May 14, 2021

The Future Direct Air Support Center: Implementing Tactical Data Links to Enhance Combat Power

Common Aviation Command and Control System (CAC2S), Increment I, Phase II, is an aviation command and control system scheduled to be fielded to the to the direct air support center (DASC) from fiscal year 2018 through 2021. The system will be fielded to the rest of the Marine air command and control system (MACCS) on a similar timeline. This new system provides a common, expeditionary, modular and scalable system that enables data fusion throughout the Marine air ground task force (MAGTF). This article informs commanders and their staff, involved in every warfighting function, about the DASC’s new capabilities and employment options.

May 1, 2021

The Exercise-Experiment (E-E): A New Reality

Combining the training exercise with a discovery experiment represents a nontraditional execution model that creates challenges and opportunities for the leaders of both efforts. The blended experiment and training objective approach allows the participating units time to work on specific, mission-essential tasks while accomplishing experiment objectives; including evaluating technologies. This article highlights the differences between exercises and experiments, identifies planning and execution challenges during OS19 and CB19, and provides recommendations for the planning and executing subsequent E-Es to maximize the benefits for the Soldier, the joint warfighter, the US Army, and the multi-Service force.

April 14, 2021

Artificial Judgement: A Case for Rethinking the Future Vector of Military Technological Innovation

The United States (US) military is falling behind in the global race for military technological superiority. This lag is due to a number of factors, which include: a cumbersome acquisition system, budget constraints and uncertainty, a focus on the counterinsurgency fight, a culture that is adverse to failure, and a pervasive lack of focus on innovation and invention. The Service secretaries and chiefs, among others in the Department of Defense (DOD) and defense industrial base, have made a marked push to reverse course. Now that the counterinsurgency fight has subsided, the DOD budget forecast is more robust, and a concentrated effort to devise a rapid acquisition process has begun, the Services have signaled full speed ahead for innovation and risk tolerance. In a future faced with contested domains across the spectrum of warfare (particularly air, space, and cyber), the US must not only catch up with technology, but leap ahead to regain a competitive advantage.

April 1, 2021

Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) Battle Tracking Challenges in Contested Environments

The offensive counterair-SEAD campaign is central to joint air forces achieving effects in the contested and degraded operations (CDO) environment. (For brevity, offensive counterair-SEAD will be referred to as SEAD hereafter.) SEAD efforts create localized air superiority through avoiding, suppressing, or destroying the enemy’s integrated air defense system (IADS). The ability to achieve effective SEAD grows in complexity with the advancement of enemy systems and countertactics. The next evolution of automated battle tracking systems offers an opportunity to aid warfighters in tackling these evolving SEAD tactical problems. This article aims to identify tactical challenges in SEAD and suggests potential remedies for inclusion in next-generation, battle-tracking software suites.

Feb. 24, 2021

The Evolution of Close Air Support

Air Land Sea Bulletin 2015-3 — This edition of the Air Land Sea Bulletin (ALSB) commemorates the Air Land Sea Application Center’s

Oct. 1, 2020

Why United States Space Force Doctrine Development Is Critical To Its Success

Major Clayton W. Couch is assigned to Air Force Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities (AF TENCAP) at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. With the recent creation of the United States Space Force (USSF), the question arises: Who will write USSF doctrine? Perhaps, it will fall on staff officers who find themselves assigned to academically inclined doctrine centers, longing to get back to a tactical warfighting unit. If so, what will happen?

Oct. 1, 2020

Six Myths About Offensive Cyber Operations

As senior military leaders lobby for resources and policy makers struggle to fit OCO into the spectrum of international competition, both groups display an unintentional bias toward treating cyberspace as exempt from doctrine that applies to the physical warfighting domains. Misunderstandings of OCO and its effects are clouding the environment for decision makers. This article is intended to increase clarity for decision makers by debunking common myths about OCO.

Oct. 1, 2020

J26 Collection Management Course Curriculum Revamp and Certification Program

The Joint Staff and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) are hard at work meeting the collection management (CM) training and certification demands of today’s warfighter and combatant commander. Historically, collection managers were assigned their role with little, if any, training or experience in the various aspects of CM, various DOD reviews and reports noted this discrepancy. To rectify this current shortfall, DIA offers training courses and an accredited certification program.

Oct. 1, 2020

Have Quick At Sea—Lessons Learned The Hard Way

Adversaries have long held the ability to thwart or exploit the United States (US) military’s tactical communications. Today, technologies to find and jam frequencies in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) spectrum are becoming cheaper to produce and distribute. This capability not only allows enemies to jam US transmissions, but it allows them to find, fix, and target US forces. Use of proven anti-jam technologies, such as Have Quick (HQ), is becoming mandatory for tactical air communications in joint operations.

Oct. 1, 2020

2020-2 ALSA Over the Horizon

Fighter Integration (FI) Multi-Service Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures and Joint All-domain Operations (JADO)