Working as a joint force increasingly important, retired chief says

Published March 25, 2008
By Corey Dahl
21st Space Wing Public Affairs

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- New ways of thinking and training will be necessary as the military services increasingly operate in a joint environment, said retired Chief Master Sgt. Curtis Brownhill.

Speaking to enlisted personnel here March 20, Chief Brownhill, a senior fellow at the Joint Forces Staff College, said the global war on terror has the military fighting a threat that has no boundaries, in a war that will likely continue for many years.

"This is a global, connected enemy," he said. "It's not a nation state that we fight any longer. The enemy is an ideology, and it takes time to defeat an ideology."

This new type of enemy, along with reduced post-Cold War resources military wide, has made it more important for servicemembers to work together, no matter their duty status or service.

"You have to come together as all services, to lean in together and defeat this new enemy," he said.

To help services work jointly, professional military education, at all levels, will begin integrating new joint-focused curriculum in the months to come, Chief Brownhill said. He also encouraged all servicemembers to take the initiative and do their own research about the other services.

"You also need to self study," he said. "Go out and find the books that broaden and enhance your perspective."

Servicemembers also need to think like a joint force, he said. The military's various services should look to each other for ways to improve and increase efficiency without fearing that they will lose their unique identities.

"Sometimes our services are so worried about looking like the other services that we're afraid to look at what they're doing well and benchmark it," he said.

Working together doesn't mean combining into one force, Chief Brownhill said. It's simply about combining specific, individual talents to help the military as a whole.

"Joint is not making a Marine an Airman, a Soldier a Marine, or anybody a Sailor. We don't need everybody to be the same. Our strength is in the ability of each service and what they are good at, what they specialize in, to come together."

Chief Brownhill visit