In September 2017, then Defense Secretary James Mattis established "information" as the seventh joint function, recognizing this capability as unique from those already codified in doctrine: command and control, intelligence, fires, movement and maneuver, protection, and sustainment. As a distinct function, he charged the department with considering the implications of this addition across doctrine, organizations, education, and personnel.1 A year later, the Joint Staff revised its capstone document for operations, Joint Publication 3-0, Joint Operations, to include a ten-page explanation of the information function and a description of the multifac-eted information environment.2The Joint Staff deputy director for global operations (J-39) charged information operations (IO) officers within his directorate to facilitate discussions between the services and combatant commands about how to enhance cross-command information planning as a part of globally integrated plans. Within the joint professional military education curriculum, the Joint Forces Staff College expanded its introduction to and application of the information function.
展开▼
