What is it? Joint interdependence is the purposeful reliance on other service and joint capabilities to maximize their complementary and reinforcing effects while minimizing service vulnerabilities. Each branch of the Armed Forces excels in a different domain — land, air, sea, space and cyber. The Army sees particular benefit in continued development of Joint Battle Command, Fires and Effects, Logistics, Force Projection, Intelligence, and Air and Missile Defense, which are consistent with the recently developed Joint Capability Areas (JCAs).
What has the Army done? The Army’s existing efforts to transform its land forces are focused on emerging JCAs. In May 2005 the Secretary of Defense endorsed implementation of JCAs and directed their incorporation in future key DoD documents, including Defense Planning Scenarios, Strategic Planning Guidance, and across acquisition activities. The Secretary of Defense further directed the continued development of JCAs with specific tasks of embedding them in Joint Concepts as well as incorporating them in program and budget databases and Transformation Planning Guidance. Ongoing transformation exists not only in the development of new organizations and materiel but also in emerging warfighting concepts. The Joint Operations Concepts (JOpsC) family guides DoD transformation by describing how future Joint Forces will conduct operations 8-20 years in the future.
In conjunction with and informed by JOpsC, the Army is developing concepts for future land operations in order to influence the development of Army capabilities that will provide a Joint Force Commander with necessary capabilities to dominate in the land domain. In addition, the Army is intentionally working with the other Services to improve our ability to dominate across the entire range of military operations.
What continued efforts does the Army have planned for the future? The Army will continue to incorporate the need for Joint Interdependence across the range of concept and capability development. Because our new modular formations will operate in joint, multinational and interagency environments, these formations are designed to enhance joint concepts for battle command, fires and effects, logistics, force projection, intelligence, air and missile defense. Our joint training opportunities will continue to improve as we continue to support the Joint Forces Command in the development of a Joint National Training Capability. The planning, scenarios, connectivity and overall realism we are working to create will enhance critical joint operations skills for commanders and Soldiers.
Why is this important to the Army? Operational experience affirms a future that is irrefutably joint, and the Army conducts its transformation activities in terms of capabilities the Army can build to support the joint force commander. Joint interdependence ensures that Army systems are fully complementary with the other Services to generate a synergy that creates overwhelming dilemmas for opponents. Our efforts embrace two characteristics of modern warfare. First, technology has extended the reach of modern weapon systems to the extent that collective force protection and anti-access techniques are necessary, even in facing irregular, asymmetric challenges. Second, the other Services’ capabilities to dominate air, sea and space have direct impact on ground forces’ ability to dominate on land. Without this capability we increase the vulnerability our Soldiers face against an adaptive enemy.