Preparing for the Joint Battlespace: How the DoD Can Increase Transparency, Improve Decision-Making During JADC2 Planning

Amid an increasingly unpredictable battlespace, the Department of Defense is growing more dependent on cross-domain initiatives like Joint All-Domain Command and Control. But to synchronize and execute military capabilities across all domains, the DoD must ensure they are making the best use of taxpayer dollars by investing in technology and resources that align with this new approach to warfare.

“As we look at the global competition today with China, Russia and other actors, the pace and scale of the challenges is bigger now than it ever has been in our nation,” says Aaron Prupas, industry expert and retired Air Force major general. “The complexity is outpacing humans, so new tech should work at the speed of relevance for our decision-makers and planners.”

However, for an organization as large and multi-faceted as the DoD, existing silos and limited transparency is only exacerbated in the face of JADC2 — an effort that requires participation and collaboration from every employee, in every branch, at every level. With thousands of people supporting one cause, it’s all too easy for information to get lost in the fold, as a result individuals may not fully understand the impact of their decisions or how their role fits into the larger joint mission.

Confusion and uncertainty can lead to misaligned priorities and improper allocation of resources during the critical Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution process in which the military requests funding from Congress for various activities, including the technology and projects necessary to unify their missions.

Historically, PPBE evaluates branch budgets at a broad, aggregate level without much consideration for initiatives with many intricacies and moving parts like JADC2. If the DoD does not spend funds in a certain amount of time, the money redistributes to initiatives that show faster expenditure. And without engagement from those involved, joint efforts may not be evaluated or initiated fast enough to obtain or maintain the necessary funding, leaving them as unfunded requirements.

“The numbers are so significantly large, and the details of why things aren't being spent are oftentimes at a level of fidelity that can't be comprehended by a single individual or decision authority,” says a former Chief Financial Officer of the Intelligence Community.

To better support JADC2, it is imperative the DoD adopt technology that improves transparency and enhances communication to strengthen decision- making and bolster strategic planning that helps leadership and their teams connect with the joint mission and act accordingly.

“Technology that focuses on those things, that ties together programs that may not be a defined program of record, such as JADC2, will help them see all the pieces of that and understand the interrelationship,” says the former IC CFO. “Decision makers have to leverage technology that can actually put all that together and help inform that evaluation process.”

Creating Common Datasets, Establishing Transparency to Propel the Joint Fight

One of the most significant impediments to achieving cross-domain investment evaluation is disparate data. Each military branch relies on its own processes and databases that generally don’t communicate as effectively as they should, hindering the ability to share information between them.

“As you delve into the lower echelons of each of the services, there starts to be a little bit of disaggregation,” says Prupas. “The data and the languages between the services is not necessarily common.”

Implementing tools that can create common datasets from disparate databases will help ensure that information — past and present — is accessible and integrated through each branch at all levels, allowing them to operate together and make comprehensive decisions about the projects that would best underpin JADC2.

“We have decades worth of this data available to us that we could go back and look at to inform decisions and use that as our learning data to be able to inform us as we move forward,” explains the former IC CFO.

Moreover, common datasets and a shared language between the branches will increase transparency and visibility, enabling internal decision-makers across the board to gain clarity into how their individual positions impact the joint mission. They can then collaborate in real time and highlight emerging planning priorities.

This increased visibility will also assist the external decision-makers in congress to view the long-term funding plan needed forJADC2, as well as help the DoD more clearly address any concerns, and successfully justify their budget.

“Ultimately, we have the responsibility to defend the nation, and we have to do that in accordance with laws and policy,” explains Prupas. “By applying this kind of transparency not only down into the echelons of the department, but also over on the Hill, it helps us all do our jobs in a much more effective and efficient manner.”

Investing in the Right Technology Can Improve Process, Culture Around JADC2 Planning

To ensure JADC2 programs are properly funded in time to outpace the current threatscape, the DoD needs a secure decision-making framework that simplifies the approach to joint domain planning.

“Having the technology that displays your decision-making process will really help to improve communications between the overseers in Congress, who have the responsibility to represent the taxpayers and the Defense Department who are trying to achieve national security goals within the confines of what's affordable,” explains Prupas.

Enter Decision Lens: An integrated planning software that allows the military to transform how it plans, prioritizes and funds.

Decision Lens would be an ideal solution to wrangling a complicated initiative such as JADC2. The decision analytic framework provides a common way to evaluate and decide across enterprises. The resulting investments are based on a projects relative importance in keeping JADC2 initiatives funded and progressing as a top priority.

Transparency is fostered with features such as threaded in-line commenting which allows the DoD to share data both with congressional leadership as they decide on resource allocation, as well as between the service branches. This increased communication will lead to smarter, faster more mission aligned allocations each year and integration of insight into future planning and budget cycles.

As JADC2 moves forward, Prupas notes that it is crucial for the DoD to take advantage of technology like Decision Lens to develop a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring that the joint initiative remains responsive to emerging priorities and aligns with the dynamic challenges of today’s battlespace.

“The culture of our decision-making process needs to be one that is adaptive to employing new information,” adds the former IC CFO. “As we employ transparent technology, and demonstrate the utility of the decision processes, and the information we're using to inform those decisions, that culture will slowly change and we can embrace the advantages that the technologies are offering us.”