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Lt. Col. Benjamin "Buzz" Hagardt, U.S. Air Force, is the command air battle manager evaluator for Air Combat Command Standardization Branch, Flight Operations Division, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. He holds a BA from the University of Arizona and an MA from Air University. As a senior air battle manager, he has over 1,300 flight and combat hours operating on Airborne Warning and Control System and Control and Reporting Center platforms. He has served with operational units to include the 964th Airborne Air Control Squadron, 966th Airborne Air Control Squadron, 607th Air Control Squadron, and 752nd Operations Support Squadron.
In 2018, the U.S. Secretary of Defense published the National Defense Strategy (NVS), signifying a strategic reawakening for the United States in which the primary concern to national security is "the reemergence of long-term, strategic competition by... revisionist powers."1 Russian and Chinese military modernization efforts have shifted the global security environment, displacing the United States as the uncontested or dominant superpower of the world.
Among many lines of effort, the NVS calls for developing a more lethal, resilient, and rapidly innovating force capable of dynamic employment and unpredictable operations that will challenge adversary decision-makers.2 The threats presented by enemy weaponry, pervasive surveillance technology, and cross-domain long-range fires have motivated the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to apply its operational resiliency framework to the new scheme of maneuver called agile combat employment (ACE).3 This posture of resiliency enables the ability to deploy our forces using small, dispersed, and adaptive basing techniques to survive and operate in all domains.4
The NVS also calls for rapid innovation in advanced autonomous systems, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).5 China declared its intent to be the world leader in AI by 2030, investing hundreds of billions of dollars to apply AI across the range of military decision-making, deductions (e.g., wargaming), and defense equipment.6 Opposing this Chinese threat, the 2018 Department of Defense [DOD] Artificial Intelligence Strategy outlines the intention of the United States to use Al-enabled information systems to create agile and resilient logistical systems that empower our military leaders.7 These initiatives, while in their early stages, present opportunities to prepare for strategic employment as the technology matures. Commercial businesses have already proven to be the leading edge of AI...