Major Hurdles in Full Realization of MDO

MDO is currently a vision of future operations. Many things must happen between now and then in order to realize it in it's entirety. What are some major obstacles which must be mitigated in order for the US DOD to realize the vision? Some examples:

Command and Control will be much more complex

Logistics in the future operating environment will be more complex

To shorten our OODA loop, human-machine augmentation may be required

Communications must be enabled across the enterprise and around DoD

  • The biggest hurdle that needs to be overcome is service parochialism. We deconflicted in Vietnam, Synchronized in Desert Storm, Integrated to some degree in the second Gulf War. What we really need is fusion. An MDO concept will not be realized if you are counting on the services to come up with the concept. The services are protecting the domain in which they are named when they look at the concept. What we need is thinkers on the outside, with no service equity, look at the capabilities and develop a concept that has one headquarters (Commander) with the ability and authority and capability to maneuver and achieve effects in all domains simultaneously. Breakdown the compartmented programs and service turfs.
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