Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen has designated the commander-in-chief, U.S. Atlantic Command, Adm. Harold W. Gehman, as the executive agent for conducting joint warfighting experimentation within the Defense Department, effective Oct. 1, 1998. In that capacity, CINCUSACOM will explore, demonstrate and evaluate joint warfighting concepts and capabilities required to implement Joint Vision 2010.

In recommending this action, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Henry H. Shelton recognized the importance of joint warfighting experimentation.

"U.S. Atlantic Command's new role will focus our efforts to implement our future warfare vision," Shelton said. "The Services have individually made great strides in modeling and simulation, and other new techniques. Our challenge now is to integrate those efforts to achieve the greatest possible capabilities in the 21st century."

The command's role as executive agent is defined by the Joint Warfighting Experimentation Charter approved by Cohen on May 15. According to Cohen, joint warfighting experimentation will facilitate the development of new joint doctrine, organizations, training and education, materiel, leadership, and people to ensure that the U.S. Armed Forces can meet future challenges across the full range of military operations.

By July 15, CINCUSACOM will submit to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff an implementation plan that specifies the resources required to assume these new responsibilities. The chairman will coordinate with the Services and the Defense Department to establish the procedures and funding support for USACOM joint warfighting experimentation.

These functions will be permanently assigned to USACOM in the next revision to the Unified Command Plan.

Editors note: a copy of the charter is attached.

USCINCACOM JOINT WARFIGHTING EXPERIMENTATION CHARTER

1. Purpose. This charter confers authority, provides guidance, and designates USCINCACOM as the Executive Agent for conducting joint warfighting experimentation within the Department of Defense. This effort will enable USCINCACOM to explore new joint warfighting concepts and capabilities and determine the doctrine, organization, training and education, materiel, leadership, and people (DOTMLP) implications for change. These experiments will support the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs Joint Vision 2010 (JV 2010) and future CJCS joint warfighting visions. Successful joint warfighting experimentation relies on the active participation and support of the Services, combatant commands, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), and Defense agencies.

2. Background

a. The Department of Defense is committed to conducting aggressive experimentation as a key component of the "Prepare Now" element of the National Security and National Military Strategies and DoD transformation strategy.

b. Joint warfighting experimentation is one of the primary methods for exploring, testing and validating, or modifying future joint operational concepts that will drive changes in DOTMLP.

c. Joint warfighting experimentation is necessary to identify and assess those interdependent areas of joint warfare that will leverage Service warfighting capabilities to transform the conduct of future US Armed Forces operations.

d. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff established the conceptual template for future joint warfighting with publication of Joint Vision 2010 and the Concept for Future Joint Operations. These and future CJCS vision and concept documents will guide joint warfighting experimentation.

3. Scope of Authority:

a. In addition to responsibilities assigned in the Unified Command Plan, USCINCACOM is designated the Executive Agent for conducting joint warfighting experimentation. This effort will define, explore, and validate new joint warfighting concepts and capabilities via various forms of joint experimentation to identify the DOTMLP implications for change. Changes identified by this process will be forwarded to the JCS and/or JROC as appropriate for validation and inclusion in joint warfighting publications.

b. USCINCACOM is responsible to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for creating and refining future joint warfighting concepts and integration of Service efforts in support of JV 2010 and future CUCS joint warfighting visions.

c. USCINCACOM is functionally responsible to the Chairman for joint warfighting experimentation.

d. USCINCACOM is the supported commander for the purpose of conducting a program of joint warfighting experimentation. USCINCACOM will coordinate with the Services, combatant commands, and Defense agencies to identify the required supporting forces and then coordinate, through USACOM Service component commanders, force participation in specific experiments. Requirements for non-COCOM forces and additional support for the preparation and conduct of joint experiments will be coordinated with Service Headquarters through the Joint Staff.

e. The Chairman retains responsibility for the implementation of JV 2010 and future joint visions as well as oversight of USCINCACOM's conduct of joint warfighting experimentation.

4. Responsibilities and Relationships:

a. The Services and USSOCOM will retain primary responsibility to develop concepts and will conduct experimentation within their core competencies, to include their land, air and space, sea, expeditionary, and special operations roles.

b. USCINCACOM will create and explore new joint warfighting concepts for joint experimentation, to include concepts provided by OSD, the Joint Staff, Services, other combatant commands, Defense agencies, the private sector, and other sources.

c. USCINCACOM, in coordination with the Services and combatant commands, will critically refine, assess, and recommend to the Chairman the most promising joint concepts and capabilities for experimentation and further assessment.

d. Joint concepts exploration is the basis for joint warfighting experimentation. USCINCACOM will conduct joint experimentation to explore, demonstrate, and evaluate joint warfighting concepts. Experimentation will identify the breakthrough warfighting capabilities necessary to achieve JV 2010 and future CJCS visions. Joint experimentation will integrate Service-unique experiments where coordination is required for the successful prosecution of the joint battle.

e. USCINCACOM, in coordination with the Joint Staff, Services, and other combatant commands, and Defense agencies, as appropriate, will plan, design, prepare, conduct, and assess a program of joint warfighting experiments. These events may incorporate analyses, wargames, modeling and simulations, Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations, Information Superiority Experiments (ISX), command post exercises, and joint field exercises. USCINCACOM will include "red team" vulnerability assessments in the joint experimentation program.

f. USCINCACOM will, as appropriate, coordinate with the Joint Staff, the Services, other combatant commands, and OSD Defense agencies and offices (DDR&E, DUSD(AT), OT&E, DARPA, etc.) to leverage ongoing and planned events in support of the joint experimentation program.

g. USCINCACOM will provide to the JROC and Joint Chiefs of Staff as appropriate, for approval, the Capstone Requirements Documents (CRDs) and other DOTMLP requirements documentation based on joint assessment and experimentation results. CRDs and other documentation will specify follow-on requirements and DOTMLP recommendations.

h. The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Threat Reduction (ASD(S&TR)) will monitor USCINCACOM's exploration of joint warfighting concepts and capabilities on behalf of the Secretary of Defense and will arrange periodic reviews of selected activities by the Defense Resources Board, acting in its Revolution in Military Affairs oversight role.

5. Training and Resources:

a. USCINCACOM will assume duties specified in this charter on 1 October 1998.

b. By 15 July 1998, USCINCACOM will submit to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff an implementation plan that specifies the resources, including the acquisition of technologies for experimentation, required to assume these responsibilities. The Chairman will coordinate with the Services and OSD to establish procedures and levels of funding support for the purpose of USCINCACOM joint warfighting experimentation.

c. USCINCACOM responsibilities for joint warfighting experimentation will be included in the next change to the Unified Command Plan.