The military is on the cusp of a fundamental change in the intelligence realm, said Adm. Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations. After many years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, combatant commanders now have access to nearly real-time intelligence, giving them huge advantages on the battlefield and allowing them to make decisions quicker than ever before, Roughead told reporters Wednesday during a meeting in Washington, D.C. “When we look back on the two ground wars, . . . the biggest change I have seen has been the fusing of intelligence and operations in a way that we’ve never done before,” said Roughead. He added, “The ability for intelligence to be in the hands of the operators and the decision-makers [in] better forms and more quickly . . . has been truly extraordinary.”
Airmen basic rarely go on to become four-star generals, but one who did retired last week after a 42 year career that saw him rise from a lowly slick-sleeve to the head of one of the Air Force’s most important major commands.