Vanguard Magazine

www.vanguardcanada.com FEBRUARY/MARCH 2026 25 C 4 I S R A N D B E Y O N D rewarding bold, dynamic actions? If so, how and where is this taught or inculcated to the CAF leadership? Secondly, in the OODA-loop decision- making model, Orientation is the most important phase for CAF leadership, re- quiring critical thinking and positioning. While our collective abilities to observe or sense have improved through technology, our formal methods to impart greater de- grees of analysis have not kept pace. The CAF must inculcate critical ways of think- ing in its leadership and be able to compete and win in a Denied Degraded Interrupted Low Bandwidth (DDIL) environment. In- novation in tactical environments drives institutional change. This requires contin- uous intellectual development that cannot be episodic or surged. The profession of arms—like law, medi- cine, and engineering—must continuously evolve to meet its compact with society. Mil- itary leadership must remain at the height of professional development. This can only be achieved through commitment to an ongo- ing Professional Military Education (PME) that transcends episodic attendance at staff colleges. This is even more important as the complexity of the modern battlespace increases. Mastering the Joint domain is only possible through expertise in environ- mental operations. The CAF must invest in a cadre of uniformed officers who will lead the PME as professors. The goal must be to make the CAF more cognitively aware and agile in critical thinking, positioned to exploit technology, adapt doctrine and ac- celerate feedback loops. The responsibility to deter, defend and defeat has returned as a reality, and the profession of arms must adapt. Eliot Pence, founder and CEO, Domin- ion Dynamics, provided perspectives on a go-to-market (GTM) industry model that is DevOps in motion. He stressed that the future of warfare is networked and entirely technology dependent. It will be disruptive, modular, continuously updated and soft- ware defined. Procurement processes that assume stable networks deliver "zombie" or irrelevant requirements. Modern conflict features fast-changing threats for which requirements cannot be defined years ahead. What works are capa- bilities built in contact with the user where early deployment beats perfect specs and warfighters are co-developers. Militaries must be able to prototype, deploy, operate, learn and redeploy, focusing resources on success - iterate and integrate in the field. to strategic. His guidance to developers was as follows: Avoid development stove- pipes, engage with industry early and of- ten, accept/create asymmetries, execute and adapt rapidly, contract faster, accept that platforms will never be complete. Although new to industry, the JFC will connect and communicate regularly with its emerging strategic partners, with clear- ly stated needs. As an old proverb sug- gests, "if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. To do both – go joint". Cognitive advantage over platforms Dr. Rebecca Jensen, assistant professor, Canadian Forces College, provided an aca- demic view of what gaps exist in winning tomorrow's conflicts. She suggested that wars are not decided by platforms, they are decided by intellectual outcomes, and the CAF needs to better understand how it wants to fight and win. Is mission com- mand or "Auftragstaktik" the philosophy to be embraced across the chain of com- mand – devolution of intent, rapid and de- cisive advance, greater acceptance of risk, Le to right: Col Jason Estrela, Director of Digital and Army Combat Systems Integration, LCol Amanda Whalen, Director RCAF Digital Hub, LCol Nicolas Verreault, Head of the Joint UxS Office, Col Derek Lay, Commanding Officer, Canadian Joint Warfare Centre Dr. Rebecca Jensen, Associate Fellow, Royal United Services Institute and Assistant Professor, Canadian Forces College Le to right: MGen Cayle Oberwarth, Chief of Staff, Digital Services Group, Samuel Witherspoon, Chief Executive Officer, Anvil Intelligence Inc Eliot Pence, Chief Executive Officer, Dominion Dynamics Master of Ceremonies: RAdm Casper Donovan (Ret'd) Principal, Bowline Insight & Analysis Inc.

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