Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/274231
20 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014 www.vanguardcanada.com C C4ISR AND BEYOND If you think that you have the aff ordable and immediate solution to some of our challenges in the joint C4ISR realm, then you may want to get involved in those joint training events. such as NATO or the United Nations or a coalition. Where the CAF contribution is a task force rather than individual staff offi - cers, operations are typically conducted in a secret-multinational information space. Our challenge is, how do we share infor- mation with our mission partners? We're currently separated by networks, with cumbersome "swivel chair" interfaces or other procedural workarounds. The ideal is to have all information available to au- thorized persons, protected from unau- thorized access, and seamlessly integrated across whatever information systems dif- ferent organizations bring to the fi ght. In the meantime, I would be interested in solutions that make information interop- erability signifi cantly easier now. The second challenge is the volume of data. We are developing and deploying im- proved sensors across the battle space in all operational domains – maritime, land, air, space, cyber – and in the global in- formation environment. These are great capabilities, but how do we get the data to the warfi ghter and leaders at all levels? How is information presented such that they can understand what is going on and then make appropriate and timely deci- sions? Managing the volume of data, from the technical network perspective to move it about the battle space, and from the in- tegration and presentation – human inter- face – perspective to enable command and control, is another signifi cant challenge for the forces of today. The Opportunities Chief of Force Development synchronizes and directs the delivery of joint enabling capabilities in the fi ve-year and farther horizon. Within that zero to fi ve-year timeframe, we have opportunities to ad- dress some of our joint C4ISR require- ments, the incremental development and implementation of capabilities, as well as the experimentation and trial backdrop to inform future capability requirements and solutions. These are through training and exercises. Commander CJOC is the CDS's lead for joint and combined training and exer- cises. We are now into a rhythm of three major joint annual and biannual exercises: Exercise Determined Dragon, Operation Nanook and JOINTEX. Determined Dragon is a joint head- quarters exercise focused on the defence of North America in all fi ve domains, synchronized with, and complementary to, exercises conducted by NORAD, US NORTHCOM and US STRATCOM. It rehearses our plans and contingency plans for the defence of Canada and the conti- nent. Operation Nanook is the annual CAF ex- ercise of deployable capabilities to conduct operations in the North, working with and in support of other government depart- ments and agencies. It advances our agen- da for providing for the defence, safety and security of Canadians in the North, and the affi rmation of our sovereignty. JOINTEX is the CAF exercise of joint and service component deployable capa- bilities for expeditionary operations in a multinational context, up to and includ- ing full spectrum operations in all do- mains, with international and interagency partners, and with the CAF leading multi- national forces – like we saw in Afghani- stan. All three events provide the opportu- nity for the joint force and the Joint Ops Command to "play it out" before we "live it out" and all have a force development component. They enable the development and validation of contingency plans, act as forcing functions to develop and confi rm doctrine and operating procedures, and allow us to identify capability defi ciencies, and to demonstrate the art of the possible – especially in the rapidly evolving world of C4ISR. As the CAF program permits, CJOC can introduce into service critical joint enabling capabilities within the fi ve-year horizon. If you think that you have the af- fordable and immediate solution to some of our challenges in the joint C4ISR realm, then you may want to get involved in those joint training events. Conclusion As volatility, instability and unpredict- ability grow, so too must our efforts to anticipate and be prepared to execute our mission, and so too must our ability to es- tablish the relationships, partnerships and the networks they require to deliver the necessary situational understanding. There are lots of challenges in joint C4ISR, but there are opportunities as well, including within training and exercises. We welcome and truly appreciate what you bring and do to improve our capabilities in this criti- cal area.