Improving Air Force Command and Control Through Enhanced Agile Combat Support Planning, Execution, Monitoring, and Control Processes
Abstract
Today s defense environment is particularly challenging for two reasons. First, significant portions of the force are continuously engaged in a variety of operations, ranging from active combat to humanitarian assistance, over wide geographical areas where the needs for force projection are often difficult to predict. Even after operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are concluded, it is likely that the world situation will call for worldwide deployment of U.S. forces to support theater security cooperative efforts (with allies) to shape conditions to avoid contingency operations. Second, there is increasing pressure to operate more efficiently. Although there has always been the need to relate combat support resource requirements to operational objectives, today s environment requires quick combat support actions to tailor deployable support packages and sustainment actions to meet specific operational needs. Furthermore, economic pressures are likely to continue and could result in further reductions in the resources set aside to meet contingency operations. In addition to economic pressures, the inability to perfectly predict resource demands, the need to shift funding from one category to another to meet unanticipated needs, and the occurrence of unanticipated world events that require intervention, among other factors, all contribute to having imbalances between needed ACS resources and those that are available at any given time to simultaneously meet all requirements for contingency and training operations. To best use limited resources in providing combat capability, combat support functional areas must work in an integrated fashion across command and control nodes, predicting combat support needs and responding rapidly to dynamic operational needs, and must allocate scarce resources to where they are most needed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA571950
Entities
People
- John G. Drew
- Kristin F. Lynch
- Robert G. Defeo
- Robert S. Tripp
Organizations
- RAND Corporation