A Jtf Staff Structure for the New Millenium: Leaner, Faster, and More Responsive

Publisher Marketing: Our military future will likely be radically different from our past. Consequently, military personnel can prepare for this future by investigating ways to adapt to novel challenges posed by new weapons, or new theories, or new organizations. This paper explores the problem of how joint task force staffs should reorganize to improve future command and control, in order to meet demands of the most likely future environment. The research methodology consisted of a literature search from a broad body of evidence. Sources included business literature, studies by organization such as the Center for Naval Analyses, and research papers produced by other students. Several key changes envisioned for the military provide a foundation for the project and introduce future operational and environmental complexities. These changes include emerging international and national trends, such as increased MOOTW and growing military pressures to shrink but remain effective. Another trend, the "revolution in military affairs," includes aspects like a "system of systems" and "dominant battlespace awareness." Additionally, Joint Vision 2010 offers a conceptual view of future battlespace activities that are portrayed as markedly different from today's activities. Against this backdrop of change, two primary reasons for using military staffs -- information management and decisionmaking -- open a path to the heart of the paper and serve as a frame of reference for new organizational designs. Two metaphors offer vivid conceptual staff images. First, the "Spider Plant" metaphor depicts a multifaceted organization with a core structure and many outlying satellite organizations; illustrating the potential for semi-autonomous operations. Second, the "Brain" metaphor captures the essence of relationships between key organizational elements and shows natural applications of decentralized decisionmaking. The paper concludes with a discussion of benefits gained through reorganization: fast more resp