Introduction
Strengthening the Technical-to-Tactical Link to Ensure Fleet Readiness
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By Admiral Bill Gortney
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Admiral Bill Gortney
Commander
United States Fleet Forces Command
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The Navy must identify, correct, and work to prevent gaps between
platforms, sensors, systems, and weapons that form kill chains. Integration
and Interoperability (I&I) improves warfighting capability by assessing
gaps between systems and platforms, and by providing gap closure
recommendations across the range of Doctrine, Organization, Training,
Materiel, Leadership and Education, Personnel and Facilities solutions.
I&I activity also identifies barriers – breaks in the kill chain – and aligns
responsible stakeholders across the naval enterprise to effectively resolve
those barriers and ensure Fleet readiness. The ability to assess and obtain
feedback from the warfighter through a tight technical-to-tactical linkage
with scientists and engineers is foundational for this ongoing effort.
United States Fleet Forces Command contributes to the prioritization for
the I&I assessment agenda to ensure the focus remains on the warfighter
and commanders. The resulting I&I assessment agenda focuses on capability
gaps in operational and contingency plans. This integrated approach
connects input from Fleet operators to the technical community. It
supports our responsibilities as the chief advocate for warfighter readiness<
production in the Fleet. I&I ensures that our policies, resources, and
products are aligned and prioritized to deliver ready forces to the naval
component and combatant commanders.
I encourage you to read and learn more about I&I in this edition of
Leading Edge. Investing time and effort in I&I pays great dividends; it
will contribute to a whole and ready Fleet that is capable of meeting the
operational challenges of the future.