The Army Operating Concept, describes how future Army forces conduct operations as part of the joint force to deter conflict, prevail in war, and succeed in a wide range of contingencies in the future operational environment. It describes the employment of Army forces in the 2016-2028 timeframe with emphasis on the operational and tactical levels of war. The Army Operating Concept (AOC) explains how the Army will comply with and execute guidance derived from the Army Capstone Concept (ACC) released in January 2009. The AOC will guide revisions in Army doctrine, organizations, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities (DOTMLPF). It also serves as a bridge between the ACC and war fighting functional concepts, and enhances integration of Army forces with a wide array of domestic and international partners.
A major theme in the ACC which the AOC seeks to implement is Operational Adaptability – defined as operating under conditions of uncertainty and complexity. Key to this concept is the Army's ability to simultaneously execute multiple variations of operations such as conducting combined arms maneuver and wide area security within the context of full spectrum operations.
In my opinion the Washington Post series that exposed the exponential increase in the size and cost of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) was not taken seriously by official Washington and is considered a minor nuisance. That is why the only response to the series, as crafted by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), was largely vintage intelligence agency boilerplate with a few bizarre additions such as the claim that the collection and analysis of intelligence are not essential government functions of intelligence agencies and so can be left to contractor personal. The series did not merit a serious response in the thinking of the Executive Branch and Intelligence Community.
In fact the series, although much touted, was a huge disappointment to readers expecting a more deeply researched and in-depth look at the IC. Clearly the craft of investigative journalism has fallen on hard times.
Also it is the case that in this country quantity always trumps quality. The growth in the size of the Intelligence Community is taken by official Washington as a priori evidence of the value it has provided since 9/11. The facts that the current IC is ruinously expensive to operate, is producing largely worthless intelligence, and has frequently failed even in the most basic warning functions are irrelevant. A bloated IC serves as ‘proof’ that political Washington is serious about protecting American citizens from terrorist threats. As with quantity, in the political arena form always trumps substance.
A new report from the Sustainable Defense Task Force, formed by House Financial Services Committee Chair Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) identifies reductions in Pentagon spending while maintaining strong defense capabilities as the best response to the nation’s mounting fiscal restraints. These options cover the full range of Pentagon expenditures including procurement, R&D, personnel, operations and maintenance, and infrastructure. They apply to strategic and conventional forces, as well as command, support, and infrastructure.
“Leaders from the left, right and center agree on two major policy changes: the U.S. deficit must be reduced and the Pentagon budget can reverse its exponential growth while keeping Americans safe,” claimed Paul Kawika Martin, policy and political director of Peace Action (the nation’s largest grassroots peace organization) and a member of the task force.
The task force was formed in response to a request from Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), working in cooperation with Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC), Representative Ron Paul (R-TX), and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), to explore possible defense budget contributions to deficit reduction efforts that would not compromise the essential security of the United States. The report will be released at a briefing on Capitol Hill on June 11th.
The Sustainable Defense Task Force
Benjamin Friedman – Cato Institute
William Hartung – New America Foundation
Christopher Hellman – National Priorities Project
Heather Hurlburt – National Security Network
Charles Knight – Project on Defense Alternatives
Paul Kawika Martin – Peace Action
Laicie Olson – Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation
Miriam Pemberton – Institute for Policy Studies
Prasannan Parthasarathi – Boston College
Winslow Wheeler – Center for Defense Information
Christopher Preble – Cato Institute
Carl Conetta – Project on Defense Alternatives
Lawrence Korb – Center for American Progress
Laura Peterson – Taxpayers for Common Sense
Phi Beta Iota: Released 11 June 2010, the report is taking on momentum as it is embraced by a variety of activist organizations. It is obvious that neither defense nor intelligence, both over-funded and under-managed by 75%, will be reformed between now and the end of the Obama Administration. However, if Ron Paul, Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, and Jackie Salit were to come together with Michael Bloomberg to launch a nation-wide campaign demanding Electoral Reform in time to clean out both the Senate and the House, replacing the old dogs (“less turnover than the Politburo” was Ronald Reagan/Nancy Noonan line), then a Transpartisan/Postpartisan independent candidate, such as the older and wiser Michael Bloomberg, could field a coalition sunshine cabinet, a balanced budget, and specific policy reforms such as we have been suggesting since Al Gore took the fall in 2000.
Attached is somewhat dated; you may or may not have seen. But the basic message almost certainly remains valid. For LTG Hughes' part, he was certainly part of the problem. At the time he retired out of DIA, 15 months or so before 9/11, one of the key operational support elements of his in-house HUMINT organization was commanded by an O-6 who was totally unqualified by temperament and background. This unfortunate situation was the product of an accommodation arrangement with one of the military Services which was short of O-6 command slots for, shall we say, an asshole geek
Phi Beta Iota: We don't have leaders. We have pandering clerks. What especially irritates us is how they get all holier than thou after retirement. There isn't a spine connected to a brain in the whole bunch. Intelligence is a mess–so is the political process, and the policy process simple does not exist, it has never recovered from Dick Cheney.
