Power To The Edge

Information Age Transformation Series

Power to the Edge

Command... Control... in the Information Age

David S. Alberts , Richard E. Hayes , with a Foreword by John Stenbit

300 + page pdf

link = http://www.dodccrp.org/files/Alberts_Power.pdf

Related Wikipedia Article Exerpts

Power to the Edge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_to_the_Edge

Power to the Edge refers to the ability of an organization to dynamically synchronize its actions; achieve command and control (C2) agility; and increase the speed of command over a robust, networked grid. The term is most commonly used in relation to military organizations, but it can equally be used in a civilian context.

"Power to the Edge" is an information and organization management philosophy first articulated by the U.S. Department of Defense in a publication by Dr. David S. Alberts and Richard E. Hayes in 2003 titled: "Power to the Edge: Command...Control...in the Information Age." This book was published by the Command and Control Research Program and can be downloaded from the Program's website.

Network-centric warfare

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-centric_warfare

Power To The Edge's radical ideas had been under investigation by the Pentagon since at least 2001. In UIAW, the concept of peer-to-peer activity combined with more traditional hierarchical flow of data in the network had been introduced. Shortly thereafter, the Pentagon began investing in peer-to-peer research, telling software engineers at a November, 2001 peer-to-peer conference that there were advantages to be gained in the redundancy and robustness of a peer-to-peer network topology on the battlefield. Colonel Robert Wardell said "You have to empower the fringes if you are going to... be able to make decisions faster than the bad guy".[3]

Network-centric warfare/operations is a cornerstone of the ongoing transformation effort at the Department of Defense initiated by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. It is also one of the five goals of the Office of Force Transformation, Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Excerpted Graphs

Power to the Edge

http://www.dodccrp.org/files/Alberts_Power.pdf

Portions of this publication may be quoted or reprinted without further permission, with credit to the DoD Command and Control Research Program, Washington, D.C. Courtesy copies of reviews would be appreciated.

Interoperability

page 138

Interoperability, the ability to work together, needs to simultaneously occur at a number of levels to enable entities to communicate, share information, and collaborate with one another.

The degree to which forces are interoperable directly affects their ability to conduct network-centric operations.

Interoperability must be present in each of the four domains: physical, information, cognitive, and social.

Developing Situational Awareness

page 139

LEVELS OF INTEROPERABILITY :

Interoperability can be understood as a spectrum of connectedness that ranges from unconnected, isolated entities to fully interactive, sharing enterprises.