“Data is the sword of the 21st century, those who wield it well, the samurai.”
— Jonathan Rosenberg
As the Army prepares for the demands of large-scale combat operations (LSCO) against strategic competitors, the importance of sustainment forces cannot be overstated. Sustainment is the backbone of operational success, ensuring that forces remain supplied, mobile, and ready to fight. However, current command and control (C2) systems are ill-equipped to meet the challenges of LSCO. These systems are cumbersome, lack integration, and create data silos that hinder commanders’ ability to visualize the battlefield holistically. Without modernized tools that enable informed decision making, sustainment operations across extended and contested environments will falter.
To address these challenges, the Army is advancing its Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) initiative. NGC2 is not just a technological upgrade; it is a paradigm shift designed to empower commanders and sustainment forces with advanced analytics, unified data structures, open architectures, and resilient networks. By integrating sustainment into the broader operational picture, NGC2 ensures that logistics teams can anticipate and respond to the demands of LSCO with precision and speed.
From C2 Fix to NGC2: A New Foundation
NGC2 builds on lessons learned from past efforts like C2 Fix but represents a full-scale shift in how the Army approaches C2. Instead of simply modernizing legacy systems in a patchwork effort to address immediate concerns, NGC2 starts with a clean sheet approach, designed to support a fast-moving, complex battlefield environment.
NGC2’s Full Stack Architecture
At the heart of NGC2 is a data-centric design. NGC2 brings everything together into a unified structure with four main layers:
- Infrastructure Layer: The hardware that hosts and supports the NGC2 software.
- Transport Layer: The networks that move data across the battlefield.
- Data Layer: Enables seamless data integration across warfighting systems, ensuring data are curated, cleansed, synchronized, and tagged for real-time use, enabling cross-functional collaboration.
- Application Layer: Where 90% of the Army will operate. Applications will leverage the NGC2 data layer to provide services to inform decisions across multiple warfighting systems.
This structure allows for scalable, flexible solutions that can evolve quickly through agile software development. The result is a system built to support rapid decision making and to extend mission command capabilities to the tactical edge.
Driving Innovation
Several major initiatives are pushing NGC2 forward:
- Revised Acquisition Strategy: The Army is pursuing an as-a-service model to ensure that both software and hardware remain relevant, leveraging commercial off-the-shelf technology for rapid updates.
- Project Convergence Capstone: Large-scale experiments that test innovation across the Army.
- Transformation in Contact: The 4th Infantry Division will serve as the prototype unit to demonstrate NGC2’s full potential. The 25th Infantry Division and 3rd Armored Corps will test the NGC2 data and applications layers.
- Mission Command System Collapse: Several programs are being integrated into NGC2, consolidating efforts and saving resources.
What NGC2 Means for Sustainment
“You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics.”
— President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Sustainment forces are at the forefront of the Army’s transformation into a data-centric approach. Planners from U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM) conducted months-long reviews, with elements from the C2 cross-functional team advising on the development of the infrastructure and transport layers for sustainment units and writing requirements documentation, calling for the integration of the business and warfighter mission areas. This shift is particularly transformative for sustainment units, which have historically operated with siloed enterprise business systems.
It is imperative to understand how the C2 landscape is changing, what lessons have been learned from past efforts, and how sustainment forces can take advantage of the new capabilities NGC2 provides. As the Army undertakes this revolutionary approach to improving C2, commanders across the Army have noted long-standing shortfalls between the integration of sustainment and mission command systems and are aggressively pursuing change with NGC2.
Sustainment in a Connected Command Environment
Historically, logistics teams faced significant challenges in integrating their data and planning considerations into the broader operational picture, often operating in silos that hindered coordination. CASCOM directly addresses this issue through the Sustainment Warfighting System (SWS), which will be a key component of the NGC2 application layer. By leveraging the NGC2 data layer, SWS applications ensure that sustainment data are synchronized with other warfighting systems, providing a unified operational view. For example, predictive analytics within SWS applications can forecast resupply needs based on operational tempo, casualty rates, battle damage assessments, and historical consumption patterns, enabling logisticians to preemptively position resources and avoid mission delays.
Integrating the NGC2 data layer with data from the business mission area (such as Global Combat Support System-Army, Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army, and the General Fund Enterprise Business System) and the warfighter mission area (such as Mounted Mission Command, Android Team Awareness Kit, and Maven Smart System) ensures end-to-end supply chain visibility. NGC2 addresses LSCO challenges, such as extended lines of communication, contested environments, and distributed operations. Artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) algorithms optimize route planning, load configurations, and resource allocation to reduce waste and improve efficiency.
Sustainment forces can leverage NGC2 to maintain operational reach and endurance by incorporating data from additional warfighting systems. AI/ML can adapt routes based on threat reports, protection assets, and adversary unmanned aircraft system activity, recommending logistics packages and asset use based on risk. This integration enables precision sustainment, delivering the right resources to the right place at the right time.
Benefits for Sustainment Forces
NGC2 offers several game-changing benefits to sustainment teams:
- Improved Situational Awareness: A common data layer gives logisticians a clearer understanding of the battlefield and operational needs.
- Smarter Planning Tools: Automated decision support tools enhance logistics reporting and enable predictive resupply planning.
- Faster Execution: Removing data silos reduces delays in decision making, helping sustainers respond in real time. Integration of AI/ML in course of action development reduces cognitive demand on staffs.
- Flexible Networks: NGC2 can operate over line-of-sight, beyond-line-of-sight, 4G/5G public networks, and in other configurations, increasing its resilience.
- Interoperability with Allies: NGC2 ensures that allied and coalition forces can securely exchange data and coordinate logistics.
Potential Challenges
While NGC2 offers transformative capabilities, its implementation is not without challenges. Key hurdles include equipping timelines, integration with legacy systems, and cyber security risks. NGC2 infrastructure acquisition is an ongoing process that lacks programs of record for much of the overall architecture. Transitioning from legacy systems to NGC2 will require careful planning to avoid operational disruptions. As a data-centric system, NGC2 must be resilient against cyber threats. The Army is investing in robust cyber security measures to safeguard its networks.
By proactively addressing these challenges, the Army ensures that NGC2 remains a reliable and effective tool for sustainment forces.
Conclusion
NGC2 represents a transformative leap forward in how the Army approaches mission command and sustainment. By breaking down data silos, integrating advanced analytics, and leveraging AI/ML capabilities, NGC2 empowers sustainment forces to operate with unprecedented speed, precision, and adaptability.
As the Army prepares for the complexities of LSCO, sustainment forces must embrace this transformation. Active engagement in NGC2 development — through feedback, experimentation, and innovation — will be critical to ensuring the system meets the demands of the battlefield.
In the battles of tomorrow, data will be decisive. Those who wield it effectively will shape the outcome of conflicts. With NGC2, the Army is not just modernizing its systems; it is building a foundation for victory in the 21st century. Sustainment forces have a pivotal role to play in effectively integrating this transformation, ensuring the force remains mobile, lethal, and ready for the next fight.
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COL Paul Smith has served in a variety of leadership and staff positions in his 24-year career. He is currently the director of the Transformation and Lessons Learned Directorate at Fort Lee, Virginia. His previous leadership positions include battalion commander for the 61st Quartermaster Battalion, 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command; executive officer and support operations officer for the 412th Aviation Support Battalion, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade; and company commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment/A Company, 101st Forward Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. He has a master’s degree in military arts and sciences from the Command and General Staff College, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Mary, and has completed his Army War College Fellowship at Princeton University.
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This article was published in the winter 2026 issue of Army Sustainment.
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