Will We Ever Achieve a Network Centric Navy. DoD Acquisition System Adjustments and Reforms Necessary to Bring About the Successful Migration

摘要

Information Age technology offers empowering opportunities to the organizations that can best take advantage of them. The Navy introduced network centric warfare as their Information Age concept. Unfortunately, the current acquisition system strangles initiative and precludes motivated Naval personnel from initiating network centric operations in the fleet. Further, this acquisition System will not permit the procurement of the more technically challenging network centric components needed for a true long term network centric force. Analyzing the five tenets of the network centric warfare concept reveals tangible end items needed to grow a network centric force. The results of those analyses suggest these requirements separate into two groups: essential hardware and software acquirable in the near term by adjusting the current acquisition system; and advanced networks and platforms available only after fundamental change to the acquisition process. This paper indicates these short term adjustments will launch rudimentary network centric operations in the Navy while the necessary long term reforms will make possible the envisioned future network centric force.