Issue, Scope and Criticality of the Problem

The missions of HD, HS and military force protection in the Global War on Terror go to the heart of defense against asymmetric warfare threats. We face covert, patient, sophisticated adversaries that represent an omnipresent, anytime/anywhere threat against civilian populations, military and civil institutions, and the critical infrastructures upon which all depend. Recent events at home and abroad demonstrate with painful clarity our adversaries’ ability and willingness to stage coordinated attacks at points of maximum vulnerability.

Time is always of the essence in defending against and responding to these threats. Across the entire operational cycle, from awareness and intelligence collection through prevention and protection, response and recovery, speed and agility of operations are paramount. Success demands agile, sense and respond capabilities that cut across domains and boundaries that are physical, geographic, organizational, jurisdictional, and functional.

There is a strong and growing recognition of timely shared information as the common currency for achieving these capabilities. What is needed to make this possible is a practical integration and collaboration framework that addresses the realities of distributed decision making about solutions and operations within the individual domains while at the same time facilitating effective, rapid and flexible cooperation when necessary. These in turn demands solutions that include, but transcend, such individual aspects as processes, tactics, information resources, and technologies.

Progress toward such a framework has so far been mixed at best. The FP/HD/HS landscape contains many programs and initiatives of varying scope that attack various aspects of the challenge. These include programs at federal, military, state and local, and regional agency levels. A number of these offer the promise of real advances in capability within one or more domains. Some promise to deliver solutions, or solution elements, suitable for up scaling and replication to address broader needs. Yet all appear to face limitations. Organizations with pressing needs often lack the resources and/or the knowledge base required to address new threats and requirements. Those with more substantial resources generally are limited by policy, statutory, mission or functional barriers. Many organizations are understandably protective of their autonomy within individual domains, further limiting broad adoption of new approaches and techniques.

It is clear that a new, transformational approach is needed- and equally clear that it is needed now.