Cartwright highlights coalition capabilities

At the sweet spot where information technology, joint forces and industry intersects lies perhaps the most important strategy in a new era of warfare: the coalition of capabilities, said the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, at the Air Force’s annual IT conference Monday.

The “tremendous advantages in networking organizations” available to today’s warfighter is a valuable tool that will be necessary to conquer an enemy constantly on the move, Cartright said, according to reported remarks. Cartwright made his remarks during a keynote address at the Air Force Information Technology Conference in Montgomery, Ala.

While advanced IT may be the AK-47 of modern warfare, military and government will need to move faster to leverage any lead U.S. forces may have over the adversary. Such a move will require a cultural shift that incorporates a willingness to take risks, Cartwright said.

“There are no laws against moving faster. There are policies against moving faster – policies we wrote. Policies are things we can control, if we can move the culture with us,” Cartwright said, according to a report from the American Forces Press Service.

IT’s rapid development presents a major hurdle for a military procurement timeline that typically requires several years from design to deployment of new capabilities, he said.

Richard Lombardi, director of the 554th Electronic Systems Wing, agreed with Cartwright, the Air Force News Service noted. Faster evolution of the Air Force and Defense Department as a whole relies on three key tenets: rapid acquisition, operability at the core and the ability to fight through a cyber attack, Lombardi said.