Joint Concept for Operating in the Information Environment (JCOIE)

Executive Summary

The Joint Concept for Operating in the Information Environment (JCOIE) describes how the Joint Force will build information into operational art to design operations that deliberately leverage information and the informational aspects of military activities to achieve enduring strategic outcomes. The changing role of information has allowed state and non-state actors to influence global audiences, rapidly gain momentum, and advance their objectives. Adaptive state and non-state actors are proficient at using the information to gain an advantage over the Joint Force. In order to compete in the information environment (IE), JCOIE aims to institutionalize and operationalize the Joint Force’s approach to information. This requires an understanding of information, the informational aspects of military activities, and informational power.

Security Environment

The security environment is the set of global conditions, circumstances, and influences that will affect the employment of the U.S. military and includes the sum of all operational environments (OE). The Joint Force will face two interrelated challenges in the future security environment. The first is contested norms in which powerful actors, dissatisfied with the status quo, will capitalize on changes in communication and changes in socio-cultural contexts to contest norms governing international behavior. The second challenge is a persistent disorder in which weak states are incapable of maintaining domestic order in the face of crisis. Information pervades the security environment, enabling people to see more, share more, create more, and organize faster than ever before. Information technology has significantly enhanced human interaction around the globe and elevated the importance of information as an instrument of power wielded by individuals and societies in politics, economics, and warfare. Advances in information technology have significantly changed the generation of, the transmission of, reception of, and reaction to information. These advances have increased the speed and range of information, diffused power over information, and shifted socio-cultural norms. The interplay between these three impacts provides our competitors and adversaries additional opportunities to offset the diminishing physical overmatch of the world’s preeminent warfighting force.

The Military Challenge

How will the Joint Force integrate physical and informational power to change or maintain the perceptions, attitudes, and other elements that drive desired behaviors of relevant actors in an increasingly pervasive and connected IE to produce enduring strategic outcomes?

The Central Idea

To address this challenge and achieve enduring strategic outcomes, the Joint Force must build information into operational art to design operations that deliberately leverage the inherent informational aspects of military activities.

To integrate physical and informational power through the deliberate leveraging of military activities, the Joint Force must:

1. Understand the information, the informational aspects of military activities, and informational power

This concept postulates that the Joint Force must understand how to manipulate and leverage information and the inherent informational aspects of military activities to send a deliberate message. Every Joint Force action, written or spoken word, and displayed or relayed image has informational aspects that communicate a message or intent. Informational aspects are the features and details of activities that an observer interprets and uses to assign meaning. JCOIE describes informational power as the ability to leverage information to shape perceptions, attitudes, and other elements that drive desired behavior and the course of events. The Joint Force applies informational power to achieve three ends:

• Change or maintain the observations, perceptions, attitudes, and other elements that drive desired behaviors of relevant actors.

• Protect and ensure the observations, perceptions, attitudes, decisions, and behaviors of the Joint Force, its allies, and its partners.

• Acquire, process, distribute, and employ data to enhance combat power.

2. Institutionalize the integration of physical and informational power

To achieve success in the future security environment, the Joint Force must shift how it thinks about information from an afterthought and the sole purview of information professionals to a foundational consideration for all military activities. The Joint force must design all activities and operations from the outset to account for the use and impact of information on relevant actors. Instead of relying primarily on physical power as a form of destructive or disruptive force, the Joint Force must normalize the integration of physical and informational power to capitalize on the constructive and informational aspects of military power.

Institutionalizing a mindset that considers information from the outset requires a common understanding. This common understanding begins with shared situational awareness, a common lexicon, standardization of processes, and the establishment of relationships that reduce or eliminate barriers to the integration of physical power and informational power. Defining the Joint Force’s objectives in terms of perceptions, attitudes, and other elements that drive desired behaviors, as well as in terms of destroying an adversary’s capability or order of battle, will increase the opportunity to establish a common vision, goals, and objectives to achieve mission success.

3. Operationalize the integration of physical and informational power

To produce enduring strategic outcomes that hinge on perceptions, attitudes, and other elements that drive desired behaviors, the Joint Force must operationalize its application of informational power. A better characterization of the informational, physical, and human aspects of the security environment is required to expose and leverage the interdependencies between them. Because perceptions and attitudes inform behavior, the Joint Force must treat them as “key terrain.” Employing various analytical methodologies provides context to changes in the security environment and insight into worldviews that frame the perceptions, attitudes, and other elements that drive desired behaviors of relevant actors. This understanding is necessary to integrate activities capitalizing on opportunities or overcoming obstacles using a whole of government approach to achieve enduring strategic outcomes.

A transregional, multi-domain, and multi-functional approach is necessary to analyze relevant environmental factors that provide opportunities or challenges to achieving desired outcomes. Innovation and the consistent integration of actions and words for each operational situation, assisted by subject matter experts (SME), technology, and multi-functional models, will provide commanders with a broader range of options to maximize military power. Effectively leveraging the inherent informational aspects of military activities will enable the Joint Force to drive desired behaviors of relevant actors as well as assist in the destruction of adversary capacity and capabilities.

Required Capabilities

This concept identifies 17 required capabilities to enable the Joint Force to leverage information and the inherent informational aspects of military activities and integrate physical and informational power as envisioned. Adoption of this concept will inform supporting joint and Service x concepts, and guide doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, facilities, and policy solutions. The required capabilities align with many of those identified in Joint Concept for Integrated Campaigning (JCIC), Joint Concept for Human Aspects of Military Operations (JC-HAMO), Joint Concept for Cyberspace, and Joint Concept for Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations.

Read it here

by Joint Chiefs of Staff