The US military today is a forceof superbly trained men and women who areready to deliver victory for our Nation. Insupport of the objectives of our NationalSecurity Strategy, it is routinely employed toshape the international security environmentand stands ready to respond across the fullrange of potential military operations. But thefocus of this document is the third element ofour strategic approach the need to preparenow for an uncertain future.

Joint Vision 2020 builds upon andextends the conceptual template established byJoint Vision 2010 to guide the continuingtransformation of Americas Armed Forces. Theprimary purpose of those forces has been andwill be to fight and win the Nations wars. Theoverall goal of the transformation described inthis document is the creation of a force that isdominant across the full spectrum of militaryoperations persuasive in peace, decisive in

war, preeminent in any form of conflict.In 2020, the nation will face a wide

range of interests, opportunities, andchallenges and will require a military that canboth win wars and contribute to peace. Theglobal interests and responsibilities of theUnited States will endure, and there is noindication that threats to those interests andresponsibilities or to our allies, will disappear.The strategic concepts of decisive force, powerprojection, overseas presence, and strategicagility will continue to govern our efforts to fulfillthose responsibilities and meet the challengesof the future. This document describes theoperational concepts necessary to do so.

If our Armed Forces are to be faster,more lethal, and more precise in 2020 than theyare today, we must continue to invest in anddevelop new military capabilities. This visiondescribes the ongoing transformation to thosenew capabilities. As first explained in JV 2010,

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Americas Military: Preparing for Tomorrow

and dependent upon realizing the potential ofthe information revolution, todays capabilitiesfor maneuver, strike, logistics, and protectionwill become dominant maneuver, precisionengagement, focused logistics, and fulldimensional protection.

The joint force, because of its flexibilityand responsiveness, will remain the key tooperational success in the future. Theintegration of core competencies provided bythe individual Services is essential to the jointteam, and the employment of the capabilities ofthe Total Force (active, reserve, guard, andcivilian members) increases the options for the

commander and complicates the choices of ouropponents. To build the most effective force for2020, we must be fully joint: intellectually,operationally, organizationally, doctrinally, andtechnically.

This vision is centered on the joint forcein 2020. The date defines a general analyticalfocus rather than serving as a definitiveestimate or deadline. The document does notdescribe counters to specific threats, nor does itenumerate weapon, communication, or othersystems we will develop or purchase. Rather,its purpose is to describe in broad terms thehuman talent the professional, well-trained,

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FullSpectrum

Dominance

Focused Logistics

Precision Engagement

Dominant Maneuver

Info

rmat

ion

Supe

riorit

y

Peacetime Engagement

Fight & Win

Deterrence &Conflict Prevention

Full Dimensional Protecti

on

Inno

vatio

n

and ready force and operational capabilitiesthat will be required for the joint force tosucceed across the full range of militaryoperations and accomplish its mission in 2020and beyond. In describing those capabilities,the vision provides a vector for the wide-rangingprogram of exercises and experimentationbeing conducted by the Services andcombatant commands and the continuingevolution of the joint force. Based on the jointvision implementation program, manycapabilities will be operational well before 2020,while others will continue to be explored anddeveloped through exercises andexperimentation.

The overarching focus of this vision isfull spectrum dominance achieved throughthe interdependent application of dominantmaneuver, precision engagement, focusedlogistics, and full dimensional protection. Attaining that goal requires the steady infusionof new technology and modernization andreplacement of equipment. However, materialsuperiority alone is not sufficient. Of greaterimportance is the development of doctrine,organizations, training and education, leaders,and people that effectively take advantage ofthe technology.

The evolution of these elements over

the next two decades will be strongly influencedby two factors. First, the continued develop-ment and proliferation of informationtechnologies will substantially change the

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conduct of military operations. These changesin the information environment make

information superiority a key enabler of thetransformation of the operational capabilities ofthe joint force and the evolution of jointcommand and control. Second, the US ArmedForces will continue to rely on a capacity forintellectual and technical innovation. The paceof technological change, especially as it fuelschanges in the strategic environment, will placea premium on our ability to foster innovation inour people and organizations across the entirerange of joint operations. The overall vision ofthe capabilities we will require in 2020, asintroduced above, rests on our assessment ofthe strategic context in which our forces willoperate.

Strategic ContextThree aspects of the world of 2020 have

significant implications for the US ArmedForces. First, the United States will continue tohave global interests and be engaged with avariety of regional actors. Transportation,communications, and information technologywill continue to evolve and foster expandedeconomic ties and awareness of internationalevents. Our security and economic interests,as well as our political values, will provide theimpetus for engagement with internationalpartners. The joint force of 2020 must beprepared to win across the full range ofmilitary operations in any part of the world, tooperate with multinational forces, and tocoordinate military operations, as necessary,with government agencies andinternational organizations.

Second, potential adversarieswill have access to the globalcommercial industrial base andmuch of the same technology asthe US military. We will notnecessarily sustain a widetechnological advantage overour adversaries in all areas.Increased availability ofcommercial satellites, digitalcommunications, and the publicinternet all give adversaries new

capabilities at a relatively low cost. We shouldnot expect opponents in 2020 to fight withstrictly industrial age tools. Our advantagemust, therefore, come from leaders, people,doctrine, organizations, and training that enableus to take advantage of technology to achievesuperior warfighting effectiveness.

Third, we should expect potential adversar-ies to adapt as our capabilities evolve. Wehave superior conventional warfightingcapabilities and effective nuclear deterrencetoday, but this favorable military balance is notstatic. In the face of such strong capabilities,the appeal of asymmetric approaches and thefocus on the development of niche capabilitieswill increase. By developing and using ap-proaches that avoid US strengths and exploitpotential vulnerabilities using significantly

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different methods of operation, adversaries willattempt to create conditions that effectivelydelay, deter, or counter the application of USmilitary capabilities.

The potential of such asymmetricapproaches is perhaps the most serious dangerthe United States faces in the immediatefuture and this danger includes long-rangeballistic missiles and other direct threats to UScitizens and territory. The asymmetric methodsand objectives of an adversary are often farmore important than the relative technologicalimbalance, and the psychological impact of anattack might far outweigh the actual physicaldamage inflicted. An adversary may pursue anasymmetric advantage on the tactical,

operational, or strategic level by identifying keyvulnerabilities and devising asymmetricconcepts and capabilities to strike or exploitthem. To complicate matters, our adversariesmay pursue a combination of asymmetries, orthe United States may face a number ofadversaries who, in combination, create anasymmetric threat. These asymmetric threatsare dynamic and subject to change, and the USArmed Forces must maintain the capabilitiesnecessary to deter, defend against, and defeatany adversary who chooses such an approach.To meet the challenges of the strategicenvironment in 2020, the joint force must beable to achieve full spectrum dominance.

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The ultimate goal of our military force is toaccomplish the objectives directed by theNational Command Authorities. For the jointforce of the future, this goal will be achievedthrough full spectrum dominance the ability ofUS forces, operating unilaterally or incombination with multinational and interagencypartners, to defeat any adversary and controlany situation across the full range of militaryoperations.

The full range of operations includesmaintaining a posture of strategic deterrence. Itincludes theater engagement and presenceactivities. It includes conflict involvingemployment of strategic forces and weapons ofmass destruction, major theater wars, regionalconflicts, and smaller-scale contingencies. Italso includes those ambiguous situationsresiding between peace and war, such aspeacekeeping and peace enforcement opera-tions, as well as noncombat humanitarian reliefoperations and support to domestic authorities.

The label full spectrum dominance impliesthat US forces are able to conduct prompt,sustained, and synchronized operations withcombinations of forces tailored to specificsituations and with access to and freedom tooperate in all domains space, sea, land, air,and information. Additionally, given the globalnature of our interests and obligations, the

United States must maintain its overseaspresence forces and the ability to rapidlyproject power worldwide in order to achievefull spectrum dominance.

Achieving full spectrum dominance meansthe joint force will fulfill its primary purpose victory in war, as well as achieving successacross the full range of operations, but it doesnot mean that we will win without cost or

difficulty. Conflict results in casualties despiteour best efforts to minimize them, and willcontinue to do so when the force has achievedfull spectrum dominance. Additionally, friction isinherent in military operations. The joint forceof 2020 will seek to create a frictional

imbalance in its favor by using the capabilitiesenvisioned in this document, but the fundamen-tal sources of friction cannot be eliminated. Wewill win but we should not expect war in thefuture to be either easy or bloodless.

The requirement for global operations,the ability to counter adversaries who possess

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Full Spectrum Dominance

Effects of danger and exertionExistence of uncertainty and chanceUnpredictable actions of other actorsFrailties of machines and informationHumans

Sources of Friction

weapons of mass destruction, and the need toshape ambiguous situations at the low end ofthe range of operations will present specialchallenges en route to achieving full spectrumdominance. Therefore, the process of creatingthe joint force of the future must be flexible toreact to changes in the strategic environmentand the adaptations of potential enemies, totake advantage of new technologies, and toaccount for variations in the pace of change.

The source of that flexibility is the synergy ofthe core competencies of the individualServices, integrated into the joint team. Thesechallenges will require a Total Force composedof well-educated, motivated, and competentpeople who can adapt to the many demands offuture joint missions. The transformation of thejoint force to reach full spectrum dominancerests upon information superiority as a keyenabler and our capacity for innovation.

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War

Promote Peace&

Support US CivilAuthorities

MilitaryOperations

GeneralUS Goals Examples

Fight & Win Large Scale Combat OperationsAttack / Defend / Blockade

MilitaryOperations

OtherThanWar

Deter War&

Resolve Conflict

Peace EnforcementCounterterrorism

Show of Force / Raid / StrikePeacekeeping / NEO

Nation AssistanceCounterinsurgency

Freedom of NavigationCounterdrug

Humanitarian AssistanceProtectIon of Shipping

US Civil Support

RANGE OF MILITARY OPERATIONS

NONCOMBAT

COMBAT

8INFORMATION SUPERIORITYInformation, information processing, and

communications networks are at the core ofevery military activity. Throughout history,military leaders have regarded informationsuperiority as a key enabler of victory.However, the ongoing information revolution iscreating not only a quantitative, but a qualitativechange in the information environment that by2020 will result in profound changes in theconduct of military operations. In fact,advances in information capabilities areproceeding so rapidly that there is a risk ofoutstripping our ability to capture ideas,formulate operational concepts, and developthe capacity to assess results. While the goalof achieving information superiority will notchange, the nature, scope, and rules of thequest are changing radically.

The qualitative change in theinformation environment extends theconceptual underpinnings of informationsuperiority beyond the mere accumulation ofmore, or even better, information. The wordsuperiority implies a state or condition ofimbalance in ones favor. Informationsuperiority is transitory in nature and must becreated and sustained by the joint force throughthe conduct of information operations.However, the creation of information superiorityis not an end in itself.

Information superiority provides the jointforce a competitive advantage only when it is

effectively translated into superior knowledgeand decisions. The joint force must be able totake advantage of superior informationconverted to superior knowledge to achievedecision superiority better decisions arrivedat and implemented faster than an opponentcan react, or in a noncombat situation, at atempo that allows the force to shape thesituation or react to changes and accomplish itsmission. Decision superiority does notautomatically result from information superiority.Organizational and doctrinal adaptation,relevant training and experience, and the propercommand and control mechanisms and toolsare equally necessary.

Information Superiority the capabilityto collect, process, and disseminate anuninterrupted flow of information whileexploiting or denying an adversarys abilityto do the same. (JP1-02) Informationsuperiority is achieved in a noncombatsituation or one in which there are no clearlydefined adversaries when friendly forceshave the information necessary to achieve

operational objectives.

Information Environment the aggregate ofindividuals, organizations, and systems thatcollect, process, or disseminate information,including the information itself. (JP1-02)

The evolution of information technologywill increasingly permit us to integrate thetraditional forms of information operations withsophisticated all-source intelligence,surveillance, and reconnaissance in a fullysynchronized information campaign. Thedevelopment of a concept labeled the globalinformation grid will provide the network-centricenvironment required to achieve this goal. Thegrid will be the globally interconnected, end-to-end set of information capabilities, associatedprocesses, and people to manage and provideinformation on demand to warfighters, policy

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makers, and support personnel. It will enhancecombat power and contribute to the success ofnoncombat military operations as well.Realization of the full potential of these changesrequires not only technological improvements,but the continued evolution of organizations anddoctrine and the development of relevanttraining to sustain a comparative advantage inthe information environment.

We must also remember thatinformation superiority neither equates toperfect information, nor does it mean theelimination of the fog of war. Information

systems, processes, and operations add theirown sources of friction and fog to theoperational environment. Informationsuperiority is fundamental to the transformationof the operational capabilities of the joint force.The joint force of 2020 will use superiorinformation and knowledge to achieve decisionsuperiority, to support advanced command andcontrol capabilities, and to reach the fullpotential of dominant maneuver, precisionengagement, full dimensional protection, andfocused logistics. The breadth and pace of thisevolution demands flexibility and a readiness toinnovate.

INNOVATIONJoint Vision 2010 identified technologi-

cal innovation as a vital component of thetransformation of the joint force. Throughoutthe industrial age, the United States has reliedupon its capacity for technological innovation tosucceed in military operations, and the need todo so will continue. It is important, however, tobroaden our focus beyond technology andcapture the importance of organizational andconceptual innovation as well.

Innovation, in its simplest form, is thecombination of new things with new ways tocarry out tasks. In reality, it may result fromfielding completely new things, or theimaginative recombination of old things in newways, or something in between. The ideas inJV 2010 as carried forward in JV 2020 are,

indeed, innovative and form a vision forintegrating doctrine, tactics, training, supportingactivities, and technology into new operationalcapabilities. The innovations that determinejoint and Service capabilities will result from ageneral understanding of what future conflictand military operations will be like, and a viewof what the combatant commands and Servicesmust do in order to accomplish assignedmissions.

An effective innovation process requirescontinuous learning a means of interactionand exchange that evaluates goals, operationallessons, exercises, experiments, andsimulations and that must include feedbackmechanisms. The Services and combatantcommands must allow our highly trained andskilled professionals the opportunity to createnew concepts and ideas that may lead to futurebreakthroughs. We must foster the innovationsnecessary to create the joint force of the future not only with decisions regarding futureversus present force structure and budgets, butalso with a reasonable tolerance for errors andfailures in the experimentation process. Wemust be concerned with efficient use of timeand resources and create a process that givesus confidence that our results will producebattlefield success. However, an experimenta-tion process with a low tolerance for errormakes it unlikely that the force will identify andnurture the most relevant and productiveaspects of new concepts, capabilities, and

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technology. All individuals and organizationscharged with experimentation in support of theevolution of our combat forces must ensure thatour natural concern for husbanding resourcesand ultimately delivering successful resultsdoes not prevent us from pursuing innovationswith dramatic if uncertain potential.

There is, of course, a high degree ofuncertainty inherent in the pursuit of innovation.The key to coping with that uncertainty is boldleadership supported by as much informationas possible. Leaders must assess the efficacyof new ideas, the potential drawbacks to newconcepts, the capabilities of potentialadversaries, the costs versus benefits of newtechnologies, and the organizationalimplications of new capabilities. They mustmake these assessments in the context of an

evolving analysis of the economic, political, andtechnological factors of the anticipated securityenvironment. Each of these assessments will

have uncertainty associated with them. But thebest innovations have often come from peoplewho made decisions and achieved successdespite uncertainties and limited information.

By creating innovation, the combatantcommands and Services also create their bestopportunities for coping with the increasingpace of change in the overall environment inwhich they function. Although changingtechnology is a primary driver of environmentalchange, it is not the only one. The search forinnovation must encompass the entire context

of joint operations which means the ArmedForces must explore changes in doctrine,organization, training, materiel, leadership andeducation, personnel, and facilities as well astechnology. Ultimately, the goal is to developreasonable approaches with enough flexibilityto recover from errors and unforeseencircumstances.

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