Ubiquitous Presence - The Art of Disrupting Influence

Lest ye think that I'm so buried in the minutia of redundant tactical communications, I thought I would spend this BLOG abstracting to the strategic level and provide a little glimpse of a tremendous cultural shift that the U.S. miltary has, until very recently, voraciously opposed in the name of Operational Security (OPSEC)...

Nine years ago, I was the military lead at the Marine Corps Office of Science and Technology Integration (OSTI) for a Government contract that was to bring the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL) into the 21st century by providing its leadership with a "knowledge management" system. The lead contractor on the job and I scoped the project and delved into the requirements analysis. "Ubiquitous access to information" was the gospel we preached to key leaders at MCWL, the Naval Research Lab, the Office of Naval Research, DARPA; etc. Our charter was to "eliminate the information stovepipes that exist within the Department of Defense", by creating a "System of systems" that would be interoperable with the myriad of similar systems throughout the agencies we regularly interacted with. A tall order for a young captain and an even younger, although brilliant, contractor/software developer.

He and I spent nearly two years on the project. He was a tremendous visionary - a master at spanning the organization and kludging disparate functional areas into a cohesive requirements document; then taking that document and turning it into a web-enabled, database-driven solution that enabled all members to have instant access to a vast repository of well-organized information pertaining to the organization.

Since the system we were creating was web-enabled, it could be accessed from anywhere; and with the recent advent of tablet PCs and PDAs, we had visions of taking that to the extreme - MCWL personnel instantly calling up critical Lab information from field sites, in board rooms, at conferences and in presentations throughout DoD, academia, and industry... ubiquitous access to information - any time, any place.

After two years of diligent effort, the team he and I created had ginned up a relatively useful product for the employees of MCWL. It fell far short of our lofty expectations, largely due to OPSEC concerns and the immaturaty of the technology and infrastructure; but the end product was still useful for the Lab and was, I believe, a cost-effective use of tax dollars.

In 2002, the two of us parted ways - I was promoted to Major and headed off to the Second Marine Logistics Group (2nd MLG) and onward to Iraq; and he started a new company that would become a DoD "Strategic Communications" powerhouse.

Over the next few years, I immersed myself in communications, from the tactical battlefield level with 2nd MLG and later Second Marine Division, to the strategic sub-unified four star command level at U.S. Forces Korea. The phrase "Ubiquitous access to information" seemed to fade into the background as we worked diligently to simply give commanders access to information where and when we could, vice where and when they needed it.  We were intently focused on our ability to lock down networks, often at the expense of operational capability in order to prevent the enemy from gaining access to sensitive information.

In 2007, at the Joint Forces Staff College, I was introduced to the concept of Strategic Communication, which instantly reminded me of conversations my friend and I had as we plugged away in the Warfighting Lab.  Jeffrey B. Jones - former Director for Strategic Communications and Information on the National Security Council, describes strategic communication as "The synchronized coordination of statecraft, public affairs, public diplomacy, military information operations, and other activities, reinforced by political, economic, military, and other actions, to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives."  So, what does this mean?

At the national level, it entails an unprecedented degree of coordination across governmental and non-governmental agencies in order to produce a cohesive communication strategy... It means the National Command Authority, politicians, State Department, CIA, DIA, NSA, USAID, Department of Defense, Homeland Defense, etc all coming to the table with their piece of the puzzle, first in an attempt to "see the elephant" for what it is; second, to come up with a unified strategy to achieve victory; and, finally, to implement this strategy across all elements of national power (Diplomatic, Information, Military, and Economic) and throughout the phases of conflict.  Strategic communications constitutes the set of messages we send to our adversaries, to our allies, and to the onlookers about what we intend to accomplish as a Nation, or most often these days, as a coalition of Nations.

As a communications officer in the U.S. military, it is my job to provide my commander with systems that enable the "conduits of influence" through which these strategic messages flow.  One goal of the modern strategic commander is ubiquitous presence (our message is everywhere, all the time); and my commander is as modern as they come.  It has been said that there are only two degrees of separation between Lieutenant General Caldwell and evey leader in the United States... frankly, I believe it.  His address book is unlike any I've ever seen; and his demand for high bandwidth, unfettered communications presents one of the best challenges I have faced in my 22 years as a Marine.

Who would have thought that blogging would be considered a mission essential communications requirement levied upon any J-6 staff?  Access to streaming media in a country whose literacy rate is somewhere around 28%?  An in-theater web presence capable of streaming video out?  In country BlackBerry service with local email accounts for the first time in the history of Afghanistan?  Readily accessible commercial internet?  Content managers?  Over 100,000 feet of CAT6 for three buildings?  Hotspots?  Air cards?  ...and you want it when, sir??

Throw the OPSEC manual out the window - we're in the clear.  It's time to rewrite doctrine and to reconsider the concept of maneuver warfare.  We're going deep into the heart of the enemy's OODA loop (decision cycle) this time.  This isn't about disrupting his supply chains, his lines of communication, or even his ability to command and control.  This is about disrupting something much more powerful and dear to him... his influence.  And the space we're operating in is unprecedented. 

To the terrorist, influence is everything; and he is willing to use any and all means at his disposal to that end... Jihad (the radical variety), violent attacks on civilians, improvised explosive devices, suicide vests, covert training camps, media outlets... the internet.  The terrorists we fight care deeply about advancing their causes through influence - and we have found a way to delay, disrupt, and ultimately defeat them.

Strategic communications is all about leveraging the best content delivery systems the world has to offer in order to overwhelm the enemy with information that runs counter to their cause.  My boss always tells me to use the highest bandwidth means of communications first when you have something to say; and he prioritizes them as:  Face-to-face, video teleconference, phone, and then email.  As a nation (or coalition), we engage in strategic communications in like maner - we visit minisries, cities, villages, and homes and converse with the local populace; we produce media, embed the press, and grant interviews; we broadcast radio segments; and we leverage the internet - a space no previous war has encompassed.

Although strategic communications is about more than I've highlighted here (the information gathering aspect, for instance, is something I haven't even touched on), it's fairly easy to see how pervasive an approach it really is; and how taxing it can be on our infrastructure. 

So there it is... strategic communications, ubiquitous presence - the bane of my existance as of late; and the catalyst for the destruction of a terrorist regime.

Where is my friend now, you ask... he retired in his 30's and now funds high tech start-ups - living the dream.

Incidentally, today my crew activated the first BlackBerry enterprise server ever operated on a domain located in Afghanistan.  An incredible feet considering where we were with the project a month ago.  Well done CJ-6 Ops.