WASHINGTON -- Last week, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen H. Hicks signed the implementation plan for Joint All Domain Command and Control, or JADC2. It's the final step needed before moving forward on delivering JADC2 capabilities to the warfighter, which will bring a better way to sense, make sense of and act on the volumes of information generated into today's joint, all-domain warfighting environment.
The finalized and approved implementation plan serves as the critical final step needed before building out JADC2 capabilities, said Marine Lt. Gen. Dennis A. Crall, who serves as the director of command, control, communications and computers/cyber as well as chief information officer on the Joint Staff.
"[It's] the seminal document that we've been waiting for — and it's been difficult for the reasons you might expect, it's so comprehensive," Crall said during a virtual briefing today at the Pentagon.
Crall said the implementation plan is important because it defines who will do what in building out JADC2 for the warfighter.
"This is what the I-plan actually does for us," Crall said. "It takes a look very clearly at specific and prioritized plans. How are we going to accomplish the very things that we said, again, in what order, how do you measure them, how do we leverage the boards, bureaus, working groups, cells, committees that are in the building, to empower them, to move these to fruition?"
The implementation plan for JADC2 also provides a plan for who will be doing what — so everybody working on execution of JADC2 knows what everybody else is doing, he said.
"We don't always know what others are working on," Crall said. "The I-plan captures that at its fullest, so you can look across your lane of expertise, be informed by some of the other efforts, and maybe that provides opportunity to come up with a better way."
The implementation plan also outlines, among other things, milestones for delivery of JADC2 and plans for funding as well.
"That's why the implementation plan is so critical and important to what we do," Crall said.
With the delivery of the implementation plan, Crall said it's now time to move ahead with building out JADC2.
"This is the year of delivery," he said. "And that's exactly what we intend to do. I think we've talked, we've studied, we've interacted, we've mapped, it's now time to put these together and learn by doing."