Digital Battlespace
AFCEA West 2012: US moves to protect ISR projects
Following the release of the US Defense Strategic Review in January, a leading military official has outlined his views on the budget restraints and the importance of special operations and ISR in future operations.
Speaking at the key note address at the AFCEA West conference in San Diego on 24 January, VADM William E. Gortney, USN Director of Joint Staff, said: 'We must maintain the technological edge. We have a duty to put these costs on a sustainable track. We [the military] are always in lag when it comes to the IT world; it is a tough industry to be in.'
The budget that is set to facilitate this strategy is set to be released at the end of the month, and Gortney said it is believed to show a $110 billion reduction, with a budget reduction of $259 billion over the next five years.
'I believe it is the strongest vulnerability today,' he said of the threat of national debt to strategic planning, but confirmed that the US 'will protect investments in special operations and ISR’.
'We're submitting that budget but it doesn't mean it's the budget we're going to get,' Gortney said, and even though he said these cuts need to be made, he added: 'We want to be able to capitalise when it does get better. It [the US Navy] will dominate any battlespace assigned.
'How you communicate with the forces has really evolved,' he said, although he noted the traditional 'chain of command' is still imperative, even though social sites, for example, are used to communicate within the military.
He added that considering industry within the DoD's plans is important, and while contracting saves the government money, 'we don't have the balance right on the joint staff’.
‘We have to fix our acquisition process; we need discipline' in terms of acquiring technology to better consider the budget. We're not going to fix fiscal problems using DoD budget alone,' he concluded.
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