Outsourcing the Light Infantry Division's Information System

Leveraging technology for a competitive advantage is a crucial element of the US Army's future. New US Army doctrinal concepts utilize technology to gain information superiority in unprecedented fashion. Information superiority becomes a decisive point for attaining mission accomplishment. The information system employed by future US Army organizations is the means of achieving information superiority. Outsourcing provides a means of leveraging technology for an advantage. Outsourcing is so successful that it has created its own industry in the 1990s. The Department of Defense capitalizes on the advantages of outsourcing to gain significant benefits. The question that this monograph answers is whether a Light Infantry Division should outsource all, or a part of, its information system. The monograph examines extending the outsourcing trend to a Light Infantry Division to see if there is a limit in replacing signal soldiers and military equipment with contractors. The monograph answers this question by using an analytical model that is recommended by information management professionals in the private sector. Examination begins by identifying the relevance of outsourcing to the US military. Next, the monograph introduces a core identification model used by information system professionals to analyze outsourcing decisions. The monograph identifies the components of the Light Infantry Division's information system and then analyzes the components within the context of the identification model. The monograph concludes that outsourcing will gain an ever increasing role in the Light Infantry Division. Outsourcing will leverage near-term advantages for the division during crisis response scenarios. Outsourcing will also assist in obtaining information superiority for the future experimental Light Infantry Division design.