Author Description

As part of its Force XXI development program, the U.S. Army is "digitizing" the force: interweaving its various levels of command with sophisticated information technologies to provide a clear and accurate shared picture of the battlespace, or area of operations, at all levels, from the commander down to the individual soldier. The intention is to increase dramatically the scope and quality of shared situational awareness, to permit units to synchronize and resynchronize operations smoothly and quickly, and to be able to focus fires, logistics, and other resources wherever they are needed, without being rigidly limited by traditional organizational boundaries. In turn, improved situational awareness should enable standoff, nonlinear, dispersed operations, as opposed to the more conventional approach of massing forces to conduct close combat on a clearly delineated battlefield. The Force XXI process is also expected to facilitate enhanced force protection, leaner logistics, and split- based operations. The Army's fast pace of modernization appears to be unmatched by the militaries that are likely to deploy alongside the United States in future coalition operations. Such disparity in technological sophistication, it is feared, will lead to coalition incompatibilities, which in turn can undermine the effectiveness of multinational forces. The capability gap caused by differing levels of technological sophistication, coupled with the continuing political need to operate in a multinational environment, may significantly hinder future coalition operations.