How is the DOD Preparing for the Joint Future Fight?

The global defense landscape has seen an obvious shift from counterterrorism to peer and near-peer competition in recent years, which has in turn spurred an increased focus on tighter collaboration between service branches, partners and allied forces around the world.

Defense leaders believe the future fight will be fought jointly, with coalition partners and a network of combined forces, but is the Department of Defense prepared for the level of interoperability needed to execute such a broad vision? Over the past year, the DOD has sprung into action to enable more collaboration in support of defense and national security missions.

In October 2022, the Pentagon stood up a new office, helmed by former Electronic Warfare Director Dave Tremper, to provide unity and high-level oversight of its Joint All-Domain Command and Control initiative, known as JADC2, for the first time ever. 

Hear Dave Tremper, executive director of the DOD’s new Acquisition, Integration and Interoperability Office, speak about the joint future fight during the Potomac Officers Club’s Delivering Joint Capabilities Forum on July 11. Don’t miss your chance to learn from and network with Pentagon and industry leaders in person! Register here. 

In collaboration with Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer Craig Martell, a 2023 Wash100 Award winner who is responsible for integrating JADC2 data, Tremper’s office is tasked with how to “truly get JADC2 talking across the department,” according to Chris O’Donnell, deputy assistant secretary of defense for acquisition.

With Martell and Tremper both dedicated to providing JADC2 with much-needed leadership and integration, the Pentagon’s collaborative initiative is finally starting to take shape and move forward in a meaningful way.

United States military branches are also seeing greater collaboration with each other and with international allies and partners. 

In 2022, the U.S. Army’s annual experimentation and demonstration exercise, Project Convergence, involved not only U.S. special operations forces, but also service members, researchers and industry partners from the U.K. and Australia for the first time. PC 2024 is anticipated to include those same allies, but this time, they plan to participate with their own joint forces and armies. 

Learn more about what the joint fight of the future looks like, and what challenges, opportunities and priorities might emerge going forward. Join the Potomac Officers Club’s Delivering Joint Capabilities Forum on July 11 — register here to save your seat.