The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) recently declared that the Navy would be shifting its operational concept from one based on platform-centric warfare concepts to one based on network-centric warfare concepts. This new operational concept can be described as a model of warfare, called network-centric warfare, that derives its power from a geographically dispersed naval force embedded within an information network that links sensors, shooters, and command and control nodes to provide enhanced speed of decision making, rapid synchronization of the force as a whole to meet its desired objectives, and great economy of force Realization of a network-centric warfighting capability will depend on a number of factors: development of warfare concepts (and supporting doctrine) that determine how weapons, sensors, and information systems will interact to carry out specific missions; experimentation to test the viability of the new concepts; application of both military and commercial technology, particularly information technology, with essential attention to information and communications security and robustness; timely and effective acquisition of information technology assets; and education, training, and utilization of naval personnel to meet the demands of a network-centric force This change of operational concept is also part of the Department of Defense (DOD) thrust toward Joint Vision 2010, which encompasses efforts by the four Services to achieve similar objectives DOD-wide.