Networked Operations and Transformation

by English, Allan; Gimblett, Richard; Coombs, Howard G.

• ISBN13: 9780773532854
• ISBN10: 0773532854
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-01-01
• Publisher: McGill Queens Univ

Summary

The driving concept behind the transformation of Western armed forces in the twenty-first century has been a fully integrated information network that will supposedly create a "decisive" advantage in fighting and other military actions. In a detailed examination of different types of networked operations, including Network-Centric Warfare (NCW) and Network Enabled Operations, the authors argue that such operations offer not a new theory of war but a series of largely untested assumptions that must be validated before they are accepted as a basis for transforming the military.The authors consider various approaches to networked operations that are based on the physical environment and cultural context in which armed forces operate. They conclude that a "one size fits all" approach to command and control for networked operations may not be the most effective and suggest a more human-centric approach than the primarily technology-centred model used by the U.S. military.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations
Foreword
Introduction	p. 3
Frameworks for Thinking about Networked Operations	p. 14
The Navy Paradigm: "Information Superiority and Operational Independence"	p. 28
The Air Force Paradigm: Effects-Based Operations	p. 61
The Army Paradigm: Manoeuvre and Operational Art	p. 71
Paradigms in Conflict: Critiques of Network-Centric Warfare	p. 95
Other Approaches to Networked Operations	p. 109
Conclusions	p. 130
Notes	p. 145
Bibliography	p. 165
Index	p. 181
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