9:00 - 16:00 Getting the Point: How to Make Network Centric Solutions Work For You

Lunch and Refreshements will be provided

Ten years after the conception of Network Centric Warfare (NCW), we have accomplished a great deal, but still have more to do to achieve netcentric operations, especially when it comes to processes, still-developing information architectures, and how we train our users.

One core lesson we've learned is that we must understand who we are trying to "information-enable", now and in the future. We know also that we must have a process to both collect and analyse lessons, or we are doomed to repeat our mistakes. Lastly, we know that we must always be aware of changing in theatre environments.

Yet despite complications these lessons create, there is a strong argument to be made for a new focus on simplicity. We need netcentric solutions that are userfriendly and battle-ready. Complicated is acceptable. Complex, is not.

There are things we can do immediately to make our netcentric systems easier to use. This includes recognising that there is a digital, generational divide among us that must be closed. The new generation thinks and responds to data and information differently than the generation often leading our servicemen and women today.

In this Focus Day, case studies from around the world will demonstrate what lessons are important to take into the next 10 years of netcentric capability developments. The day will also include discussions on new challenges and how we can meet new operational requirements.

Attending will bring you up to date with the latest thoughts by one of the founders of NCW and NCO. The day-long session will appeal to people eager to stay ahead of the netcentric curve to see (and help determine) where netcentric technologies are headed in the next decade of netcentric development for military purposes.

Your Focus Day Leader is:

Colonel (R'td) Fred Stein
Distinguished Engineer, Netcentric Operations
MITRE Corp.

A retired Army Colonel, Fred Stein commanded from company through brigade and served as the J6 for Operation Support Hope in Rwanda and Operation Enduring Freedom in Bosnia. He served on the Joint Staff J6 as Deputy J6 and was part of the original team that initiated the NCW theory. After co-authoring the initial book on Network Centric Warfare, he joined MITRE and moved to Ft. Hood, Texas, to be part of the team that fi elded information technology to the first digital division. Later, he supported the OSD Offi ce of Force Transformation and authored a case study on the AF / SOF team in Western Iraq. He now conducts after-action reviews of returning Army and Marine units to better understand how IT impacts mission planning and execution and provides these results to the army, air force and naval acquisition and doctrinal commands.

9:00 - 12:00 Workshop A: Terrorist Netcentric Operations And What Terrorist Cells Can Teach Us

Lunch and Refreshements will be provided

Terrorists and extremists have always been good at leveraging themselves through technology - and often better than the state which they oppose. This is even more evident today. So when we talk about network centric operations from a uniformed warfi ghter perspective, we must always be aware of the terrorist's version of NCO. During this forum, we will discuss the changing nature of terrorism, its structures, communications and message exploitation. Additionally, the workshop will cover how terrorists are shifting from using networks for only propaganda, fundraising and basic communication, to more actively engaging cell members via C4I capabilities, thereby facilitating more sophisticated attacks, as well as cyber attacks. Case studies discussed will cover a range of terrorist and extremist groups and their use of NCO.

Attendees will be able to demystify the terrorist and extremist use of NCO to better identify its strengths and weaknesses, and how to develop anti and counter terrorist NCO strategies. At the same time, it will assist the participants in understanding how to construct their own NCOs, to ensure maximum positive impact

Your Workshop Leader is:

Dr. John Harrison
Assistant Professor, Manager
Terrorism Research International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research

13:30 - 16:30 Workshop B: How to Create Interoperable NCO Standards Across Organisations and Borders

Becoming increasingly technologically and doctrinally interoperable with allies is accepted as a good thing, but not at the cost of one's sovereignty or at any cost. For this and other reasons, truly effi cient interoperability needed for NCO remains elusive.

NATO was and remains successful at standardising a wide variety of elements needed for net-centricity. Asia is different, but there are many lessons that can be learned from NATO including how to:

• Create buy-in at many strategic levels of an organisation
• Mitigate the risk to participants
• Pay attention to both technology and doctrine, for smooth transitions

This practical workshop will go over in detail the procedures and strategies that proved effective when NATO created the initial standards accepted and honoured by a group of nations with varying budgets, cultures, and military requirements. NATO did not have the authority to mandate standards. They had to be created to meet a variety of needs, within a created structure of discussion, and then "sold" to each country.

A review of specific case studies will show strategies that worked, as well as those that didn't and will provide attending netcentric leaders the tools they need to build interoperable solutions within their organisation and across international borders.

Your Workshop Leader is:

Jaap Lub
Branch Chief
NATO Standardisation Agency