On 18 February, at the Royal United Service Institute (RUSI) in London, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, James Heappey, opened the first Strategic Command Conference.
He explained the context behind the decision to establish the new command in saying:
There was plenty of success in what Joint Forces Command (JFC) did, but JFC was right for it’s time and focussed on jointery, whereas Strategic Command’s focus is integration.
The Conference set out the ambition for Strategic Command, and attendees heard more about its enhanced responsibilities.
Senior leaders from across the single services, UK Defence, academia and industry discussed Strategic Command’s priorities, which are critical to defence’s outputs:
- strategic integration across defence
- countering our adversaries in the so-called “grey zone” through special operations
- harnessing disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data in the cyber domain.
General Sir Patrick Sanders, Commander Strategic Command explained the critical role of the Strategic Command:
Strategic Command will transition the industrial age Joint Force to the Information Age’s Integrated Force. We will strengthen the foundations of integration within the current force and experiment and develop the capabilities and structures required for the 2030s and beyond.
This will be achieved in 3 priority areas: cyber, special forces and multi-domain integration. All are transformative, all are essential.
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