Combatant Commanders See Collaboration as Successful Battlefield Strategy > U.S. Department of Defense > Defense Department News

Collaboration in planning among the combatant commands produces better outcomes on challenging problems than if done independently, said Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh, commander of U.S. Cyber Command. 

It also gives the defense secretary more options when making critical decisions, he added while speaking on a panel last month at the National Defense Industrial Association’s 35th annual Special Operations Symposium in Washington.  

For instance, Cybercom and U.S. Space Command provide U.S. Special Operations Command with intelligence and networking assets, he said. 

That’s a relatively new development. 

“When we first started doing cyber inside of [special operations forces], we saw it as a natural extension of signals. We were looking at [it] as an opportunity to collect intelligence,” he said, noting that the relationship between the two has matured to deliver better outcomes. 

Army Lt. Gen. Thomas James, the deputy commander of Spacecom, agreed, saying that breaking barriers has a positive effect in supporting special forces operators on the ground. 

Also, Spacecom can’t fight and win without close collaboration with special operations forces setting necessary conditions for carrying out operations, James said, adding that collaboration has occurred through experimentation and realistic exercises. 

Army Lt. Gen. Richard Angle, commander of Allied Special Operations Forces Command at NATO and Special Operations Command Europe, said collaboration across all domains can increase deterrence. “We can use this capability to make it very difficult for our adversaries to achieve their key objectives.” 

He also mentioned that the Defense Department has made tremendous progress in its collaboration efforts as combatant commands look to continue the success.  

“We’re always trying to get better. I would offer that the next step for us is, ‘How do we include allies and partners?’ because our allies and partners have incredible capability. They have incredible access and placement. … We’re not going to fight alone.” 

The challenge, Angle said, is figuring out a way to integrate capabilities with them. 

He said a lesson learned from the war in Ukraine is that to innovate quickly, special operations forces, engineers, developers and industry representatives all need to be closest to the problem.