Air Mobility Plan, 2008 - The Black Vault

Information Operations Roadmap
Information Operations Roadmap
OPR: AMC/A3D
OCR: AMC/A2/A3R/A6/18 AF
MAF Capability Statement
Plan, execute, monitor, and assess information operations (IO) within the global mobility Air and Space
Operations Center (AOC) processes to collaborate in real-time with Falconer and Functional AOCs
and with Joint Service IO planning and operations centers. This includes the ability to collaborate
using multi-level security across classification domains seamlessly, while maintaining the integrity
of the classification level of the original product, the appropriate classification of combined data, and
limiting access to the IO plan for only those persons with a need to know. IO planning and execution
must be associated with special technical operations (STO). Collaboration with and between the A2,
J2, and counterintelligence communities is essential to keep abreast of threats to friendly IO, and to
determine the success of friendly IO. In addition, collaboration and coordination with and between
the A6 and J6 communities will be essential to ensure IO systems compatibility and interoperability
in the cyber domain.
Roadmap Assessment
The ultimate aim of warfare has been to alter the behavior of the adversary through destructive
means. IO leverages the synergistic approach of network warfare operation (NWO), electronic
warfare operations (EWO), and influence operations (IFO) to alter the adversary’s behavior through
nonkinetic means, either solely or in conjunction with kinetic weapons. IFO requires the integration
and employment of operations security (OPSEC), military deception (MILDEC), psychological
operations (PSYOP), public affairs/counterpropaganda, and counterintelligence capabilities to affect
behaviors, protect operations, communicate commander’s intent, and project accurate information to
achieve desired effects across the cognitive domain. These effects should result in differing behavior
or a change in the adversary decision cycle, which aligns with the friendly commander’s objectives.
Through collaboration, the 618 Tanker Airlift Control Center (TACC) and other operations centers
can plan and execute the use of EWO to affect the electromagnetic domain, NWO to affect the
cyberspace domain, and IFO to affect behavior of targeted audiences in the cognitive domain. IO
conducted at the operational and tactical levels may be capable of creating effects at the strategic level
and may require coordination with other national agencies.
While the offensive role of EWO and NWO is left to
the Combat Air Forces (CAF), the MAF has a definite
role in IFO. The collaboration between the MAF/
CAF IO entities from other Services and agencies is
essential to produce an IO plan that is synchronized
with the campaign or contingency operation. IFO
by itself can have only limited success; the same is
true when NWO or EWO are not combined with
the other two pillars of IO. Real-time events can
affect the success of any of the three IO pillars.
Thus, collaboration between IO centers is essential.
Only through the secure collaborative process can planners react to these events according to the
commander’s intent and approved IO courses of action.
Successfully leveraging MAF capabilities in IO planning and execution will require interwoven
coordination with public affairs and intelligence providers, partnered air operations centers, and
communications and computer experts. Planners cannot accomplish timely IO without a robust,
secure, networked communications and computer systems infrastructure, hardware, and software.
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OCT 07