Air Force Gen. David Goldfein
WASHINGTON: Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein has signed a new “doctrine note” designed to shape service development of detailed doctrine for joint all-domain operations (JADO). The 8-page note, he says, is to “serve as a starting point for Airmen to codify best practices across the continuum of conflict.”
Signed by Goldfein on March 5, the doctrine note asserts that joint all-domain operations are necessary due to the improvements in capabilities and tactics of US peer competitors. As Breaking D readers know, JADO is the developing concept of a new way of war that is a top priority for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and DoD Secretary Mark Esper, as well as Goldfein and the other service chiefs.
Doctrine guides military forces on how to carry out policy and strategy decisions. The armed services each create their own doctrine, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff staff put together joint doctrine that describes how the services work together, and standardizes terms and definitions.
As the Joint Chiefs have yet to develop a new doctrine for all-domain operations, Goldfein’s paper could serve to drive that discussion, as well as lay the foundation for future Air Force operations.
“Service doctrine might inform joint doctrine,” one doctrine-savvy official said, “but bear in mind that there are currently three service-level perspectives on air doctrine, but only one joint doctrine on air that is authoritative for joint air operations.”
Goldfein’s note defines JADO as “comprised of air, land, maritime, cyberspace and space domains, plus the EMS [electromagnetic spectrum, an important addition]. Actions by the joint force in all domains that are integrated in planning and synchronized in execution, at speed and scale needed to gain advantage and accomplish the mission.”
“The goal of JADO is to achieve convergence of effects across all domains for continuing advantage,” the doctrine note adds.
The note explains that under current joint doctrine a single commander is put in charge for each domain — reflecting the fact that service components provide forces and equipment based on their respective domain expertise. For example, an Air Force commander is put in charge of joint air operations. Goldfein argues that this stovepiping within each domain “can delay integration” of actions, which in turn “limits symmetries between activities in separate domains, creates vulnerabilities, and reduces the capacity for dynamic exploitation of opportunities.”
“JADO requires an approach that evolves continuously to take advantage of opportunities as they arise and present a flexible, responsive defense,” Goldfein says. “Regardless of Service or domain affiliation, commanders should effectively leverage forces and capabilities from all domains.”
Currently, the US military’s capabilities to support JADO are not “sufficiently interoperable,” and its processes for providing those capabilities are “not agile enough” to be able to “meet the needs of the anticipated future operating environment at the scale and speed which will be required,” he asserts.
The Air Force’s role is to “support JADO by conducting operations principally in, from and through air, space, cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) to enable convergence of affects in all domains,” Goldfein says. This will require change to ensure that all capabilities the service brings to the joint fight “can be effectively integrated across all domains.”
“JADO requires changing how the United States Air Force thinks about and conducts operations,” Goldfein stresses.
The doctrine note lays out how JADO aligns with current air power theory, and the so-called OODA Loop that allows US forces to quickly adapt, while reducing an enemy’s ability to do so. For example, it matches JADO’s need for continuous sensing to the observe and orient mission. Indeed, Goldfein says that a central challenge will be “turning large amounts of multi-source data into actionable intelligence” to allow leaders to get inside the adversary’s OODA Loop and set the rules of the game.
“It’s good that they gave a historical reference to OODA and Boyd, which provides context to enduring warfighting functions,” said one DoD expert, referring to seminal Air Force strategist John Boyd.
On the other hand, the expert opined, at this point the Air Force’s concept seems to be limited to “new buzzwords and jargon for old ideas. The doctrine implies nothing has changed, just more emphasis that all domains must work together.” (In the Air Force’s defense, Goldfein’s doctrine note is designed simply to kick off a doctrinal discussion, not compete it.)
The paper also sets out a definition of Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), which is being designed to link all sensors DoD-wide to all shooters — or at least the “best shooters” — through a hyper-connected, military Internet of Things (IoT). As I’ve reported, developing JADC2, and the set of technical capabilities to enable it, is Goldfein’s number one priority.
JADC2 is: “The art and science of decision making to rapidly translate decisions into action, leveraging capabilities across all domains and with mission partners to achieve operational and information advantage in both competition and conflict,” the paper states. It notes that this definition is based on the “JADC2 Cross-Functional Team Charter/Terms of Reference.”
As Breaking D readers know, the Cross-Functional Team is led by Rear Adm. Bill Chase, who leads the Joint Staff’s J-6 Command, Control, Communications, Computers, & Cyber bureau. It includes representatives from the offices of DoD Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy and Undersecretary for Research & Engineering Mike Griffin and Acquisition and Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord.
Part of that team’s mission is to develop a joint concept and doctrine for JADC2 that spells out who gets to approve what actions when. Resolving the chain of command question is particularly important for ensuring against multiple services launching weapons against the same enemy target, and/or that some enemy targets don’t get left uncovered.
Goldfein’s note explains that Air Force C2 operations for the last two decades have become highly centralized, to the detriment of its ability to allow rapid decentralized action — something that will be required in future as the pace of battle increases due to the use of machine-learning and artificial intelligence.
“Two decades of relatively uncontested superiority and increasing communications capability has led to a situation where most Air Force forces have little experience with decentralized operations,” he explains. “JADO require greater decentralized execution, a higher degree of delegated authority, and less dependence on central planning and direction of missions.”
Finally, the doctrine note addresses the Air Force’s need for “agile support” process to “sustain operations in a contested battlefield.” This will involve moving from a small number of fixed bases to more dispersed sites, but also creating the capability to rapidly put forces in the field and just as rapidly remove them. More flexible logistics will be key. It also will required better protection of cyberspace and electromagnetic spectrum, the note says.
