Forum focuses on GWOT, cyberspace

Published July 18, 2008
By Micah Garbarino
Tinker Public Affairs

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE -- On July 2, Brig. Gen. Michelle Johnson visited the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center and spoke to a group of military and civilian leaders as part of Maj. Gen. Loren Reno's Senior Leader's Forum program.
   General Johnson is an Air Force Academy graduate, a Rhodes Scholar, she's been a fellow at Ivy League schools, a pilot and a commander who now serves on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon as the deputy director for the War on Terrorism, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate.
   "I think it's made pretty clear by her history, the caliber of person we havea to share with us," said General Reno.
   During the visit, General Johnson spoke about her current position, including Cyberspace threats and shared her perspectives on leadership.
   The national and military strategy for combating terror is to protect America, attack terrorists and their capacity to operate and support mainstream Muslim's effort to reject extremists.
   "It all sounds pretty enormous and ominous, but it's all about the policy. We don't execute that. That is for the combatant commanders to do. We just work with them commanders to support the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in get providing the best military advice possible for our civilian leadership," General Johnson said.
   America is not fighting a war against Islam, it is fighting a war against extremists who leverage religion, poor government and a negative view of Western culture to create more terrorists, General Johnson said.
   "They are a group of people who say, 'If you don't believe the way we do then you're wrong and we'll take you out," General Johnson said.
   To combat this mindset requires the cooperation of the entire government, adjusting Cold War structures to handle new threats. Something Defense Secretary Robert Gates has called "soft power," combines finance, intelligence, law enforcement and more, to deal with emerging threats and challenges America faces in a globalized economy with advanced technology.
   Reflective of this strategy, General Johnson's work in these areas has been inter-agency and international. In her first weeks on the job she found herself in Cairo, Egypt and Amman, Jordan.
   "This is bigger than just DoD. The State Department and other agencies have a very big role," General Johnson said. "Most of the problems we're facing today don't stay inside of boundaries... The policy for counterterrorism shouldn't be compartmentalized it should be part of everything we do."
   While combating terrorist ideology might seem a tough task, wrapping one's arms around the billions if pieces of information that fly around in Cyberspace every day, each one a potential threat to this country's security, seems even tougher. Cyber intrusions are a real and emerging threat as countries try to poke and prod and test each other's virtual defenses.
   The threat stems from the fact that America is increasingly "connected" and very dependeant on the wired world for business, commerce, government and other industries to function.
   "We are facing a mixture of vulnerability and adversaries. ...Some countries are getting very good at getting in and getting information without leaving tracks. ...From a policy standpoint, trying to define what attacks would constitute 'warfare' is a challenge," General Johnson said. "We want the freedom to operate ourselves while we deny it to our enemies."
   Aside from the challenges of her job, General Johnson is a mother of twin boys and was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosies, something she doesn't like to "make a big deal out of."
   "In an aircraft, you have an attitude indicator. If you check that and set your power right you can break through any turbulence. I use that model in my personal life. You just can't allow yourself to be defeated. I've been really blessed not to have been impaired in anyway," General Johnson said.
   She also took time to share some thoughts on mentoring and leadership. She said that there is no "set pace" for success. Leaders should encourage their troops to stay open to new possibilities, expect bumps in the road and not "self-eliminate" from opportunities. Leaders, especially in the military where assignments often change, should have informed competence, learn as much as they can about an area, "and then ask the tough questions," she said. "Hope you get it right. Listen enough to get it right."