Vanguard Magazine

16 DECEMBER 2022/JANUARY 2023 www.vanguardcanada.com INTERVIEW OPERATIONAL DECISIONS BY TERRI PAVELIC AT THE SPEED OF RELEVANCE AN INTERVIEW WITH RAdm JEFF ZWICK CHIEF OF COMBAT SYSTEMS INTEGRATION I n anticipation of the 9th annual C4ISR and Beyond conference tak- ing place on January 26th in Otta- wa. The conference brings Canadian Armed Forces, Defence, Allies, Gov- ernment and Industry leaders and collabo- rators together – motivated by the need for and requirement to truly deliver lead- ing capabilities to our men and women in uniform and to the missions they serve. Vanguard reached out the RAdm Jeff Zwick the Chief of Combat Systems In- tegration, who leads the newly established CCSI, to share with us the focus of the organization and the changing nature of pan-domain warfare. Q Now that the Chief of Combat Systems Integration has been formally stood-up, can you describe the role, functions, and focus areas of the organ- isation? CCSI is a new Level 2 organisation that reports directly to the Vice Chief of De- fence Staff (VCDS) and works closely and in parallel with the other two key Level 2 organisations: Chief of Program, and Chief of Force Development. It was es- tablished to lead, on behalf of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the horizontal integration work necessary to make the Canadian Armed Forces fit for purpose for 21st century operations. To achieve this, our two principal focus areas are bringing military coherence to the supply chain and the creation of a Pan Domain Command and Control (PDC2) system that will enable military leaders to make better informed operational decisions at the speed of relevance. We approach this through three key lenses, with a director- ate established for each that provide focus and horsepower to address some key pri- orities of the CDS. These three Director- ates are Director Military Digital Opera- tions, Director Operational Sustainment, and Director Joint Integration. We have made some great progress in all three of these areas. The CAF Digital Campaign Plan was released by the CDS earlier this year, and it frames the CAF approach to Digital Transformation. It has been followed by the VCDS Digital Transformation Directive, which directs the implementation of that Campaign Plan and provides tasks and resources to all elements of the CAF, and to some key departmental enablers such as ADM Ma- teriel, ADM Information Management (now called DND Chief Information Of- fice), ADM Data, Innovation and Analyt- ics (now called Digital Transformation Office) and ADM Defence Research and Development Canada As you are of course aware, the Joint Intelligence, Surveillance, and Recon- naissance Future Operating Concept was released this summer by the VCDS. The goal of this document is to provide a con- ceptual and intellectual guide in order to harmonize and synchronize force develop- ment across all environments, enabling the efficient introduction of new technologies and systems that are aligned and integrated to create a joint capability. In addition, this document outlines some of the Horizon 0-1 initiatives and steps in the near term that will set us on a vector to achieving a digital JISR capability that is truly joint. The Operational Sustainment Moderni- sation (OSM) Strategy has also been re- leased by the CDS. The OSM Strategy is a capstone document considered as part of the CAF's modernization and reconstitu- tion efforts. The OSM Strategy is a joint Force Development initiative that out- lines the imperatives for a paradigm shift within the CAF's Sustainment Enterprise and to transform it, in accordance with

• Cover