The National Defense Strategy Commission Calls Attention to the “Quiet” Cross Functional Team Revolution in the National Security System
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Description
This commentary highlights an underappreciated organizational transformation within the U.S. national security system: the expanding use of Cross Functional Teams (CFTs) across the Department of Defense, the CIA, and the National Security Agency. It explains how the National Defense Strategy Commission’s 2018 report, Providing for the Common Defense, endorsed CFTs as essential for integrating strategies and operational concepts to confront multi-domain challenges posed by China and Russia. While much of the media attention focused on the Commission’s warning about the U.S. potentially struggling in great-power conflict, this article argues that the Commission’s key organizational recommendation — adoption and empowerment of CFTs — is central to future national security effectiveness. It assesses cultural and bureaucratic barriers to CFT success and emphasizes the need for leadership, authority, and process adjustments to make them work across the national security enterprise.
Document Type
Article
Topic(s)
Defense Policy, National Security, Leadership
Region(s)
United States, China, Russia
Publication Date
12-3-2018
Keywords
cross functional teams, CFTs, National Defense Strategy Commission, national security reform, organizational change, Department of Defense, strategic integration, great power competition, China, Russia, multi-domain operations, Pentagon reform, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Recommended Citation
Lamb, Christopher J., "The National Defense Strategy Commission Calls Attention to the “Quiet” Cross Functional Team Revolution in the National Security System" (2018). Strategic Insights. 7.
https://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/strategic-insights/7