With the release of the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS), the Pentagon directed the Joint Forces to shift their strategic focus from counterinsurgency operations in the Middle East to great power competition in the Indo-Pacific, with China identified as our nation’s pacing threat.
This document—central to our nation’s defense strategy—imagines a future battlefield, shaped by contested theaters and domains, where concepts like Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO), seamless data integration, and decentralized operations will be critical to outmaneuvering and ultimately defeating our adversaries.
Shortly after the NDS was released, the Marine Corps implemented Force Design—a strategic blueprint for modernization that emphasizes agility, advanced capabilities, and integration across all domains. As our stated competitors and adversaries continue to evolve and expand their influence, this modernization is critical to ensuring the Joint Force's ability to deter aggression and maintain a strategic advantage—in any clime or place.
Central to this modernization is Program Executive Officer Land Systems’ (PEO LS) Marine Air-Ground Task Force Command & Control (MAGTF C2) team, whose mission is to acquire, field, and sustain cutting-edge C2 capabilities that enable all-domain situational awareness for mission planning and execution. Working hand-in-hand with the Fleet Marine Force (FMF)-- as well as joint force and international partners-- the MAGTF C2 team is developing the Tactical Data Orchestration Layer (TDOL), a data-focused technology enabler for battlefield command and control.
Key to Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control (CJADC2 ) efforts is data; TDOL serves as a scalable, mission-critical infrastructure, configurable to allow both legacy and future systems data to integrate with modern platforms, ensuring seamless interoperability and continuity across joint forces.
This cutting-edge capability, built with commercial off the shelf components and industry standards was demonstrated last month at 2024 Island Marauder and Joint Staff Bold Quest Interoperability Experimentation, held aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C, between October 28th and November 6th. Hosted by II Marine Expeditionary Force units and facilitated by Joint Staff, Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration, and PEO LS, this large-scale exercise served as a proving ground for the Marine Corps to evaluate advanced C2 capabilities in realistic maritime and littoral scenarios alongside the joint force and delegations from 16 international partners nations including UK, France, Sweden, Netherlands, France, Germany, Canada, Norway, Denmark, and Finland.
During the exercise, TDOL was demonstrated in a dynamic, contested environment to evaluate its ability to enhance situational awareness, streamline decision-making, and seamlessly integrate with both modern and legacy systems. Incorporating direct feedback from Marines and support personnel operating TDOL in simulated Indo-Pacific conditions, Island Marauder informed critical modernization efforts, ensuring new capabilities are operationally effective and aligned with the strategic demands of great power competition.
“What we're developing is a data centric approach to inform and effect rapid decision-making,” said Col. Jeffery Van Bourgondien, Program Manager for MAGTF C2. “Decision makers cannot make decisions in a timely or efficient manner if they don't have access not just to the data, but curated data delivered in such a way that it can be visualized and analyzed quickly to enable a commander and their staff to make near-real time decisions. This data-centric approach increases interoperability among component, joint, and mission partner C2 and weapon systems - we have to break down the stovepipes between disparate legacy systems holding on tight to their data and enable seamless data flow and decision support to users, across the joint force and to our international partners fighting at our side.”
While interoperability and communication with joint force and international partners are vital for multi-domain success, TDOL exemplifies the importance of effective communication between the acquisition community and the fleet. Input from Marines and civilians from the MEFs has been a critical part of the development process, ensuring that the system meets the operational needs of Marines on the battlefield.
According to the II MEF Command Post Systems Advisor (CPSA) Site Lead, Mr David “DC” Colclasure, TDOL has set a new standard for how feedback-driven partnerships in acquisition can deliver systems that truly meet fleet needs.
“Working with the TDOL team has been refreshing because they actually listen to our feedback and make real improvements. For example, we were able to modify existing connectors and integrate them with TDOL, and it handled the load without any issues. Unlike before, where systems would overload or fail, TDOL just keeps running smoothly. There are still a few tweaks needed on the coding side, but collaboration with the team has made the process so much easier. It’s great to finally have a system that not only works but evolves based on what we’re seeing and needing in the field.”
The MAGTF C2 Team is committed to making user feedback a reality, and through an innovative acquisition approach, they have rapidly developed the TDOL capability, with continuous user input shaping its development. In just eight months, they were able to transition from a data fabric concept to putting real technology in the hands of II MEF Marines—a timeline unprecedented for a Marine Corps program of this scale.
Additionally, the team built flexibility into the process by ensuring the Corps owns the intellectual property rights associated with the TDOL system. While acquisition speed is critical, the ability to rapidly update the capability’s software is a true force multiplier.
“With TDOL, we’ve embraced an agile, iterative approach, drawing direct feedback from users in the field while building a Core Data Fabric owned by the government,” said Van Bourgondien. “This mirrors how companies like Google or Apple continuously update their software with modular, adaptable solutions. By implementing industry standards with government-owned intellectual property (IP), combined with commercial technologies using an open systems architecture approach, we can integrate swappable capabilities from industry and our service partners without relying on proprietary or turnkey systems. Retaining intellectual property rights ensures adaptability, prevents vendor lock, and allows us to quickly deliver the tools our Marines need. There’s lots more Doctrine, Organization, Training, Material, Leadership Personnel and Facility (DOTMLPF) analysis needed on this approach and we need continued and close coordination with all our Deputy Commandant, Capability Development & Integration directorates, warfighting domain data owners, the Service Data Office, Total Force Structure Division, and Training and Education Command to get after the DOT_LPF aspects as we continually iterate on modernized material solutions.”
Ultimately, the MAGTF C2 team’s rapid deployment of the minimal viable capability represents a Force Design success story, highlighting adaptability and collaboration as our Marines prepare to bring the fight tonight. By combining innovative acquisition practices, government-owned IP rights, leveraging of other Services and industry best practices and technologies, and direct fleet feedback, the MAGTF C2 team is fixing and pivoting toward a new standard for delivering capabilities that meet the evolving demands of the future battlefield as we navigate a new era of great power competition.
| Date Taken: | 12.09.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 12.09.2024 11:25 |
| Story ID: | 486993 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 65 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Force Design in Action: TDOL and the Fight for Information Superiority, by Johannes Schmidt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
