Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks visited Camp Pendleton and Fort Irwin, California on March 4-5 to engage with senior Army leadership running Project Convergence Capstone 4 (PCC4) and participating in the Global Information Dominance Experimentation (GIDE) series. They will discuss the initial insights related to new technologies, new concepts, and new approaches that can inform best practices for the Army and Joint DOD community.
At both locations, the Deputy Secretary saw Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) in action via PCC4 and GIDE events in order to gain a better understanding of the challenges which impact CJADC2 implementation across the joint force.
PCC4 is an Army-hosted, Joint and Multinational experiment. During her visit, Deputy Secretary Hicks also observed how FVEY partners are experimenting with key tactical C2 workflows and technologies.
CJADC2 is command and control for the 21st Century. Crises and conflict require numerous, synchronized planning and execution decisions within hours, minutes, or seconds. Improved workflows, data and analytic tools, and networks being experimented with in PCC4 and GIDE are improving the speed and agility of U.S. and coalition forces in analyzing the operating environment and conducting command and control from headquarters to the tactical edge.
CJADC2 is a warfighting necessity to keep pace with the volume and complexity of data in modern warfare and to defeat adversaries decisively. CJADC2 enables the Joint Force to "sense," "make sense," and "act" on information across the battlespace quickly using automation, artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics, and machine learning to deliver informed solutions via a resilient and robust network environment.
Hosted by the U.S. Army, Project Convergence is a joint and multinational experiment designed to inform acquisition and force structure decisions for the Joint Force. The capstone event is designed to experiment with emerging technologies across the U.S. military services, in cooperation with United Kingdom and Australian armed forces, to assess interoperability, integration and potential contributions to future operations. GIDE is a Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO)-hosted experiment occurring every quarter. This is the first time CDAO is running GIDE in conjunction with a Service-led experiment.
At Camp Pendleton, Deputy Secretary Hicks also met with service members to better understand the challenges and opportunities they experience as part of their military service.
Over the last three years, the department has focused on ways to take even better care of our service members and their families.
Secretary of Defense Austin and Deputy Secretary Hicks are taking action on issues critical to force and family stability, including securing affordable basic needs, making moves easier, further strengthening our support to families, and expanding spousal employment.
Supporting our service members and the families who provide the strong foundation for our force is critical to recruitment, retention, and readiness. The department's leadership will continue to listen, learn, and lead on issues that are critical to stability and to the unique challenges of military life.
