Enhancing Adaptability of U.S. Military Forces: Report of the Defense Science Board 2010 Study - Industry Acquisition Process, Focused Intelligence Support for Future Operations, Mission Assurance

This excellent report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. This report offers important recommendations for how the Department of Defense can better face the rapidly changing security environment of the 21st century by increasing its adaptability. The study used business and government case studies to derive its definition of adaptability which identified the key elements as the ability and willingness to anticipate the need for change, to prepare for that change, and to implement changes in a timely and effective manner in response to the surrounding environment. The study identified a strategy to promote the elements of adaptability in DOD, with an ultimate goal of improving mission effectiveness. The key elements of this strategy are: align enterprise functions to support mission outcomes; reduce uncertainty through better global awareness; prepare for degraded operations; enhance the adaptability of the workforce; change the culture.

Today's military forces face an increased level of operational uncertainty and must be ready to adapt rapidly. Adversaries evolve in days, weeks, or months, and U.S. forces must be able to adapt in kind—not in decades, as is the timeline of many current processes. However, DOD's lengthy preparation cycles and associated enterprise culture hinder the pace of response that is needed. This study was charged to help DOD make adaptability a core value—a part of the culture of the enterprise, both its processes and people. The Defense Science Board has identified what it believes are the key elements of a strategy to promote adaptability within the Department of Defense.

Chapter 1 - Adaptability * Chapter 2 - What Prevents Adaptability in DOD: An Historical View * Chapter 3 - Align Enterprise Functions to Support Mission Outcomes * Chapter 4 - Reduce Uncertainty through Better Global Awareness * Chapter 5 - Prepare for Degraded Operations * Chapter 6 - Enhance Adaptability of the Workforce * Chapter 7 - Change the Culture