Joint Interagency Task Force – Influence: The New Global Engagement Center

The United States Government and Department of Defense (DoD) placed more priority on influence operations from WWII through the Cold War. It appears the US Government has forgotten historical lessons on the importance of dealing with threats in the information environment, especially when current threats are rapidly increasing their sophisticated influence efforts. Even with current emphasis on grey zone conflicts, hybrid warfare, or third offset strategies, it is apparent that the US does not have a construct to re-weaponize the “I” in DIME as part of any strategic vision, policy, or overall strategy. Failure to adequately shape and dominate the information environment places US national security at risk. Using Mintzberg’s organizational design concepts as a guide, this paper proposes a DoD-led influence joint interagency task for creation at the national level to develop, plan, coordinate, synchronize, execute and asses fullspectrum influence activities in the multi-domain environment.