Army working to build joint expeditionary capabilities
By Kelli R. Petermeyer
October 29, 2004
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 29, 2004) -- Developing a force with joint expeditionary capabilities has become more important than ever before, according to Army officials.
Joint operations leaders met Oct. 26 at the Association of the United States Army annual meeting to discuss the constantly changing war environment and the role jointness plays in overcoming the enemy.
"We're joint now down to the company level," said Gen. Kevin P. Byrnes, commanding general, Training and Doctrine Command.
After asking noncommissioned officers and junior officers about what training would have helped them better prepare for in-theater operations, Byrnes said they told him they wanted more joint training.
"In theater they're learning on the job and getting valuable experience," Byrnes said. They are using joint terms and joint technology, but we're not doing enough to train them for that beforehand.
Iraq and Afghanistan are sustained combat operations, Byrnes said. It is not all about just moving quickly -- it is about being able to operate in unknown areas.
Through combined arms warfare, the services can rely on each other to complete the mission, he said.
"We seek to become interdependent, service on service -- a combat team," Byrnes said. "We expect a long war. War has become a steady state environment. The force will remain capable of full spectrum operations."
"We are focusing on a data strategy so that our systems speak the same language," said Byrnes.
Training is continuously becoming more joint to fully prepare troops for future operations.
The pilot program for the Joint Fires and Effects Course began this fall at the Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, Okla., and Unified Quest 04, this year's war game at Carlisle Barracks, Pa., was the second consecutive game to focus on joint capabilities in a war setting.
Units are sharing ideas with each other on Web sites, Byrnes said. The information is assessed so the ideas can be put into place and others can use them.
Within one week after Saddam was captured, spider holes and caves were incorporated into training programs so Soldiers would be better prepared for situations that could arise in that type of terrain, Byrnes said.
"The partnership with Joint Forces Command has never been more important," he said.
JFCOM brings a joint context to the fight, said Air Force Maj. Gen. James N. Soligan, chief of staff, JFCOM. It has the ability to bring together skills and talents from all services and find common ground and joint solutions.
Joint Task Force headquarters focus a tremendous amount of time on finding common ground for faster collaboration, Soligan said. They also spend a lot of time on joint urban operations.
Joint transformation takes hard work and commitment from all players, Soligan said. The environment and the enemy are both changing fast, so we need to be able to change fast as well, he said.
In the arena of constant changes, it is critical to be able to alter and challenge doctrine almost as it's written, said Maj. Gen. Wood, director for Joint Experimentation, J-9, JFCOM.
"Within the Army, we have to make ourselves as deployable as possible," said Brig. Gen. David A. Fastabend, director, Concept Development and Experimentation, Futures Center, TRADOC. The Army needs help from the other services to do that effectively, he said.
See related ARNEWS article: Unified Quest 04
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