Joint Operating Concept (JOC) - GlobalSecurity.org

Appendix F - Plan for Assessment
1. Insights and Results Gained From Experimentation or Other Forms of
Assessment Conducted During the Writing or Revision Effort
IW JOC Limited Objective Experiment (3-5 Oct 06).
Purpose. The IW JOC Limited Objective Experiment (LOE) was conducted over
three days (3-5 October 2006) at Booz Allen Hamilton in Mclean, Virginia. The
purpose of the LOE, hosted by US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)
and sponsored by OSD’s Office of Force Transformation, was to provide a forum
for key stakeholders to further the development of the IW JOC, ensuring
completeness, thematic consistency, and operational utility of the concept.
Objectives. The objectives of the LOE were to determine if the operational
environments, LOOs, and focus of operations are adequately captured and
logically consistent in the concept. In order to accomplish these objectives, the
LOE explored the development of a strategic assessment to address the regional
environment, how and what LOOs would be implemented, the effects and
outcomes desired in IW, and the metrics necessary to determine success as well
as identifying critical capabilities needed to conduct IW.
Key Insights
• Insight #1: Teams identified strategic communications, building partner
capabilities and capacity, and security as key instruments of IW.
• Insight #2: The political nature of IW requires an orchestrated effort that
integrates a range of USG capabilities.
• Participants in all groups articulated a need for a clear IW policy at the
presidential and DOD levels, recognizing that most activities in an IW
campaign are non-kinetic.
• Participants expressed a need for a national-level USG concept for IW.
• In order to ensure cooperation and integration within the USG,
participants from all groups highlighted the need for a designated entity
that can provide strategic direction to all government agencies and
compel them to communicate and cooperate for the good of the IW
effort.
• With clear policy and funding lines, the USG writ large must be
empowered to conduct decentralized execution of IW. Participants
highlighted the effectiveness of empowering local commanders and
other USG officials with the authorities, and the authorization, that
allow them to assess and act upon local situations.
• Insight #3: In IW, the approach to intelligence collection should focus on
the population and is integral to the success of an IW campaign.
• Restricted operating environments limit military options and require a
pre-existing human network and clandestine infrastructure that must
be established well in advance of any operations.
Appendix E E-1