b. Joint Concept for Rapid Aggregation
On 22 May 2015, the US DoD released a document entitled The Joint Concept for Rapid Aggregation. As a supporting concept to the Capstone Concept for Joint Operations, it puts primary emphasis on the rapid aggregation capabilities of the future US force, with the purpose to perfect the operational approaches of Joint Force and to improve the speed, effectiveness, and efficiency of Joint Force aggregation. By rapid, it means responding to a crisis effectively within 30-45 days. By aggregation, it means bringing the services, the DoD and other federal agencies together to achieve unity of effort in the accomplishment of common objectives. The Joint Concept for Rapid Aggregation requires the US forces to possess the following 10 capabilities：the ability to better synchronize various plans and processes; the ability to identify crisis response force headquarters elements, required capabilities, and associated coordinating relationships; the ability to globally synchronize the transfer and employment of Joint Forces; the ability to fully implement the Joint Information Environment and Mission Partner Environment across the CCMDs, Services, combat support agencies, and interagency partners; the ability to distribute and coordinate planning and operations actions vertically and horizontally across multiple supporting commands; the ability to execute a comprehensive training and exercise program; the ability to rapidly expand existing headquarters capacity and capabilities; the ability to execute operational deployments over strategic distances along multiple axes of advance; the ability to mitigate the effects of threats and hazards in aggregation activities; and the ability to rapidly source required forces and capabilities regardless of organizational affiliation or command assignment.
c. Air Force Future Operating Concept
On 15 September 2015, Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air force jointly issued The Air Force Future Operating Concept, describing how United States Air force, through force development and mission guidance, would realize the vision put forward by America’s Air Force：A Call to the Future and achieve the strategic objectives as outlined by The United States Air Force Strategic Master Plan. The document requires the USAF to develop a core capability so as to achieve its five core missions. The core capability refers to the concept of operational agility, which is the ability to make rapid response to any hostile situation anywhere at any time, to conduct operations transcending usual thinking and established operational modes, and to flexibly exploit an array of appropriate strategic and tactic options in accordance with the changing dynamics on and off the battlefield. The ability depends upon several facets：flexibility, speed, coordination, balance, and strength. The five core missions include：Multi-Domain Command and Control, which involves the use of a multi-domain operations center （MDOC） to exercise effective command of control from air, space, cyberspace and surface domains; Adaptive Domain Control, which involves the maximum exploitation of useful information and material resources while denying an adversary’s access to such information and resources; Global Integrated Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance （GIISR）, which includes the cross-domain integration of extant ISR assets while putting particular emphasis on seamless collaboration and data analysis; Rapid Global Mobility, which involves the persistent and direct projection of joint expeditionary forces across multiple domains for multiple times; Global Precision Strike, which classifies striking effects into direct／indirect, lethal／non-lethal, and permanent／reversible, and improves striking accuracy that can be measured in seconds.
The developments in operational theories are bound to have a profound influence on the operations, training, education, inter-agency operations and allied operations of the US military, pushing forward the further development of its joint and combined operations. Besides, these developments call bolster the joint and allied operational capabilities of the US military, laying a more solid foundation for it to win America’s wars.
Chapter V Alliances and Partnerships
In 2015, the US continued employing its global alliance system as an important means to promote its foreign strategic objectives. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Obama administration spared no effort to forge a relatively loose multilateral alliance system made up of America-led traditional treaty allies and emerging partners. In the Middle East, on the basis of the “anti-IS” coalition, the US actively built an alliance system encompassing Persian Gulf monarchies, Israel, Egypt, and Jordan in order to tackle the geopolitical changes in the Middle East after the “Arab Spring” and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action （JCPOA） concerning the solution of Iran’s nuclear issue. In Europe, the US consolidated the North Atlantic Treaty Organization （NATO） and strengthened the cohesion of it European allies by taking advantage of addressing the security challenges faced by Europe after the Ukraine crisis.
A. Comprehensively Promoting the US-Led Regional Alliance System in the Asia-Pacific Region
In 2015, the US went on strengthening its relations with traditional treaty allies like Japan and the Philippines, continuously expanded and deepened its security partnerships with countries like India and Vietnam, actively constructed a multilateral alliance system, and promoted the
transformation of its Asia-Pacific alliance system into an “Asian NATO”.
a. Further Strengthening Alliances with Traditional Treaty Allies like Japan and the Philippines
On April 27, 2015, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter met with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani for “2＋2” consultations between the foreign ministers and defense ministers of the US and Japan. The consultations considerably expanded the scope of the support by the Japan Self-Defense Forces （JSDF） to US military operations and expanded the perspective of Japan-US military cooperation toward Japan’s “periphery”. The new Guidelines for Japan-US Defense Cooperation （hereafter shortened as “the new Guidelines”） stipulates that Japan can go and provide assistance when the US military is threatened by a third country and that Japan also can assist the US military in mine-sweeping missions in the Middle East. According to the new Guidelines, Japan will have the authority to exercise the “right of collective self-defense”. In addition to allowing Japan’s armed forces to play more aggressive roles around the globe, the new Guidelines also allows the US and Japan to increase their cooperation in missile defense capabilities, space security, cybersecurity, etc.
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