1

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

STRATEGY FOR OPERATIONS IN THE 

INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT 

June 2016
FOREWORD

Although the term information environment (IE) is relatively new, the concept of an “information battlefield” is not. The role of 

information, either provided or denied, is an important consideration 

in military planning and operations. In fact, throughout the history 

of warfare, militaries have sought advantage through actions intended 

to affect the perception and behavior of adversaries. Information is 

such a powerful tool, it is recognized as an element of U.S. national 

power – and as such, the Department must be prepared to synchronize 

information programs, plans, messages, and products as part of a 

whole of government effort.

With the advent of the internet, the expansion of information 

technology, the widespread availability of wireless communications, 

and the far-reaching impact of social media, today’s information 

environment poses new and complex challenges for military 

operations. This networked environment has enabled both state and 

non-state actors to employ activities in the IE to achieve their objectives 

effectively. They use various capabilities to exploit, disrupt, and disable command and control systems and 

other critical infrastructure; to disseminate propaganda and disinformation; to foster internal dissent; to 

recruit and solicit financing; and to promote legitimacy for their actions while discrediting the legitimacy of 

others. Although we can expect potential state adversaries to offer sophisticated challenges through aggressive 

operations in the IE, new forms of technology and communication have lowered the barriers of entry for nonstate actors. These actors, and their supporters and surrogates, can now access the IE with ease and at relatively 

low cost, using it to advance their objectives and influence audiences around the globe.

This Strategy for Operations in the Information Environment has been developed in part as a response to the 

requirement for an information operations strategy in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2014. Its 

purpose is not to consolidate or centralize capabilities or functions, but to serve as a cornerstone document to 

align Departmental actions and ensure effective integration of DoD efforts in a dynamic IE. In this information 

age, the Department must adapt to technological and sociological changes and adjust to support the military 

needs of the Joint Force Commander. This strategy describes how the Department will set conditions to 

achieve an advantage in the IE with particular emphasis on the tasks associated with four key lines of effort: 

people, programs, policies, and partnerships.

This strategy signals our commitment and resolve, and provides my guidance on important steps we must take 

as a Department to enhance our ability to conduct military operations.
1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 2

Key Terms 

The Strategic Environment and the IE 4

Key Tenets of the Strategy 6

Desired Outcomes 7

A Strategy for the Future 8

Ends (End-state) 8

Ways 

Means 9

People 10

Programs 11

Policies 13

Partnerships 14

Conclusion 15

Glossary and Acronyms 16
2

INTRODUCTION

One of the most challenging aspects of the rapidly evolving information environment (IE) is the growing impact and proliferation of stratagems by state and non-state actors to control the narrative 

surrounding their operations. Often using commercial capabilities, these actors disseminate truthful, biased, 

and false information using digital technologies and access to global audiences to recruit, to gain support 

and sustainment, and to exploit, disrupt, and delegitimize U.S. and coalition operations. While conducting 

activities in all domains of the operational environment, today’s adversaries and other actors increasingly 

target non-military audiences with powerful, symbolic, strategic communication in conjunction with physical 

effects, creating a significant depth of influence.

This strategy aims not only to set conditions for success 

at the operational and tactical levels of warfare, but also 

to guide DoD support to the whole-of-government effort. 

It complements, and supports, other guidance documents 

including the National Security Strategy, the Quadrennial 

Defense Review, the DoD Cyber Strategy, and the Strategy 

for Implementing the Joint Information Environment, 

which focuses on Information Technology implementation 

including enabling DoD Information Network operations, 

improving cyber security, and providing mission support.

The strategy defines an operational end-state, and associates it with the ways to accomplish the end-state, 

and the means necessary to support the ways. This ends, ways, means framework is described in greater detail 

later in the document.

This document also lays out parallel efforts addressing near-, mid-, and long-term objectives with focus on 

outcomes. Near-term efforts will focus on rapid, prioritized, high-impact changes; mid-term efforts will focus 

on synchronization of maturing solutions; and long-term efforts will focus on institutionalized and integrated 

operations in the IE. These three series of efforts will run simultaneously to address near-term challenges and 

opportunities while aligning mid- and long-term efforts. This approach also aligns with, and leverages, Joint 

Staff development of the Joint Concept for Operating in the Information Environment (JCOIE) and the Joint 

Concept for Integrated Campaigning (JCIC). An IO Executive Steering Group1 (ESG) will provide oversight, 

management, and horizontal integration within the Department.

There are two follow-on issuances to this strategy – an Implementation Plan and an Investment Framework 

– that will guide execution of the strategy. These documents will be synchronized with the implementation 

of the DoD Cyber Strategy, which is the authoritative reference document relevant to the development of 

manning, training, equipping, and integrating full spectrum cyberspace operations into DoD policy, plans, 

and programs.

1 As articulated in DoD Directive 3600.01, Information Operations, dated May 2, 2013.

End-State: Through operations, actions, and activities in the IE, DoD has the ability to affect the 

decision-making and behavior of adversaries and designated others to gain advantage across the range 

of military operations. 

Australian soldiers with the 7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, assigned 

to the U.S. Army 2nd Cavalry Regiment Task Force, patrol at Multinational Base 

Tirin Kot, Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, Nov. 6, 2013. (DoD photo by Cpl. Mark 

Doran, Australian Defense Force/Released)(CJTF-OIR) Aug. 20, 2015.
3

KEY TERMS

The Information Environment (IE) is the aggregate of individuals, organizations, and systems that collect, 

process, disseminate, or act on information2.The IE is a heterogeneous global environment where humans and 

automated systems observe, orient, decide, and act on data, information, and knowledge. With its function 

as a conduit for influence on decision-making and command and control, the IE is a key component of the 

commander’s operational environment. Characterized by ubiquitous on-demand media and interpersonal 

hyper-connectivity, today’s IE enables collaboration and information sharing on an unprecedented scale. Within 

the IE, the United States can expect challenges across three interrelated dimensions: the physical, composed of 

command and control systems, and the supporting infrastructure that enables individuals and organizations 

to create information-related effects; the informational, composed of the content itself, including the manner 

by which it is collected, processed, stored, disseminated, and protected; and the cognitive, composed of the 

attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of those who transmit, receive, respond to, or act upon information. Effects 

in the physical and informational dimensions of the IE ultimately register an impact in the human cognitive 

dimension, making it the central object of operations in the IE.

Cyberspace is a global domain within the information environment consisting of the interdependent network of 

information technology, infrastructures, and resident data, including the Internet, telecommunications networks, 

computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers.3 Cyberspace operations targeting the physical and 

informational dimensions of the IE also have an impact in the human cognitive dimension. 

Information-Related Capabilities (IRCs) are tools, techniques, or activities employed within a dimension of 

the information environment to create effects and operationally desirable conditions.4 IRCs historically include, 

but are not limited to operations security (OPSEC), military deception (MILDEC), military information 

support operations (MISO), electronic warfare (EW), cyberspace operations (CO), and special technical 

operations (STO). 

Information Operations (IO) is the integrated employment during military operations of information-related 

capabilities (IRCs), in concert with other lines of operation to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp the decisionmaking of adversaries and potential adversaries while protecting our own.5

 IO integrates the application of force 

and the employment of information with the goal of affecting the perception and will of adversaries. The 

integration of IRCs for effect can be compared to fire support coordination, in which a targeting methodology 

synchronizes and employs various capabilities to generate desired effects. It is the integration and synchronization

of IRCs that enables desired effects in and through the IE at specified times and locations.

2 Joint Publication (JP) 1-02, The Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

3 Ibid

4 Ibid

5 Department of Defense Directive 3600.01, Information Operations, May 2, 2013.
4

THE STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENT AND THE IE

Although the 2015 National Security Strategy states the U.S. military must remain dominant in every 

domain, assure access to shared spaces, support alternatives to extremist messaging, and lead with capable 

partners, key national intelligence documents and the Defense Planning Guidance for FY 17-21 describe a 

complex and evolving strategic environment with extremely dangerous, ubiquitous, and elusive threats to the 

United States.

Major trends affecting military operations in the strategic environment include the increasing breadth and 

depth of information available through all forms of communications media, the increasing speed with which 

information flows from and through a population, and the proliferation of interoperable digital devices. This 

global hyper-connectivity is more than just a technological trend; it is a societal and cultural trend as well. An 

entire generation has grown up not knowing a world without the internet, and these “digital natives” interact 

with others within virtual environments in ways fundamentally different than in previous generations. In 

most parts of the world, nearly everyone and everything is connected in some manner, and the convergence of 

information technology with human values, attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions has created new challenges and 

new vulnerabilities for the United States. Individuals and organizations can leverage social media to catalyze 

protests in a fraction of the time it took only a few years ago. The spread of mobile technology, especially in 

developing nations, has dramatically increased the ability of many to access and share information rapidly, 

and the ubiquity of personal communications devices with cameras and full-motion video allows much of 

the world to observe unfolding events in real time. These same capabilities can be utilized by adversaries for 

operational purposes, as well as for propaganda and disinformation.

The expansion and diffusion of advanced technology has lowered the cost of entry into the IE such that 

non-state actors can now acquire information-related capabilities that once were available only to developed 

countries. Many state and non-state actors are now competing with the United States to gain advantage in the 

IE, and today’s adversaries are focused on identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in our infrastructure, the 

information that flows within it, and the decision-making processes dependent on that information. We can 

expect them to continue to expand their operations from the physical battleground to other contested spaces 

in and through the IE or through virtual environments 

with little regard for international law and norms. 

The capability advantage the U.S. once enjoyed over 

adversaries in this environment is rapidly narrowing. 

Today, as in the past, the United States is contending 

with international confrontations short of open war. In 

these situations, actors seek to advance their interests 

by seizing the strategic and/or operational initiative, 

undermining alliance cohesion, managing escalation, 

complicating decision making, slowing the coordination 

of effective response, and intensifying both uncertainty 

The technology-enabled 21st century operational environment offers new tools for state and non-state 

adversaries, such as terrorists, to pursue asymmetric approaches, exploiting where we are weakest.

--2014 Quadrennial Defense Review

International organizations like NATO will often 

be used to address confrontations short of war.
5

and friction. Our principles of truth and accountability contrast with those of less scrupulous and opaque 

adversaries, who frequently offer misleading or false information as propaganda. In support of a broader 

whole-of-government effort, the Department has a role to be trained, equipped, and prepared to counter such 

activities in this uneasy, steady-state environment traditionally referred to as phase zero.6 To maintain unity 

of effort, DoD must closely coordinate operations, actions and activities with other United States Government 

(USG) departments and agencies to facilitate horizontal and vertical continuity of strategic themes, messages, 

and actions. In steady-state and in conflict, the Department must establish policies and set the conditions for 

components and their staffs to identify adversarial and potential adversarial threats (including attempts to 

undermine U.S. Alliances and coalitions) and bring capabilities to bear in an effort to affect, undermine, and 

erode an adversary or potential adversary’s will.

6 Phase 0 (Zero), is described in DoD Joint Publication 5.0 as, “Joint and multinational operations – inclusive of normal and routine military 

activities – and various interagency activities performed to dissuade or deter potential adversaries and to assure or solidify relationships with 

friends or allies.”
6

KEY TENETS OF THE STRATEGY

• Information operations are an important component of military operations and in all phases of 

an operation or campaign, including shaping activities in the steady-state. The ability to monitor, 

characterize, and analyze the IE, and the ability to plan and integrate IO activities in coordination with 

other joint operations, are critical competencies for the Joint Force.

• In some cases, Joint Force operations in the IE will require close collaboration not only within 

the Department, but also across the USG (through the interagency process), with our allies and 

international partners, and with the public and private sectors.

• Although information activities may be conducted in the steady-state and in conflict, some are 

more restricted in peacetime by policies, doctrine, or operational plans that will require high-level 

permissions for their execution. The Department has procedures in place to manage information 

activities appropriately across the spectrum of conflict.

• DoD seeks to deter attacks and defend the United States against any adversary that seeks to harm U.S. 

national interests, in a manner consistent with U.S. and international law. To this end, DoD develops 

capabilities for operations in the IE, including countering those threats, and integrates them into the 

full array of tools the USG has at its disposal. 

• Effective information operations require substantial and sustained intelligence support. Given the 

dynamic nature of the IE, some legacy processes and tools may not be sufficiently responsive and new 

methods for sensing, assessment, and command-and-control may be required.

• The Department has fixed resources in place to sustain IE operations at current levels. To elevate 

capability or capacity, efficiencies must be realized through informed resource prioritization or offsets. 

DoD provides unique approaches, capabilities, and capacity that are integral to the success of USG 

strategies. 

• The Department must coordinate and synchronize influence activities with informing activities, 

primarily public affairs, which release information that becomes immediately available to all public 

audiences including adversaries and potential adversaries. The credibility and legitimacy of the United 

States must be preserved.
7

DESIRED OUTCOMES 

I

n moving forward, the Department must balance near-term, mid-term, and long-term efforts with sufficient 

flexibility to adapt to change, as well as to take advantage of emerging opportunities. These efforts will begin 

immediately and will be executed in parallel. 

Near-term efforts (looking 6-18 months ahead) will focus on rapid, prioritized, high-impact changes to 

existing policy, doctrine, and professional military education and assessment efforts. The Department will 

improve its ability to assess the efficacy of IO, better integrate with the capabilities and capacities of allies and 

partners, and incorporate lessons-learned and best practices into doctrine and policy. In the first 12 months, 

the Department will establish the IO ESG and publish the Implementation Plan, the Investment Framework, 

and the Joint Concept documents for Operations in the IE and Integrated Campaigning.

Mid-term efforts (looking 18-36 months ahead) will focus on synchronization of efforts and effects. New 

concepts and policies will improve agility and responsiveness, clarification of authorities will streamline and 

better focus operations in the IE, and enduring partnerships across the USG will facilitate effective DoD 

operations in the IE.

Long-term efforts (looking 36 months ahead and 

beyond) will focus on institutionalized and integrated 

operations in the IE. The Department will field and 

manage a well-trained, educated, and ready IO and 

total-force to meet emerging requirements. The 

Department will possess the ability to characterize the 

IE effectively. Research and development efforts will 

identify and develop new science and technologies, and 

adapt emerging ones, while ensuring the maintenance 

and sustainment of capabilities and capacities across 

Airmen and Soldiers train for Cyber Guard 15, conducting a “red vs. blue” cyber exercise. the Department.
8

A STRATEGY FOR THE FUTURE

I

n today’s dynamic and changing world, the Department must fully understand the dimensions of the IE 

to plan and master operations within it; and these efforts must nest within a broader USG understanding 

of how adversaries and others will seek to gain diplomatic, informational, military, and economic advantage 

through exploitation of the IE.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the Joint Staff will develop metrics, measurements, and 

assessment criteria for each of the strategy’s ways, means, and tasks within the forthcoming Implementation 

Plan and Investment Framework to map efforts and track progress toward achieving the strategy’s end state.

Ends (End-state)

Through operations, actions, and activities in the IE, DoD has the ability to affect the decision-making and 

behavior of adversaries and designated others to gain advantage across the range of military operations.

Ways

The following nine ways support the end state above and serve as guidance to enable effective Departmental 

operations in the IE. Accomplishment of these ways will be achieved through the four means (described later 

in the document) and related specified tasks that refine and develop the ways described below.

• Improve the capability of the Department to monitor, analyze, characterize, assess, 

forecast, and visualize the IE. This capability is the foundation for operations within the IE. 

Characterization, in particular, is a continuous process occurring from preparation of the 

environment to effectiveness assessments. 

• Update joint concepts to address the challenges and opportunities of the IE. Joint concepts 

refine the Department’s approach to military operations and, as concepts emerge and evolve, 

considerations for operations in the IE will be addressed. The Joint Concept for Operations in the 

IE, the Joint Concept for Integrated Campaigning, and the Capstone Concept for Joint Operations

will be key documents that prepare the Department for successful future operations in the IE.

• Train, educate, and prepare the Joint Force as a whole for operations in the IE. This includes 

Joint Force Commanders, their supporting staffs, and components. The total force must recognize 

that campaign planning integrates actions in the physical dimension with actions in a contested IE. 

This effort includes an understanding of other-agency support to JFCs, as well as DoD support to 

whole-of-government efforts in the IE.

• Train, educate, and manage IO professionals and practitioners. These personnel provide subject 

matter expertise to the Department and the Joint Force Commander on the conduct of information 

operations and the integration of IRCs.

• Establish policy and implement authorities, coupled with doctrine and tactics, techniques, 

and procedures, which maintain the agility of the joint force in the IE, including the capability 

to adapt as the IE changes. The IE exists outside the context of geographic boundaries, however, 

the effects achieved are identifiable within one or more Combatant Commanders’ areas of 

responsibility. To succeed in the IE will require novel approaches to provide agility, flexibility, and 

command-and-control for the joint force. 
9

• Acquire and maintain sufficient capability and capacity of resources focused on operations in the IE. 

These are specific personnel and IRCs available to Joint Force Commanders to support ongoing and planned 

operations. Capability and capacity should be examined in analytical studies and assessments, and during 

joint exercises.

• Integrate and synchronize DoD efforts for operations in the IE with other USG activities.

Regardless of DoD’s supporting or supported role in the IE, the Department operates within a whole-ofgovernment effort to support U.S. national interests and will seek innovative ways to enhance interagency 

collaboration and cooperation for operations, actions, and activities in the IE.

• Foster the credibility, legitimacy, and sustainment of U.S. and coalition operations, actions, and 

activities. This includes exposing adversary and potential adversary malign operations, actions, and 

activities, such as disinformation.

• Establish and maintain enduring and situational partnerships. The United States maintains strong 

relationships with its allies, partners, and coalition members, as well as continuing partnerships with 

academia, industry, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The Department will continue to stress 

military interoperability through collaborative training and shared resources.

Means

The means, or the tools necessary for the Department to be successful with this approach, are categorized as 

people, programs, policies, and partnerships. Each of these categories is broad in scope and is described with 

associated tasks in the section that follows.
10

PEOPLE

Commanders, components, and their staffs lead and manage operations in the IE. IO professionals and practitioners directly support the Department, the Joint Force, and the Joint Force Commander through 

training, education, planning, and the integration of IRCs to produce effects within the IE.

Task – Train, educate, and prepare commanders and their staffs, and the Joint Force as a whole, to lead,

manage, and conduct operations in the IE.

• The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, in conjunction with the Joint Staff, the 

Services, and the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), educate and train commanders and 

their staffs to plan, lead, and manage operations in the IE. 

• The Services and USSOCOM educate the force as a whole on operations in the IE.

Task – Train, educate, and prepare IO professionals and practitioners to enable effective operations in the IE.

• OSD, in conjunction with the Joint Staff, the Services, and Defense Agencies as appropriate, ensure an 

integrated approach to establish standards for Joint and Service IO personnel to address Combatant 

Command (CCMD) needs.

• The Joint Staff and the Services, in coordination with OSD, ensure that IO personnel, and supporting 

elements (e.g. intelligence support) are provided with the core competencies necessary to meet stated 

needs. Education, training, and knowledge/skills/abilities must comport with emerging changes in the 

IE.

Task – Manage IO professionals, practitioners, and organizations to meet emerging operational needs.

• The Services, in coordination with the Joint Staff, manage IO organizations and active, reserve, and 

civilian personnel to meet operational needs. This includes refining force structure needs for operations 

in the IE, including the recruitment, accession, and retention of highly skilled IO professionals.

• The Joint Staff, in coordination with OSD, identify surge capability and capacity needs not met by 

current assignment or allocation of forces to the CCMDs. CCMD needs vary depending on the 

complexity, scope, phase, and/or intensity of specific contingency operations.

• The Joint Staff, in coordination with OSD, validate the baseline Joint personnel needs for operations in 

the IE across the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP).

• The Joint Staff, Components, and Services, in coordination with OSD, identify and manage other 

supporting personnel needs (e.g. intelligence support).

• The Joint Staff, in conjunction with the CCMDs, ensure an optimized organizational structure is 

identified for CCMDs to provide C4I and coordination for operations in the IE.

Our military and civilian professionals are our decisive advantage. They are the foundation of our 

operational excellence and our ability to successfully innovate. Therefore, we are dedicated to building 

creative, adaptive professionals skilled at leading organizational change while operating in complexity.

--2015 National Military Strategy of the United States
11

PROGRAMS 

To conduct successful operations in the IE, the Department must improve the ability of commanders and their staffs to characterize and operate in the IE and assess the effectiveness of operations. The Department 

will promote research, development, maintenance, and sustainment of capabilities and capacities to create and 

sustain an operational advantage in the IE.

Task – Establish a baseline assessment of DoD’s current ability to conduct operations in the IE.

• OSD, in coordination with the Joint Staff, oversee a Capabilities-Based Assessment (CBA) of DoD’s 

ability to operate in the IE. The IO ESG will serve as the collaborative forum as planning and 

programming efforts are synchronized and integrated.

• Joint Staff, in coordination with the Services and OSD, conduct a DOTMLPF-P analysis of DoD 

operations in the IE. The IO ESG will serve as the collaborative forum for governance and oversight as 

sustaining efforts are synchronized and integrated.

Task – Develop the ability of the Department and operating forces to engage, assess, characterize, 

forecast, and visualize the IE.

• OSD, in conjunction with the Defense Intelligence Enterprise (DIE), the Joint Staff, and the Services, 

ensure that DoD has the material and personnel capacity and tradecraft needed to meet the growing 

requirements for detailed characterization of the current and forecasted IE.

• OSD, in coordination with the DIE, the Joint Staff, and the Services, assess IE characterization-related 

intelligence manpower, training, education, and experience requirements to ensure that the DIE has the 

capability and capacity to meet warfighting needs for IE characterization.

• OSD, in coordination with the Joint Staff, and the 

Services, ensure intelligence professionals who 

characterize the IE are identified, educated, trained, and 

managed and sufficient efforts are in place to recruit, 

access, and retain the needed talent.

• OSD, in conjunction with the DIE, the Joint Staff, and 

the Services, explore the recruitment, accession, and 

retention of a sufficient number of IO professionals with 

the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities across the 

broad range of activities in all dimensions of the IE; this 

is particularly important for the cognitive dimension of 

the IE and its socio-cultural characteristics.

We are conducting resource-informed planning. The U.S. military requires a sufficient level of 

investment in capacity, capabilities, and readiness so that when our nation calls, our military remains 

ready to deliver success.

--2015 National Military Strategy of the United States.

A U.S. Air Force EC-130J Commando Solo electronic communication systems 

operator performs an electronic attack mission during Emerald Warrior 2013, 

Hurlburt Field, Fla., May 1. The primary purpose of Emerald Warrior is to 

exercise special operations components in urban and irregular warfare settings 

to support combatant commanders. Emerald Warrior leverages lessons from 

Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and other historical 

lessons to provide better trained and ready forces to combatant commanders. 

(U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Rissmiller)(Released)
12

Task– Develop and maintain the proper capabilities and capacity to operate effectively in the IE in

coordination with implementation of the DoD Cyber and JIE strategies.

• OSD, in coordination with the Services, lead efforts across DoD Component portfolios and 

with partner nations, as required, to acquire, modify, or develop the necessary tools to support 

characterization and visualization of the IE.

• OSD will facilitate and support collaborative IO planning, not only within the Department, but also 

with other USG departments and agencies and with allies and partners, as appropriate. 

• OSD, in conjunction with the Joint Staff, support the JFCs responsibility to synchronize actions in the 

IE.

• OSD, in conjunction with the Joint Staff, lead efforts to synchronize programs across CCMDs in 

support of DoD’s contribution to USG strategic guidance and direction.

• The Joint Staff, in conjunction with the Services and OSD, synchronize the development of capabilities 

and capacity for the commander to conduct actions and activities in the IE for the campaign plan 

across the range of military operations.

• OSD, in conjunction with the Joint Staff, annually assess and identify gaps in existing capabilities, 

identify and describe planned investments within the FYDP, evaluate needs to operate in expected 

contingencies and the expected IE in the future beyond the FYDP; and make recommendations 

regarding DoD investments.

Task – Develop and maintain the capability to assess accurately the impact of operations in the IE.

• The Joint Staff, in conjunction with OSD, the DIE, and the Services, refine existing assessment 

methodologies, using both qualitative and quantitative assessment techniques, to assess what success 

looks like in the IE across the range of military operations.

• OSD, in conjunction with the Joint Staff, the Services, and CCMDs, validate metrics, measurement, and 

assessment for operations in the IE.

Task –Adopt, adapt, and develop new science 

and technology for the Department to operate 

effectively in the IE.

• OSD, in conjunction with the Joint Staff, the 

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, 

and the Services, develop and evaluate the 

budgetary needs for science, technology, 

research, development, sustainment, and 

maintenance investment in support of 

operations in the IE.

U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Brent Molaski, right, an information operations officer assigned 

to Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, and U.S. Army Sgt. Igor Lebedev, a Tactical 

Psychological Operations (PSYOP) non-commissioned officer assigned to 310th PSYOP, carry 

a Radio In A Box (RIAB) from an MV-22 Osprey aircraft at Camp Leatherneck, Helmand 

province, Afghanistan, Dec. 3, 2009. The RIAB is being delivered to a forward operating base 

to broadcast messages. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Evan Barragan/Released)
13

POLICIES

Well-articulated and timely policy and guidance are necessary for operations in the IE. This requires not just policy, concepts, doctrine, a legal framework, and authorities, but also the agility to adapt to and 

adopt changes rapidly in the IE.

Task – Develop and adapt IE-related concepts, policies, and guidance.

• OSD, in conjunction with the Joint Staff, ensure that oversight and management structures, such as the 

IO ESG and the IO Quadrilateral Senior Steering Group, are in place to serve as deliberative bodies to 

inform, coordinate, and resolve IE-related policy and guidance issues.

• OSD, the Joint Staff, and the Services, conduct a biennial review of concepts, policies and guidance to 

ensure effective DoD operations in the IE; as required, adjust concepts, policies and guidance.

• The Joint Staff, in conjunction with OSD, the Services, and select Defense Agencies, will develop and 

execute the JCOIE, which will inform both the Implementation Plan and the Investment Framework.

• The Joint Staff, in conjunction with OSD and the Services, review and ensure that relevant policies and 

guidance reflect the findings of the JCOIE.

• CCMDs, in conjunction with their Service Components, explore innovative concepts to increase 

agility, effectiveness, and efficiency, e.g., command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, 

surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR).

Task – Ensure doctrine relevant to operations in the IE remains current and responsive based on lessons 

learned and best practices.

• The Joint Staff, in conjunction with the Services, review and ensure that all relevant doctrine reflects IE 

extant capabilities, current force structure and material, and contemporary lessons-learned. This effort 

will include harmonizing Service, Joint, and allied doctrine in the IE.

Task – Develop, update and de-conflict authorities and permissions, as appropriate to enable effective 

operations in the IE.

• OSD, in coordination with the Joint Staff and the Services, conduct a biennial review of legal frameworks 

and authorities that impact DoD operations in the IE; as appropriate, update, develop, or propose new 

legal frameworks and authorities to facilitate flexible and adaptive operations, activities and actions.

• OSD, in coordination with the Joint Staff, identify authorities suitable for delegation to operational-level 

commanders, and as appropriate, facilitate that delegation.

Success will increasingly depend on how well our military instrument can support other instruments 

of power and enable our network of Allies and partners. 

--2015 National Military Strategy of the United States.
14

PARTNERSHIPS

The U.S. military’s capability and capacity to operate globally in the IE will be contingent on its ability to establish and maintain situational and enduring partnerships across the USG, and with academia, industry, 

and nongovernmental organizations. It is equally important to work with foreign and international partners, 

particularly those with whom the United States has common security interests.

Task – Establish and maintain partnerships among DoD and USG interagency partners to enable more 

effective whole-of-government operations in the IE.

• OSD, in conjunction with the Joint Staff and the Services, reinforce existing (or establish new) 

partnerships within DoD and across the USG.

Task – Establish and maintain appropriate interaction with non-U.S. Government entities (e.g., industry, 

academia, federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), and other organizations) to 

enable operations in the IE.

• OSD, in conjunction with the Joint Staff and the Services, reinforce existing (or establish new) 

relationships with industry, academia, FFRDCs, and others to enable better harmonized and more 

effective operations in the IE. Relationships may be enduring or situational.

Task – Establish and maintain collaboration between and among DoD and international partners 

(e.g. partner nations and NGOs) to enable more effective operations in the IE.

• OSD, in conjunction with the Joint Staff and the Services, leverage international partnerships to gain 

access to unique IO capabilities/capacities, language skills, cultural expertise, and/or appropriate roles of 

non-U.S. entities.

Task – Foster, enhance, and leverage partnership capabilities and capacities.

• OSD, in conjunction with the Joint Staff, develop appropriate policies that facilitate the reciprocal and 

timely sharing of information with partners to enable successful multinational operations in the IE.

• OSD, in conjunction with the Joint Staff and the Services, make Joint and Service-related IE and IO 

training and education opportunities available to partners, as appropriate.

America’s global network of allies and partners is a unique strength that provides the foundation for 

international security and stability. We will preserve our alliances, expand partnerships, maintain 

a global stabilizing presence, and conduct training, exercises, security cooperation activities, and 

military-to-military engagement.

--2015 National Military Strategy of the United States.
15

CONCLUSION

The U.S. military operates in a world evolving both technologically and socially at an ever accelerating pace, and our adversaries and others have effectively leveraged the IE as a means to advance their objectives. This 

strategy is one of several efforts underway to gain and sustain military advantage in the IE, and it provides a 

roadmap for how the Department will set conditions through nine ways and four major lines of effort involving 

people, programs, policies, and partnerships.

The Department will review this strategy biennially. Appropriate elements will be reflected in the Joint 

Concept for Operations in the IE and in the living execution documents, the Implementation Plan, and the 

Investment Framework. All efforts will link to, and support, other guidance documents including the National 

Security Strategy, the Quadrennial Defense Review, the National Military Strategy, the DoD Cyber Strategy, 

and the Strategy for Implementing the Joint Information Environment.

By pursuing the elements of this strategy, DoD will leverage the inherent strengths of individual IRCs, 

human capital, and relationships both within the USG and with our Allies and partners. Near, mid, and longterm efforts running in parallel will focus on positive changes that will lead to synchronized and institutionalized 

operations in the IE with the following end-state: through operations, actions, and activities in the IE, DoD has 

the ability to affect the decision-making and behavior of adversaries and designated others to gain advantage 

across the range of military operations.

The operating environment is increasingly enabled by technology, which provides the types of 

capabilities, once limited to major powers, to a broad range of actors. The rapidly accelerating spread of 

information is challenging the ability of some governments to control their populations and maintain 

civil order, while at the same time changing how wars are fought and aiding groups in mobilizing and 

organizing. 

--2014 Quadrennial Defense Review
16

GLOSSARY AND ACRONYMS

Cyberspace. A global domain within the information environment consisting of the interdependent

networks of information technology infrastructures and resident data, including the internet, 

telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers. 

(JP 1-02. Source: JP 3-12)

Cyberspace Operations. The employment of cyberspace capabilities where the primary purpose is to

achieve objectives in or through cyberspace. (JP 1-02. Source: JP 3-0)

Electronic Warfare (EW). Military action involving the use of electromagnetic and directed energy to

control the electromagnetic spectrum or to attack the enemy. (JP 1-02. Source: JP 3-13.1)

Information Environment (IE). The aggregate of individuals, organizations, and systems that collect,

process, disseminate, or act on information. (JP 1-02. Source: JP 3-13)

Information Operations (IO). The integrated employment, during military operations, of informationrelated capabilities in concert with other lines of operation to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp the

decision-making of adversaries and potential adversaries while protecting our own. 

(JP 1-02. Source: JP 3-13)

Information-Related Capability (IRC). A tool, technique, or activity employed within a dimension of the

information environment that can be used to create effects and operationally desirable conditions. 

(JP 1-02. Source: JP 3-13)

Joint Information Environment (JIE). A secure joint information environment comprised of shared

information technology (IT) infrastructure, enterprise services, and a single security architecture to achieve 

full spectrum superiority, improve mission effectiveness, increase security and realize IT efficiencies. The JIE 

is operated and managed per the Unified Command Plan (UCP) using enforceable standards, specifications, 

and common tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). (DoD CIO. Source: Approved in JCS Tank in 2012)

Military Deception (MILDEC). Actions executed to deliberately mislead adversary military, paramilitary,

or violent extremist organization decision makers, thereby causing the adversary to take specific actions (or 

inactions) that will contribute to the accomplishment of the friendly mission. (JP 1-02. Source: JP 3-13.4)

Military Information Support Operations (MISO). Planned operations to convey selected information

and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately 

the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals in a manner favorable to the 

originator’s objectives. (JP 1-02. Source: JP 3-13.2)
17

Operations Security (OPSEC). A process of identifying critical information and subsequently analyzing

friendly actions attendant to military operations and other activities. (JP 1-02. Source: JP 3-13.3)

Public Affairs (PA). Those public information, command information, and community engagement

activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense. 

(JP 1-02. Source: JP 3-61)

Social Media. Means of interaction within the cyber domain among users in which they create, share, and

exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.

Strategic Communication: Focused USG efforts to understand and engage key audiences to create, 

strengthen, or preserve conditions favorable for the advancement of USG interests, policies, and objectives 

through the use of coordinated programs, plans, themes, messages, and products synchronized with the actions 

of all instruments of national power. (JP 1-02: Source: JP 5-0)
18

Department of Defense

Official Document