This fall, Nov. 28 - Dec. 10, the Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM) takes FORCEnet to sea for the third in a series of Trident Warrior events, when U.S. Second Fleet units of the USS Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group and coalition partners will participate off the coast of Virginia in Trident Warrior 2005 (TW05).
Participants will include 2nd Fleet's Commander, Amphibious Squadron (COMPHIBRON) 4, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), USS Wasp (LHD 1), USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), USS Nashville (LPD 13), USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41), USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) and USS Cole (DDG 67). Coalition units participating from Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand will include the HMCS Montreal (FFH 336), HMCS Fredericton (FFH 337), HMNZS (virtual), HMNZS Te Mana (F111) and HMS Liverpool (D92).
Other commands supporting NETWARCOM and TW are:
• Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) – the TW engineer
• Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) – the TW lead in data collection, analysis and TW05 findings
• Naval War College (NWC) – conducts the TW wargame
• Marine Corps Concept Development Command (MCCDC) – provides the Marine Corps lead for TW
• Naval Personnel Development Command (NPDC) – pro- vides the naval doctrine lead for TW.
While FORCEnet provides the command and control (C2) component of Sea Power 21, TW05 will create an operating environment to explore the functional concept for FORCEnet. The Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Vern Clark, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Michael W. Hagee, signed and formally issued a joint FORCEnet document titled "FORCEnet: A Functional Concept for the 21st Century."
The overarching hypothesis of the FORCEnet Functional Concept states "… that if all forces and organizations down to the level of individual entities are interconnected in a networked, collaborative command and control environment, then all operations and activities can enjoy the benefits of decentralization, including initiative, adaptability and increased tempo, without sacrificing the coordination or unity of effort typically associated with centralization."
The operational impact should be "… command and control characterized by shorter decision cycles that allow commanders to make and implement better decisions faster than any enemy can tolerate…." The results will be units and platforms able to adapt more quickly and effectively to changing circumstances and the ability to self-synchronize in furtherance of the mission.
To understand the operational impact of FORCEnet command and control concepts, C2 must be executed in a realistic environment to assess, in quantitative and qualitative terms, FORCEnet enabling technology and ways it is used through tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs).
Analysis of collected data provides insights resulting in dedicated procurement and development decision information required to produce "speed to capability" (S2C). Speed to capability is the rapid fielding of improved FORCEnet C2 warfighting capabilities to the fleet with full supportability and maintainability. It also includes continuous development of supporting TTPs.
In today's global war on terrorism with responses ranging from large or small scale regional conflicts to relief operations, there is a potential for the configuration of an expeditionary strike group (ESG) or carrier strike group (CSG) to include coalition partners pulled from their national regional assets. So FORCEnet concepts must also provide continuity across the coalition with a Combined Forces Maritime Component Commander (CFMCC). NETWARCOM is partnering with 2nd Fleet to focus on FORCEnet support of a CFMCC from the operational to tactical level.
TW05 will focus on key enablers of FORCEnet capability to make the CFMCC fully capable of creating coalitions able to me