaged in strategic competition in the information space; Accelerating Change in information warfare (IW) is an imperative we ignore at our peril. Our great power competitors are already engaged—IW concepts are engrained in their strategic doctrine, reflected in organizational changes and embedded in their training at all levels.
The Air Force is making a significant investment in information warfare. Its most visible organizational change was the activation of Sixteenth Air Force (AF). The characteristics of information warfare and the concept of convergence required an organizational design enabling Sixteenth AF’s to execute its six unique missions.
This article presents a preliminary approach for leading with information in air and space component-level planning, execution, and assessment. It is a product of an effort led by the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at Headquarters Air Force to develop an approach to command and control of operations in the information environment (OIE), by bringing information to the forefront of air and space component operational-level planning, execution and assessment processes.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) conducted a complex, multifaceted information warfare (IW) campaign against the United States in an attempt to protect its interests and limit strategic losses. Although the United States government (USG) has long recognized the need to better understand adversary IW and compete in the information environment (IE), little progress has been made.
This article argues there are three primary barriers that prevent the effective integration, synchronization, and convergence of information warfare (IW) capabilities with each other and perhaps more importantly, with the broader spectrum of multidomain capabilities. First, IW integration is hampered by the lack of a common lexicon, both within and between IW functions and between IW and other war-fighting elements.
Jay Fudemberg Lt Col Robert D. Folker Jr., UASF, Retired Understanding one's adversary and generating deep insights about their intentions, capabilities, and actions is foundational for success in warfare. As such, it is essential that the information warriors responsible for producing and acting on such intelligence have the necessary higher-order cognitive and critical thinking capabilities that will reliably generate the requisite understanding and insights.
Capt Jayson Warren, USAF To remove intellectual roadblocks impeding the advancement of information warfare within the Department of Defense and the USAF, this article shakes the rational and emotional foundations of both experientially derived knowledge (a posteriori) and knowledge that is presumed to be self-evident (a priori).
Maj David Musielewicz, USAF Offensive cyberspace operations have been actively employed by nations worldwide with varying degrees of strategic success. As the types and complexity of cyber attacks continue to grow, the lack of a common framework for understanding and describing them results in inefficiencies, waste, and strategic failures.
Lt Col Bradley M. Pirolo, USAF This article describes the changing realities of the geopolitical environment and the demands placed upon the US Air Force, joint forces, and allied partners to transition toward improved concepts as expressed in the doctrinal concept of joint all-domain command and control. It outlines the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) as the developing mechanism of record implemented for command and control across all war-fighting domains in order to be successful in expected and emerging competition or conflict with peer adversaries.
by Charles Cleveland, Benjamin Jensen, Susan Bryant, and Arnel David Reviewed by Lt Col Benjamin L. Carroll, USAF Military Strategy in the 21st Century: People, Connectivity, and Competition advocates a strategy focusing on the development of the human domain and information warfare in relation to national and theater-level policy making. The text draws upon retired Army lieutenant general Charles Cleveland’s distinguished Special Forces career and the careers of Benjamin Jenson, Susan Bryant, and Arnel David, all of whom are active or retired US Army officers with strategic planning backgrounds.
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