Air University hosts first-ever JADO, JADC2 symposium

  • Published
  • By Phil Berube
  • Air University Public Affairs

Military and government representatives from multiple academic and intelligence communities met in-person and virtually for the first-ever Air University Joint All Domain Operation/Joint All-Domain Command and Control Symposium, Nov. 18-20, 2020.

The symposium objectives were to examine the development of concepts to ensure dominant planning, decision and execution, or PDE, cycles in highly contested and degraded environments and to identify key PDE issues affecting JADO and JADC2 future concepts.

Air University’s Curtis E. LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education hosted the symposium.

The more than 150 virtual and in-person attendees from across the Department of Defense and government agencies were able to participate in one of three mission-area working groups, or MAWGS: Decision Advantage, Dynamic Tasking Order and JADO Professional Military Education.

The Decision Advantage MAWG analyzed current operational and air component PDE cycles to identify where today’s automation can compress the cycles. Additionally, this MAWG examined emerging PDE cycle concepts for doctrinal exploration.

This working group looked at how future contested and degraded operational environments pose tremendous risks to current planning, decision and execution cycles. Additionally, they analyzed how potential adversaries are leveraging technology to automate their decision cycles.

The Dynamic Tasking Order MAWG reviewed the current air tasking order process and examined the requirements for a dynamic tasking order in a contested JADO environment.

The ability to effectively manage the complexity, speed and precision inherent in future Joint All Domain Operations requires a comprehensive tasking cycle far beyond the capabilities of the current air tasking order. To meet these requirements, the next generation of tasking cycles must synchronize the capabilities of all domains to ensure the efficient and effective execution of operations and provide much greater focus on dynamic targets.

The JADO PME MAWG assessed curricula, faculty development and research near- to long-term requirements at Air University for transitioning to JADO.

The U.S. military’s transition to JADO is a dynamic evolution in maneuver warfare requiring a major educational transformation. JADO moves professional military education from a joint focus on additive service capabilities to synergistic maneuver designed to exploit interdependencies between domains.

“Air University’s symposium set a solid foundation for collaboratively exploring the complexity of future joint all domain operations and JADC2,” said Dr. Jeffrey Reilly, director, Joint Education for Air Command and Staff College. “The symposium identified key educational and research issues that will set the context for a larger, more in-depth conference in the spring. The overarching intent is to ensure we provide key Air Force and joint stakeholders with relevant professional military education, cutting edge research and highly qualified graduates.”