Informations Operations

The world is in a midst of an information technology revolution. The military force that best exploits and defends information and information systems will have the military advantage in the 21st Century battlespace. Much of the information and information systems that the military uses resides on the National Information Infrastructure (NII), which itself is inter-connected with the Global Information Infrastructure (GII). Consequently, vulnerabilities and threats to the GII and NII will impact not only military systems but also future military operations. Recognizing the potential of both the United States military and an adversary to exploit these vulnerabilities, the Joint Staff and the USAF have published their doctrines on information operations (IO). At the same time, the USAF is reorganizing its operational structure to a forward-deployed air expeditionary force. As a result, IO will play a greater role in enhancing the application of aerospace power against a future adversary. This research paper describes the roots of information superiority as envisioned in top-level visionary documents and the current IO doctrine. The research also discusses potential legal restrictions on IO and identifies some IO targets and threats. This paper also raises several issues with the USAF doctrine and recommends several steps for executing IO as the USAF transitions to an expeditionary force.