By definition, transformation is the enduring process of change. It is not about change for its own sake, nor is it about canceling the pursuit of one technology for another. Accordingly, static measures of success can mislead or misinformtoday's "right" solution may as easily be a barrier as a gateway to tomorrow's innovation. How then do we know if we are, in fact, "transforming" to meet the future? The most reliable barometer of transformation in the defense community is to observe how the culture is changing. How and why are things done differently than in the past? How are those changes redefining what we believe we need to accomplish next? We are working to promote a culture that rewards unconventional thinking- a climate where people have freedom and flexibility to take risks and try new things...one that does not wait for threats to emerge and be "validated," but rather anticipates them before they emerge-and develops and deploys new capabilities quickly, to dissuade and deter those threats. Secretary Rumsfeld February 5, 2003 Thus, the Department's progress toward transformation is best measured by observing the number and character of activities that are leading the defense community to fundamentally new relationships, and thus to "transformed" capabilities. The Secretary's performance priority for future challenges risk in FY 2004 are Enhance Joint Warfighting, Transform the Joint Force, and Global Engagement. DRIVE INNOVATIVE JOINT OPERATIONS Fashioning joint operating concepts to guide the conduct of joint operations is our leading priority for transformation. Over the past year, the military departments have each proposed their individual models of how they would prefer to fight. We are now seeking to integrate these perspectives into an overarching concept for the employment of the joint force. Although these new concepts are not yet complete, the budget proposals for each of the military services anticipate the need to be ready to act on new joint warfare concepts as they are adopted. For example, since 2002, the Army has terminated 24 systems, reduced or restructured another 24, and shifted almost $14 billion into the development of its Future Combat System. Over the same time, the Navy will have retired 26 ships that could have otherwise been modernized or had their service lives extended, and instead invested in a new littoral combat ship, a new cruiser, a new destroyer, a new helicopter-deck ship, and a new prepositioning ship- and began designing a next-generation aircraft carrier. The Air Force will retire 114 fighter and 115 mobility and tanker aircraft, and consolidate operations among its squadrons. Additionally, the Air Force will enhance weapon systems in the inventory and field new systems, such as unmanned aerial vehicles. Looking towards the future, the Marine Corps is considering hypersonic suborbital assault transport capabilities for projection of strategic capabilities anywhere on the globe within two hours. Capabilities may span the spectrum from material payloads to Marines on the ground. This Joint concept envisions a family of capabilities of utility not just to Marines, but also to Special Operations Forces and Air Force's National Security Space Missions. Maintained Balanced and Focused Science and Technology Science and technology funds are those defense dollars spent on basic research, applied research, and advanced technology development. Often called the "seed corn" of military technology, basic research is the systematic study of fundamental aspects of science without any specific application, such as a weapon system, in mind. Applied research translates promising basic research into solutions for broadly defined military needs by exploring ways to design, develop, or improve prototype devices, materials, or systems. Advanced technology is the last step in the process, demonstrating how a new idea can increase military capabilities-or reduce costs - when applied to different types of military equipment or techniques. Over the next six years, we intend to increase spending for research and development by 65 percent above the 2002 baseline budget-a total investment of around $150 billion annually and a 10 percent increase as a percentage of the overall investment budget. Experiment With New Warfare Concepts In November 2002, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued his goals for developing and testing new joint warfare concepts. This January, the Commander of the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, VA completed the first draft of his 6-year plan to accomplish those goals. The Joint Experimentation Campaign Plan describes how research into new concepts and operational architectures will be developed and tested, and how training exercises and experiments will be used to evaluate the usefulness of new concepts in each of the following areas: • Effects Based Operations • Rapid Decisive Operations • Force Projection • Information Operations Operational Net • Joint Interagency • Joint Fires Initiative • Collaborative Information Environment • Information Sharing • Joint Tactical Actions Although the plan is highly decentralized-relying on many smaller-scale experiments conducted by all players-it tracks the expected manpower and funding to be invested each year, and lists the deliverables (exercises event, concept document). We are exploring concepts developed both inside and outside of the Department- any new idea that could improve how we command and control joint forces across the battle space in cities or jungles, mountains or forests, in the littoral and at sea, and in space. The plan gives special emphasis to events planned during FY 2004 and 2005. The Joint Experimentation Campaign Plan is just a first step. Our goal is to set in motion a process of continual transformation, and a culture that will keep the United States several steps ahead of any potential adversaries. As such, we will review and revise our campaign plan periodically: 'The Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) comprises the vice chiefs of staff of each military service, and is chaired by the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The JROC reviews all potential defense acquisition and special interest programs to avoid duplication of new programs with existing programs, and to foster the use of interoperable joint programs. DEVELOP MORE EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONS As our culture changes, our focus shifts to enabling what we call joint operations- the ability of our land, sea, air, and space forces to be combined under the control of a single combatant commander and used in ways that are most appropriate to achieving the objectives of the campaign that he has laid out. Accordingly, over the past two years we have modified our command structures dramatically, adding a combatant command for the United States called Northern Command and merging our Space Command with Strategic Command to make use of the new instruments of strategic power. We also have given the Special Operations Command a new lead role in shaping combat concepts and operations, adding almost 2,000 personnel to its ranks. Strengthen Joint Operations too. It is not enough to say we want to fight joint- we have to train joint, Accordingly, we are dedicating a substantial amount of funding to enable joint training. Much of this training will be "virtual," leveraging the most modern modeling and simulation tools. At the same time, the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force are all rethinking their own service training to make it friendly to the joint operational environment. ESTABLISH A STANDING JOINT FORCE HEADQUARTERS The concept of organizing forces under a joint task force commander has been used to great effect since the Gulf War of 1990. However, each time we respond to a crisis, we must create these joint organizations from scratch, siphoning people and equipment from other commands-and when the emergency is over, these highfunctioning units disband. Two years ago we took steps to create permanent joint headquarters for each of our combatant commands worldwide. These headquarters would be equipped with the most capable command, control, computers, communications, intelligence, and surveillance assets we have available. The permanent staff would be trained to a common standard and be expert about how joint forces function in |