Rumsfeld outlines risks, rewards

2002 annual report to the President and the Congress from Secretary Donald Rumsfeld

The Defense Department's focus on network-centric operations carries the responsibility that those systems are secure and available if the United States is going to fight effectively, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in his annual report to Congress and President Bush.

"U.S. forces must leverage information technology and innovative network-centric concepts of operation to develop increasingly capable joint forces," Rumsfeld said in the document, issued Aug. 16. He said that the war in Afghanistan has demonstrated the military's ability to use a variety of network combat elements from all of the services.

"This joint action only hints at the potential opportunities that can be exploited through new ways to connect seamlessly our air, sea and ground forces," he wrote. "IT holds vast potential for maximizing the effectiveness of American men and women in uniform."

But those information systems must be protected from attack and new capabilities for effective information operations must be developed, Rumsfeld wrote.

"The emergence of advanced information networks holds promise for vast improvements in joint U.S. capabilities, and it also provides the tools for non-kinetic attacks by U.S. forces," he said. Potential adversaries could exploit vulnerabilities if they are left unchecked, he warned.

"In a networked environment, information assurance is critical," Rumsfeld said. "Information systems must be protected from attack, and new capabilities for effective information operations must be developed."

The United States must also carry that information assurance effort to space because of the service's dependence on space-based technologies that enable network-centric operations through use of satellite communications.

"No nation relies more on space for its national security than the United States," he said. "Yet elements of the U.S. space architecture — ground stations, launch assets and satellites in orbit — are threatened by capabilities that are increasingly available."

The report also stresses the importance of Rumsfeld's "transformation" effort.

"Transformation is fundamentally about redefining war on our terms by harnessing an ongoing revolution in military affairs," he said. That transformation has conceptual, cultural and technological dimensions.

"Fundamental changes in the conceptualization of war as well as in organizational culture and behavior are required to bring it about," he said.

The annual report also stresses DOD's efforts to streamline its business operations by improving its financial management and its ability to buy new technology.

"Transforming DOD's outdated support structure is a key step in achieving a more capable fighting force," Rumsfeld said.