FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
The Department of Defense stands at a pivotal moment in history in which the global strategic environment is shaped by unprecedented challenges and opportunities, the Joint Staff vice director for operations told Defense Logistics Agency leaders and employees May 30.
“The world today is marked by heightened geopolitical tensions, rapid technological advancements and pressing environmental concerns,” said Navy Rear Adm. Paul Spedero Jr. “As leaders, thinkers and citizens, we must navigate this complex landscape with foresight, resilience and cooperation.”
Spedero was speaking at DLA Headquarters as part of the DLA Warfighter Talks series, a critical component of DLA’S Campaign of Learning to foster understanding and collaboration among joint logisticians. He explained his opening statement had been generated by an artificial intelligence model in five seconds, and he went on to discuss the current strategic environment and how it necessitates a strategy for using AI and other advancing technologies. Spedero highlighted the nation’s primary threats: multiple ongoing conflicts, great power competition, and violence by extremist organizations.
Using AI is not merely about reducing workload, like writing speeches; it’s revolutionizing research and development, intelligence, analysis, force employment, and sustainment, Spedero said. Emerging technology such as hypersonic munitions, directed energy systems, unmanned platforms, and artificial intelligence creates both challenges and opportunities, he added.
He also shared how the operational environment informs interim strategic guidance and will influence the next iteration of the National Defense Strategy, which is being written.
Describing the complexities of today’s operational environment and how the Department sees the world, Spedero said the oceans surrounding the continental United States that once provided a high level of sanctuary are now potential attack vectors. The U.S. is also growing increasingly vulnerable to missile attacks due to the steady advancement of missile technology.
“We are seeing increased cooperation and alignment amongst our competitors, specifically China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea,” he said. “Due to ongoing global conflicts, combined with the high level of campaigning required to deter and minimize malign influence, the Joint Force is stressed, and our industrial base is currently not fully mobilized.”
The New National Defense Strategy
“China will remain the pacing threat, and its view is the most consequential challenge. Again, this doesn't appear to be a significant change at first, but the approach and the centrality of China as a threat is, and it will continue to be more pronounced in our strategies,” Spedero said.
The NDS will also include new direction to increase burden sharing and enable the United States’ allies and partners to invest more, not only in their own defense, but also in their regional security, he added.
Homeland defense will be the country’s top priority, Spedero said. He explained this isn’t a new priority, but the approach will be different because it will include restoring and maintaining territorial integrity.
Spedero also said the new NDS will focus on rebuilding the United States military and bolstering the industrial defense base to support not only U.S. requirements but meet those of foreign military sales.
After his remarks, the admiral answered questions from those listening in person and virtually from nearly 100 other locations.
Use of data in driving operations
When asked a question on how the Joint Force uses data, AI, and logistics information technology to drive operations, Spedero said data remains central to everything in reporting operations. Although he and the Joint Staff team don’t have command and control of any operational forces, they use data to assist the chairman of the Joint Chiefs in presenting his military advice to the secretary of defense and the president.
“One of the key pieces of data that we need is logistics data for munitions, fuel, etc., so access to data is very important to report expenditures. We're also going to do some predictive analysis to try to get out in front of where we think the operation is going so that we can move things in advance,” Spedero said. “We are moving away from spreadsheets and PowerPoints to starting to incorporate AI into our data environment so that it can assist us in providing a level of analysis, both historic and then that predictive analysis, so we get a sense of where we're going.”
AI integration into tactical warfighting
One audience member asked a question about AI being integrated into tactical level warfighting.
“What we're seeing right now is the emergence of unmanned platforms in the air, on the surface and subsurface, and even completely underwater. We're going to see more and more of that,” Spedero said. “Now, you couple unmanned vehicles with artificial intelligence, where they can incorporate domain awareness, they can incorporate intelligence analysis of tactics, and then they can apply those in real time to make themselves more survivable, free from attack, free to maneuver, and free to exploit vulnerabilities of the enemy and deliver their effects, and it's going to be very, very difficult to overcome.”
China: Threat to the Indo-Pacific region
Another attendee asked Spedero about the pacing threat that China presents in the Indo-Pacific region and DLA's role in integrating various sorts of joint logistics capabilities across the spectrum of conflict to sustain operations.
“Nothing happens without logistics, but logistics are going to be contested. So, things are going to need to be distributed, things are going to need to be survivable,” he said. “We need to understand that things are going to be lost, so there must be redundancy. And there must be innovation in how we deliver logistics, not just in where we place it, but how we get it there.”
At the close of the event, DLA Director Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly thanked Spedero for leading the conversation. Simerly highlighted how the AI generated definition of a strategic approach of foresight, resilience and cooperation also aligns with DLA’s strategic imperatives of precision, posture and partnerships.
“It may not have been perfect, but it certainly struck a note with us. The hour has gone by fast, but it’s been insightful, very interesting and even challenging for us to think about your perspectives and the perspective that we should share in our understanding of the challenges we face,” he said. “You're helping us think, act and operate differently, which is the purpose of this sort of dialogue.
“Warfighters like you, with your great experience and credibility, help us better understand the challenges that we face and sustain in the global fight,” Simerly added.
A recording of the event, will be made available to DLA employees on the Campaign of Learning page (a DLA Common Access Card is required).