Network Centric Operations (NCO) Case Study: Task Force 50 During Operation ENDURING FREEDOM

Abstract

The United States Ship (USS) Carl Vinson (CVN-70) battle group, commanded by Rear Admiral (RADM) (now retired) Thomas E. Zelibor, departed its home port in Bremerton, Washington, on July 23, 2001, ready for a scheduled deployment in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH in the Arabian Gulf. On September 11, 2001, the same day that the battle group reached the North Arabian Sea, the al-Qaeda terrorist network attacked the Pentagon, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and crashed a plane into a rural Pennsylvania field. Over the next several months, the battle group would undertake combat activities it had not planned for and would work in a joint and combined environment fighting the war on terror during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM (OEF). RADM Zelibor, having seen the power of network centric warfare (NCW) firsthand during the Global 2000 wargame, implemented transformational practices that changed the very nature of command and control (C2) within his command. He saw the need for a more efficient and effective way of conducting daily activities. He sought to change the way those in his command could get information and react to that information by reducing the amount of time needed to prepare briefs (that were outdated as soon as they were created) and by introducing the idea of adding time for staff planning. Under RADM Zelibor's guidance, the sailors and staff were able to transform daily operations and work together more efficiently to achieve their mission. RADM Zelibor's task force grew by orders of magnitude after the September 11 attacks, the sailors and staff were so successful at streamlining the daily operational process that they were able to make distinct changes that allowed them to experience a shared understanding of the battlespace, to collaborate, and to develop mission objectives more quickly.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA463086

Entities

People

  • Christine W. Balisle
  • John Garstka
  • Jon Kruse
  • Kimberly Holloman
  • Mark Adkins

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Electronic Warfare
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan Conflict
  • Case Studies
  • Combat Areas
  • Command And Control
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Electronic Mail
  • Information Exchange
  • Information Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Network Protocols
  • Task Forces
  • United States Central Command
  • Uss Carl Vinson
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Enterprise Information Systems Architecture and Joint Command Capability Interoperability Support.
  • Military Science
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control