Spherical Situation Awareness:

Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, speaking at West Point during his 40th class reunion, told cadets that they will witness the military’s evolution from maneuver to interdependent warfare that will eliminate as many battlefield obstacles as possible. Wynne said, “The American warrior has evolved to what I call spherical situation awareness,” which calls for “taking a comprehensive, spherical view—at once vertical, horizontal, real-time and predictive, penetrating and defended in the cyber realm, eliminating as much as possible obstacles of terrain, weather, foliage, darkness, jamming, cyberdefense, all the means of surprise that provide cover and resources to the enemy, even buried objects and targets.” The Secretary said that the “early tools in this evolution are in service in Iraq and Afghanistan but are yet to be fully exploited,” adding “this may well be your task as junior officers.”