FORCEnet an analysis of the Trident Warrior 2003 exercise

Abstract

Since the country has moved into the Information Age, the military forces have been moving towards network based operations. The rapid expansion of the internet and information technology (IT) has led to the emerging theory of Network- Centric Warfare (NCW). The Naval Services instantiation of NCW is FORCEnet. "FORCEnet is the "glue" that binds together Sea Strike, Sea Shield, and Sea Basing. It is the operational construct and architectural framework for naval warfare in the Information Age, integrating warriors, sensors, command and control, platforms, and weapons into a networked, distributed combat force. FORCEnet will provide the architecture to increase substantially combat capabilities through aligned and integrated systems, functions, and missions. Sea Power 21 is a comprehensive attempt to address the ramifications of the Information Age revolution. The framework of the Sea Power 21 vision is composed of the following elements: Sea Basing, Sea Shield and Sea Strike. The enabler of this vision or the "glue" that holds it all together is FORCEnet. FORCEnet is "the operational construct and architectural framework of naval warfare in the information age that integrates Warriors, sensors, networks, command and control, platforms, and weapons into a networked, distributed combat force that is scaleable across all levels of conflict from seabed to space and sea to land." The Trident Warrior 03 exercise was then developed as a means to measure its success and to acquire data from which future exercises can be measured against. FORCEnet is still in its infancy and many people have different views on what exactly it is and how it should be implemented to achieve those goals. The intent of this thesis was not to answer those questions per se, but provide a realistic analysis of what worked during the TW03 exercise and what did not. This should provide a baseline for further Trident Warrior exercises so as to avoid the same mistakes in the future. The military has a ways to go before it can fully realize a truly networked-centric armed forces, but TW03 was the beginning and the lessons learned from it will pay dividends in realizing that fully networked goal.