Vanguard Magazine

20 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2024 www.vanguardcanada.com C 4 I S R A N D B E Y O N D fects together' will be key to western mili- taries and their nation's interests. Panel 1 examined the tensions them- selves. We were very fortunate to have Sam Michaud, Col (Ret'd), share his anal- ysis of previous significant Defense trans- formative activities. He noted that a use- ful framework within which to consider the challenge is a triangle with the three sides being people, process and structure. He noted that the track record for De- fence in bringing these three together is very poor. Whereas some are quick to blame it on leadership, the reality is that all of the initiatives were top down, led by many of the nations' best leaders. As such we should not overlook the fact that we are dealing with wicked and super wicked problems. Tensions such as strong service culture, values, "capital P" and "small p" politics, and the diarchy of Defence all contribute to impeding progress. As Canada continues to struggle with these issues, it was interesting to hear a Five- Eyes perspective from MGen Gould, the Head of Cyber Operations and Strategic J6, Australian Defence Force. He noted that Australia believes that they have lost their 10-year warning time to be prepared for conflict. That has focused the nation to transition from a joint force to an in- tegrated force, and from a balanced force to a focused force with an emphasis on specific capabilities. They have a good sense of what the first battle would look like but admit that the design of a cam- paign remains tenuous. NATO's JISR Di- rector, Matt Roper, discussed the require- ment for Zero Day Readiness and the challenges of its realization in a paradigm of excessive governance, lack of coher- ent architectural principles, and compet- ing national procurement agendas. It was evident that as the geostrategic position continues to deteriorate that a sense of urgency helps with overcoming many of the tensions. MGen Chris Zimmer shared the growing awareness and deep under- standing of the tensions at play in getting at capability, speed, and scale, and on how there is growing appetite to further see these exposed and overcome – including with new ways and new partners. Over the course of the day, we were privileged to hear three separate testimo- nials from those who are or were in mis- sion. Col Reekie (former Commander of the Enhanced Presence Battlegroup in Latvia) emphasized the opportunity that comes when we equip our junior leaders – in technology, talent, and ways of work- ing. Together these amplify our competi- tive advantage over our adversaries in the European theater. Col Palisa (Command- er of Ukraine's 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade) took time out of battle to de- scribe how Ukraine as a nation has trans- formed and brings completely new ways of defending and fighting to his Army - at pace and scale. Robert Morrison (PA- COM Director Joint Mission Acceleration Directorate) stepped out of a Pentagon meeting to make the absolute necessity for like-minded nations and military partners to be truly integrated – confounding and changing the calculus of adversaries in the Pacific theatre and beyond – much more visceral. Panel 2 focused on working through the tensions. The panel consisted of prac- titioners who have successfully worked through the tensions in large organiza- tions or are currently doing so. It was noted that C4ISR has numerous interpre- tations but that it essentially encompasses digital to data and ultimately data literacy. The importance in the military concept was shared through the lens of a U.S. military commander who believed that if you are not data literate you are mili- tarily ineffective. LGen Copinger-Symes, Deputy Commander UK Strategic Com- mand, provided a number of themes that need to be reinforced and communicated at every turn. The digital challenge con- fronting western militaries today are not technical, they are people and process problems. Militaries continue to believe that they are different than other indus- tries when in actuality they are closer to being 80% similar and 20% different. Fi- nally, militaries need to transition notions of digital solutions that support the enter- prise as merely administrative and more in keeping with how we would prioritize and consider weapons systems. It was also noted that quick wins are anything but quick wins as they often reinforce silos and are unable to be scaled across the enterprise. Marina Nitze reinforced the importance of success leading to trust and careful consideration in determin- ing which initiatives to initially pursue. The panel reinforced the implications of policy, its interpretation, and how it can often represent a tension that needs to be considered and addressed to ensure suc- cessful execution. The panel also provided some tre- mendous insights into modern digital practices. For example, there is a poor understanding of agile delivery, which is anything but ad hoc. It is very much a disciplined process in keeping with our military experiences. They observed that over today's senior Photos: Summer Fuller

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