Optimizing Navy Information Warfare for MCS21

The Navy Information Operations force and its capabilities are an important means for the new Maritime Strategy to meet the challenges set forth by the CNO. The Navy’s Information Operations architecture requires modifications to optimize its role in the CNO’s new Maritime Strategy. For the new maritime strategy Navy Information Operations should be optimized at the theater strategic and operational levels of command/war.

To optimize Navy Information Operations to achieve the high expectations of the CNO, three areas require improvement: the organizational alignment, the development of a career force and finally the degree of integration and interoperability.

To ensure that Navy Information Operations are better positioned for the new Maritime Strategy, a new echelon two Information Operations command needs to be established.

With the organizational power that comes with this level of command will give the Information Operations establishment more leverage within the Navy and maybe more importantly within the Joint environment.

The Navy Information Operations Career Force is making slow progress. The benefits of a strong and dedicated force are apparent but the pace must increase in educating and training officers, with the focus on the art of Influence operations and Information Operations planning.

Finally, the capabilities of Navy Information Operations need to be releasable to our Allies, Partners and friends to the greatest extent possible. Their better understanding of our Information Operations capabilities will build stronger alliances and partnerships required for the new Maritime Strategy.

CDR Greg Haws' NCW Paper

Optimizing IO for the New Maritime Strategy

Optimizing Navy Information Warfare

"In September 2007, Rear Admiral Edward Deets, the Naval Network Warfare Command Vice Commander and leader of the Navy Information Warfare Community, articulated a new strategic plan to ensure that the new naval warfare area of IO was being developed and integrated to offer maximum capability to military commanders. The community vision was stated as follows:

"The Navy’s Information Warfare (IW) Community delivers overwhelming information superiority to naval and joint commanders. We do this by leading the integration and application of the core capabilities of Information Operations and Signals Intelligence to shape, influence, and defeat select audiences in support of commanders’ objectives. Our community applies signals and information expertise, and attacks, defends and exploits networks to pursue and capitalize on opponent vulnerabilities in the information environment."

Prior to RADM Deets’ guidance, many wondered where the Navy IW Community was headed. Would it completely abandon its SIGINT roots in favor of the new warfare area of IO? This document clearly delineated that SIGINT, in conjunction with IO, would comprise the Information Warfare domain with Naval Network Warfare Command being the executive agent.

In today’s information age, Information Warfare has gained prominence as an effective means of waging war. From a service perspective, the Naval Network Warfare Command and specifically the Navy Information Warfare Community has been tasked to lead in providing manning, training, and equipment to make this form of warfare a reality.

While this relatively new requirement brings tremendous opportunity to the community, it has also presented many challenges. Specifically, effective Information Operations integration and a well-defined career path that provides officers with experience, education, and skill sets in both Signals Intelligence and Information Operations have evaded the community."

Click on the link below to read the rest of LCDR Chad Smith's, Sep 2008 NPS Thesis -
"OPTIMIZING NAVY INFORMATION WARFARE: A SYSTEMS ENGINEERING APPROACH"

Information Warfare Officers

Guiding Principles:

(1) Warfare Competency: IW officers lead Navy IW missions by employing a thorough knowledge of the tenets of IO, sensor/weapons, national systems' capabilities and limitations, and how to optimally use them for “effects-based” warfare. IW officers develop tactics, techniques and procedures to realize tactical, strategic and advantages at sea and ashore.

(2) Leadership: Leadership is a core competency for all Navy Officers. IW officers are engaged, seize the initiative, motivate people, effectively apply resources and execute IW missions.

(3) Professional Expertise: IW officers require knowledge of engineering and technology (i.e., knowing how the signal or protocol was designed to function) and the human elements of adversaries through language and cultural awareness. They build expertise through a combination of formal education and experience gained through successive career milestone tours.

From the NPC IW Officer Webpage

Worth reading INFORMATION OPERATIONS - Warfare and the Hard Reality of Soft Power

Information Warfare leadership

Information Warfare Officers are directly involved in every aspect of Naval operations, deploying globally to support Navy and joint war-fighting requirements. They provide vital information to tactical-, theater-, and national-level decision makers. (They) serve within sea, air and shore commands around the globe. And (they) lead cryptologic technicians in related activities — afloat and ashore.

The responsibility of the Information Warfare community is to deliver overwhelming information superiority that successfully supports command objectives. This is achieved through the application of Information Operations (IO) and Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) expertise. The work involves attacking, defending and exploiting networks to capitalize on vulnerabilities in the information environment. And ultimately, providing war-fighters, planners and policy makers with real-time warning, offensive opportunities and an ongoing operational advantage.

For more on Information Warfare careers click this link.

(Photo is Dave Odom as a Lieutenant)

Developing Senior Navy Leaders

How Might Future Changes in the Navy Affect Requirements for Expertise?

We examined the Navy’s structure, its force development, its doctrinal documents, and its technology acquisitions for the past decade and the next decade to forecast how the demand for domain-specific expertise may change in the future. The areas of domain-specific expertise with the strongest evidence of increasing future importance to the Navy are: (top three)

• Information Warfare
• Information Operations
• Information Technology

From the RAND Report Developing Senior Navy Leaders - Requirements for Flag Officer Expertise Today and in the Future - 2008