Information Age Partnership: DoD Airwaves and the Microchip

Citation
Joseph E. Sulick, Information Age Partnership: DoD Airwaves and the Microchip (Apr. 1996) (full-text).

Overview
This paper focuses on DoD electromagnetic spectrum and its significants to warfighting operations. It discusses:


 * why spectrum is important to the nation's economy and how DoD elements compete with the private sector for this valuable resource;
 * how DoD handles spectrum management in accordance with national and international law; and
 * structure.

The effort to consolidate all Service spectrum management elements under the Joint Staff continues to evolve in an uncertain direction, meeting stiff resistance in every corner of Service turf. The trend toward commercial systems will further compound the problem because of international laws that govern the spectrum. The threat of intrusion to spectrum-dependent military and commercial information systems also poses a significant risk to national security. Finally, this paper is about the need to expand this single joint entity concept one step further to aid the warfighter - the need to form a partnership between spectrum management, under J6 oversight, and information warfare, under J3 oversight, to aid command and control warfare (C2W), a supporting military strategy that implements information warfare on the battlefield and enhances the chances of success for the Joint Force Commander. As personnel resources diminish, individual performance must be optimized. The rebalancing of these critical functional areas into a joint partnership is essential to insure best value and best results to reduce the fog and friction of war and the vulnerability of DoD information systems.