US Command Perspectives on Campaigning in Support of Integrated Deterrence
Speakers: Ms. Michele Wolfe (USAFRICOM), Drs. Emily Goldman and Michael Warner (USCYBERCOM), Mr. James “JJ” Jenista (USNORTHCOM and NORAD), Mr. Robert Jones (USSOCOM), Mr. Howard Simkin (USASOC), Ms. Kayse Jansen (USSTRATCOM)
Date: 10 August 2023
Speaker Session Summary
The complex nature of the modern threat environment and geopolitical competition, especially competition in the gray zone, has caused many scholars and military leaders to study how all Combatant Commands can combine their resources and capabilities to conduct effective integrated deterrence. This panel was comprised of the authors of a SMA Perspectives Publication: U.S. Command Perspectives on Campaigning in Support of Integrated Deterrence (Volume IV). During this panel the authors, from USAFRICOM, USCYBERCOM, NORAD and USNORTHCOM, USSOCOM, and USSTRATCOM commands, addressed how individually and cumulatively the Combatant Commands can best conduct integrated deterrence in a sustained campaign. The speakers detailed how a successful long-term campaign will create enduring advantages for the US and its allies across the many warfighting domains.
Ms. Wolfe (USAFRICOM) emphasized that while collaboration between the different Combatant Commands is important, cooperation between the US military, US government, and US humanitarian aid is especially important for USAFRICOM. She pointed out that USAFRICOM is forced to rely on the US government and US humanitarian aid to African countries when certain events—such as authoritarian political coups—occur, leaving USAFRICOM legally unable to continue relations with a country until its democratic institutions are restored.
Dr. Goldman and Dr. Wagner (USCYBERCOM) described the cyber domain as a sphere of continuous activity. They emphasized that all modern militaries are reliant on cyber space to protect their ability to communicate and their digital infrastructure. Mr. Simkin (USASOC) also emphasized the importance of campaigning, pointing out that irregular warfare does not have a definitive end like a conventional military campaign. Mr. Jenista (USNORTHCOM & NORAD) stated that integrated deterrence must be a global effort and that when the US cooperates on joint exercises, it must practice with all the tools that it would use in a real-life scenario. Mr. Jones (USSOCOM) argued that a key component of integrated deterrence is understanding how populations feel about their government. He emphasized that all governments can be influenced by their constituents. Ms. Jansen (USSTRATCOM) stated that effective integrated deterrence will influence an adversary’s decision calculus. She suggested that to effectively do this, the combatant commands actions must be focused and intentional. Also, the US and its allies should have a common understanding of both our adversaries’ tactics and intentions and what the desired perception is of all US armed forces.
While deterring an invasion of Ukraine is no longer an option, the Ukraine War is an example of how to coordinate resources successfully and intentionally among US allies. The speakers pointed out that because of cyber support from Western Countries, Ukraine has been able to compete effectively with Russia in cyberspace.
Speaker Session Recording
Briefing Materials
Biographies:
Dr. Hriar “Doc” Cabayan is currently a member of the Office of Defense Coordination at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. He joined the laboratory in 1977 and worked on nuclear weapons effects, Strategic Defense Initiative related efforts, and directed energy programs. In 1997 he joined the Joint Staff/J-39 where he managed the Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) Program. In 2007, he received the Joint Meritorious Civilian Service Award from the Office of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2007 and again in He returned to Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in October 2019.
Dr. Emily Goldman serves as a strategist at U.S. Cyber Command and a thought leader on cyber policy. She was cyber advisor to the Director of Policy Planning at the Department of State, 2018–19. From 2014 to 2018 she directed the U.S. Cyber Command/National Security Agency Combined Action Group, reporting to a four-star commander and leading a team that wrote the 2018 U.S. Cyber Command vision, “Achieve and Maintain Cyberspace Superiority.” She has also worked as a strategic communications
advisor for U.S. Central Command and for the Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department. She holds a doctorate in Political Science from Stanford University and was a Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Davis, for two decades. Dr. Goldman’s most recent book, Cyber Persistence Theory: Redefining National Security in Cyberspace, with Michael Fischerkeller and Richard Harknett, was published by Oxford University Press.
Ms. Kayse Jansen leads a team of analysts responsible for conducting adversary decision calculi in support of USSTRATCOM advocacy, risk assessments, plans, and operations. Her team also manages the J5’s Campaign of Learning, an initiative to advance the command’s thinking on deterrence-related issues. Additionally, Ms. Jansen acts as a senior technical advisor on nuclear policy and strategy issues.
Ms. Jansen entered civil service in April 2010 as a Scientist and Engineer Palace Acquire Intern in the Capability and Resource Integration Directorate, USSTRATCOM/J8. What started as a technical career in
operations research, analyzing and identifying capability solutions in the space and ISR mission sets, transitioned to strategy and policy development for the nation’s nuclear enterprise. Most recently, Ms.
Jansen led the adversary-specific strategy development and analysis for the President-directed Nuclear
Posture Review.
Ms. Jansen holds a BA and M.A. in Mathematics. In May 2022, she obtained her M.S. in Defense and Strategic Studies from Missouri State University, where she examined How Competition Undermines Deterrence. Ms. Jansen is continuing her education in Defense and Strategic Studies towards a Doctorate degree. When not contemplating how the nation guarantees its security, Ms. Jansen enjoys spending time with her husband (a semi-truck driver) and three daughters (5, 7, 22), working on her family’s farm, and “standing in the gap” by fostering children in need.
James “JJ” Jenista is an Air Force civilian in the Joint Training, Exercise, and Wargaming Directorate (J7) at North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). In the combined Headquarters for the two Commands, JJ provides contract management and acquisition support across eight Divisions and a host of external partners. He is a planner with USNORTHCOM and has assisted in the planning and execution of a variety of Joint and National Level Exercises.
JJ holds Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, where he enrolled on a Naval ROTC scholarship and was subsequently commissioned into the Navy. He flew the A-6 Intruder and the F-14 Tomcat during a 20-year naval career that also included stints teaching NROTC at Notre Dame and facilitating Naval Leader Training Courses in Coronado, CA. He was a 4-time Navy Astronaut Candidate, was on duty in the NORAD Command Center on 9/11, and is completing a master’s degree in Homeland Security through the Center for Homeland Defense and Security under the auspices of the Naval Postgraduate School.
Robert Jones is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel, a former Deputy District Attorney, and the senior strategist at U.S. Special Operations Command. Currently serving within the USSOCOM J5-JSOU Donovan Integration Group, Mr. Jones is responsible for leading innovative thinking on the strategic environment and how it impacts factors critical to national security, such as the evolving character of conflict, all aspects of irregular warfare, deterrence in competition, societal stability, and implications for
SOF. He also serves as a Strategic Advisor to the Director of Plans, Policy, and Strategy.
Mr. Jones is a featured lecturer for the JSOU Enlisted Academy, as well as the USAJFKSWCS Officer Course on strategy, the evolving character of conflict, impact on viability of solutions, and implications for SOF. He is
currently promoting a proactive campaigning construct of strategic influence that is rooted in the fundamentals of insurgency and unconventional warfare and intended to inform SOF operationalization of the National Defense and National Military Strategies. His focus is the pursuit of understanding and the provision of context.
“If war is the final argument of Kings, then revolution is the final vote of the people.” RCJ
Howard R. Simkin is a Senior Concept Developer in the DCS, Capability Development and Integration Directorate (CDID), U.S. Army Special Operations Command. He has over 40 years of combined military, law enforcement, defense contractor, and government experience. He is a retired Special Forces officer with a wide variety of special operations experience. Within the CDID he analyzes and defines the future operating environment and required capabilities Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) in support of future concepts development. His subject matter expertise includes analyzing and evaluating historical, current and emerging technology as well as Combined, Joint, Multi-Service, Army and ARSOF organizational initiatives, trends, and concepts to determine the implications for ARSOF units. Mr. Simkin holds a Masters of Administrative Science from the Johns Hopkins University. He is certified both as a TRADOC Mad Scientist and as a Project Management Professional. He is the author of “Home Run: Allied Escape and Evasion in World War II” and has written several articles that have been published in Naval History Magazine, Small Wars Journal, the TRADOC Mad Scientist Blog or on the Strategic Multilayer Assessment Forum.
Dr. Michael Warner serves as Command Historian at U.S. Cyber Command. He has written and lectured on intelligence and cyber history, theory, and reform. His latest book, The Use of Force for State Power: History and Future, was co-authored with John Childress (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). He also wrote The Rise and Fall of Intelligence: An International Security History, published by Georgetown University Press (2014). Recent writings include: “The Military Instrument in Cyber Strategy” (with Emily Goldman), SAIS
Review of International Affairs 41:2 (Summer-Fall 2021); “A Brief History of Cyber Conflict,” in Ten Years In: Implementing Strategic Approaches to Cyberspace, an anthology he co-edited with Emily Goldman and Jacqueline Schneider (Naval War College Newport Paper 44, 2021); and “US Cyber Command’s First Decade,” (Stanford/Hoover Aegis Series, 2020).
Michele Wolfe serves as the Senior Strategic Assessor at the United States Africa Command to include
crafting and influencing far-reaching strategic actions, affecting Africa, Europe, and the United States. She
recently completed the Defense Senior Leader Development Program (DSLDP), the Department of
Defense’s premier program to develop 21st century senior executive leaders. Ms. Wolfe holds a M.S. in
National Security and Strategic Studies with an additional graduate certificate in Ethics in Emerging
Military Technology from the Naval War College and a M.S. in Mathematics from Wichita State University.
Prior to her current assignment, Ms. Wolfe served as Headquarters, Department of the Army G-8’s ORSA,
Requirements Integration Synchronization Officer (RISO), and the Army Requirements Oversight Council’s
Secretariat Branch Chief. Prior to her work at the Pentagon, Ms. Wolfe led crucial Army and Joint Analysis
of Alternatives (AoA) studies at the TRADOC Analysis Center, now part of Army Futures Command.
Comments