Kevin P. Wilson

Communications is a critical enabling capability that is interwoven into every facet of every military operation. Assessing what communication capability is most valuable to the operation is a vital planning requirement to avoid using the word process twice in the same sentence] that currently resides in several processes that produce differing outcomes within the DoD. This thesis examines these planning processes, particularly the capability-based approach, assessing which process is optimum for determining communication shortfalls. An in-depth comparison of the Joint Capabilities Integrated Defense System (JCIDS) and USNORTHCOM's Capability Review and Resource Assessment (CRRA) was conducted, examining the respective strengths and weakness of each process. This thesis then recommends an optimized hybrid solution of the CRRA and JCIDS, thus providing an intuitive methodology that can be used to model what communication capabilities are essential to the DoD and its interagency partners.