Pentagon to release guidance on military transformation

Defense Department officials are preparing to release long-awaited practical guidance for transforming the military to combat information-age threats, the Pentagon's director of force transformation said on Friday.

The document, approved by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last Thursday, probably will be released publicly in about two weeks, retired Vice Adm. Arthur Cebrowski said during a Senate Armed Services subcommittee hearing.

Cebrowski said the document will provide a "decisive strategy" for transforming the department and will require him to evaluate the transformation "road maps" of the individual armed services.

"Transformation" refers to the military's efforts to redefine its approach to warfare, by moving from the industrial age to the information age, and shifting its defense strategy from the more predictable threats of the Cold War to unpredictable, "asymmetric" threats such as those posed by the al Qaeda terrorist network.

Rhode Island Democrat Jack Reed said the guidance document, coupled with adequate resources in the budget, will help Congress and the Pentagon transform the military "not just in a rhetorical sense but in a practical sense."

"I'm very concerned ... to look at the evolution of roles and responsibilities of transformation within the [Defense] Department," Reed said. He noted that Cebrowski's Office of Force Transformation, the Joint Forces Command, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the individual military services and the regional combatant commands throughout the world all have key roles in the department's transformation efforts.

"All of these have to be not just integrated but really energized to provide real transformation," Reed said.

Navy Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, commander of the Joint Forces Command, said his office worked closely with Cebrowski's staff and other Pentagon officials in crafting the document. "Frankly ... we wished we had gotten this document out sooner," he said. "This document codifies ... the role of the Office of Force Transformation. It also brings additional responsibilities to Joint Forces Command in the area of transformation."

Giambastiani said the document also will place "significant emphasis" on Defense's ability to quickly develop, acquire and field new war-fighting technologies.

The document calls for a fund that will provide resources, on short notice, for combatant commanders to conduct hands-on battlefield experiments with emerging technologies, Cebrowski said. "This is new, and we hope it will be funded appropriately," he told the Senate panel.

Giambastiani said that although some lawmakers "don't like to have initiative funds like this," other members understand the importance of quickly delivering new technologies to warfighters. "I am a very strong supporter of this," he said. "It is important, and there will be money in there."

Reed said he also plans to fight for more science and technology resources for all of the military services. "So much of what you're going to be doing is to identify those appropriate projects and hopefully accelerate their deployment to the field," Reed said. "Research and development is the key part of what I think you're going to be doing."