Accelerating Capability Delivery: A GCC Strategist’s Perspective on Public-Private Teaming

As a senior strategist at a Geographic Combatant Command, I have seen firsthand that the pace of technological change in warfare demands new ways of working. Traditional acquisition and R&D cycles are often too slow to keep up with fast-evolving threats. To deliver capabilities faster, our command has embraced an integrated public-private partnership model; a disciplined collaboration between military operators and the DoW tech ecosystem. This approach isn’t about breaking the rules; it’s about operationalizing innovation within the bounds of joint doctrine. By pairing warfighters with industry in a structured way, we align cutting-edge solutions to mission needs in real time. The result is a doctrine-enabled acceleration of tech adoption that is already yielding results on the ground.

From Doctrine to Delivery: Empowering Partnerships

This new teaming model is grounded in time-tested military principles. Joint doctrine emphasizes centralized intent and decentralized execution. Commanders set clear intent, while subordinate teams have freedom to act. We’ve applied that to innovation: the GCC articulates the mission problem, then empowers small, agile teams of operators, engineers, and analysts to develop answers. We also follow CONOPS-driven planning; every tech effort is guided by a clear concept of operations, ensuring we pursue capabilities that fit how we plan to fight, not technology for technology’s sake. Finally, we insist on field-informed requirements throughout development. Front-line operators continuously shape the requirements and design of new tools, injecting ground truth from the field rather than abstract assumptions. This direct user feedback loop contrasts sharply with the old model of slow, top-down requirements generation that often struggled to keep pace with urgent operational needs. By building on these doctrinal tenets, we’ve created a framework where disciplined partnership with industry becomes a natural extension of how we fight and plan.

When our Theater Special Operations Command (TSOC), the theater’s special operations headquarters, engages with outside innovators, it does so as part of the GCC’s unified effort. Doctrine defines the TSOC as the primary theater SOF organization to plan and control special operations, operating under the GCC’s operational control. In practice, this means the TSOC can harness both global USSOCOM resources and local partnerships to address regional problems. By leveraging their doctrinal role as planners and integrators, TSOCs are now also acting as innovation intermediaries, translating GCC mission needs into solvable problems and bringing in the right partners to co-develop solutions. This ensures that our tech acceleration efforts are not ad-hoc, but rather embedded in the command’s battle rhythm and authority structure.

How Public-Private Teaming Accelerates Innovation

By operationalizing collaboration with the tech sector, we have seen several key enablers that dramatically speed up capability delivery. This model enables:

1. Rapid Translation of Mission Problems into Product Specifications: In our partnership approach, warfighters and developers co-author solutions from day one. The moment a special operations team or joint force identifies a capability gap, we bring them together with industry engineers to translate that mission problem into a clear, testable product spec. Instead of spending months crafting formal requirements documents, operators describe their needs directly through stories and scenarios, which developers turn into technical user stories. This compresses the timeline from need to solution. For example, the Joint Improvised Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO) in past conflicts showed how quickly this can work; they were able to create counter-IED prototypes in direct response to warfighter feedback, moving from concept to fieldable solution in a fraction of the time of traditional acquisitions. We apply the same logic today: a Special Forces team in the Pacific can outline a problem on Monday, and by Friday, a startup or lab is already building a prototype spec that addresses it. By rapidly converting mission needs into tangible product requirements, we ensure the solution hits the mar,k and we shave years off the delivery schedule.
2. Code and Capability Developed with Live Operator Feedback: Development doesn’t happen in a vacuum; we embed the end user into the development cycle. Software code and hardware prototypes are built with operators looking over the shoulder of the engineers, providing continuous feedback. This tight feedback loop prevents misalignment and catches usability issues early. A Navy operator might test a new data analytics platform iteration-by-iteration, or an Air Force pilot might sit in on agile software sprints for a cockpit app. The impact is dramatic: direct input from the field informs rapid iterations and improvements, ensuring each prototype is honed based on real-world usage rather than theoretical assumptions. In other words, by the time a capability is “finished,” it has essentially been co-designed by its users through constant touchpoints. JIDO’s success was attributed in part to such short feedback loops with soldiers on the ground, and we’ve built that principle into all our projects. The result is technology that arrives combat-ready and intuitive for operators, because those operators helped build it.
3. Realistic Testing in DDIL, Joint, and Indo-Pacific-Like Conditions: A major advantage of public-private teaming is the ability to test new tech under real operational conditions early and often. We drag prototypes out of the lab and into the field; literally into the jungle, onto naval vessels, and across coalition exercises. Our teams conduct trials in denied, degraded, intermittent, and limited (DDIL) connectivity environments that mimic what we face in a contested theater. Rather than a scripted demo, a new communication drone might be put through its paces during a joint training event where GPS is jammed, and networks are spotty. We deliberately stress these systems in Indo-Pacific conditions, vast ocean distances, humidity and salt, electromagnetic interference, and multilingual coalition settings, to see if they hold up. This approach exposes failure modes that no PowerPoint or lab test would catch. Importantly, it gives developers immediate feedback to harden their solutions. Leaders at U.S. Special Operations Command have noted that operating in the Indo-Pacific presents unique challenges, from dense urban electronic interference to harsh jungle terrain, making robust testing essential. By integrating private-sector prototypes into military exercises and simulations early, we ensure realistic test and evaluation. When the time comes to deploy for real, our industry partners already know how the tech will perform under forward conditions, and warfighters trust it because they saw it work during high-fidelity rehearsals.
4. Bilateral Translation Between Operational Timelines and Commercial Delivery Cycles: One side benefit of close public-private teaming is a mutual understanding of time. Military operations often run on urgent timelines, “need it now,” whereas commercial tech development has its own rhythms, sprints, quarterly releases, and funding cycles. By working together from the start, both sides adapt. Our operators learn to articulate requirements in achievable phases, and tech companies learn to adjust their roadmaps to military realities. We schedule capability drops to align with upcoming missions or exercises, creating natural deadlines that focus the effort. At the same time, we internalize the development process, understanding that a minimum viable product might come in 8 weeks, with enhancements to follow, for example. This bilateral translation of timelines keeps everyone on the same page. It avoids the classic frustration of misaligned expectations, where the military wants a finished product immediately and the vendor needs more time. Now, our teams plan jointly: if an infantry brigade’s deployment is six months out, we map out what can be built, tested, and fielded by then, often in agile increments. Likewise, if a startup’s next software version is two sprints away, we align a field user evaluation to coincide with that release. By marrying the operational battle rhythm with the commercial scrum cycle, we create a synchronized pipeline. This means new tech arrives when and where it’s needed, and both warfighters and developers are prepared for the schedule. The cultural exchange is valuable too; our military personnel gain insight into rapid development practices, and industry partners grasp the urgency and gravity behind military requirements. This two-way education builds respect for each other’s constraints and drives a pace of delivery that satisfies both operational imperatives and sound engineering practice.
5. Interoperability Through Shared Interfaces, Data Contracts, and Open T&E: From the outset, we demand that any new capability must integrate seamlessly with the joint force. Public-private projects are structured to prioritize interoperability as a requirement, not an afterthought. Concretely, this means using shared interfaces and agreeing on data contracts, common standards for how systems connect and share data. Whether it’s an AI tool, a sensor, or a comms device, we ensure it exposes open APIs or follows DoW data schemas so that it can plug-and-play with existing platforms. This approach prevents the proliferation of tech silos. Additionally, we conduct open test and evaluation events (often with multiple vendors present) to validate that different systems can work together. For example, during a coalition exercise, we might have several companies’ drones, sensors, and command software all feeding into a unified network, with everyone observing how well the interfaces and data exchange perform. Problems are identified in an open forum, not behind closed doors, which accelerates fixes and fosters a culture of collaborative problem-solving among contractors and military stakeholders. The net effect is a tech ecosystem where new tools are interoperable by design. When an operator in the field boots up a new application, it already communicates with her other gear, the chat client, the targeting feed, and the logistics system, because those integrations were proven during development. We’ve essentially created a shared language for our tech, so that each new capability isn’t a standalone gadget but a force multiplier that extends the whole network. This reduces integration time and training burden for the warfighter and increases our operational agility as a joint force.

Warfighters as Co-Designers and Co-Owners of Outcomes

One of the most profound shifts in this model is the role of the operator. In the past, operators were often treated as end-users, the last link in the chain who received a finished product with a manual. Today, operators are co-designers from the start and co-owners of the outcome. We have found that giving warfighters a seat at the design table fundamentally changes the game. They bring real-world insights that drive user-centered design choices, and they feel personal investment in the success of “their” project. A Green Beret who has spent weeks working with developers on a new targeting app will trust that tool in combat far more than one thrown over the fence at him. In fact, trust isn’t built by mandates; it’s built by making the team part of the creation process. Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines become evangelists for a new technology if they helped build it, they understand its limitations, they know how to tweak it, and they’ll fight for its adoption. This co-design approach also flattens the traditional gap between requirement writers and users. Here, the users are the requirement definers in many ways, continually guiding developers. The ownership mentality that results means our warfighters don’t just accept new capabilities, they champion them. They provide training to their peers, suggest further improvements, and even help devise new tactics to maximize the tech’s impact. In short, the people who will employ the capability feel accountable for its success, just as much as the vendor or program office does. That sense of shared ownership is invaluable; it leads to better solutions and a tighter alignment between technology and the tactics, techniques, and procedures on the ground.

A Call to Action: Bring Problems, Bring Prototypes, Bring Your Best Teams

To the broader national security, venture, and innovation community, we extend an open invitation. Join us as partners in solving the hardest operational problems. Our public-private teaming model thrives on fresh ideas and outside expertise coming together with military experience. If you’re a startup founder with a novel sensor or algorithm, a tech company engineer with a passion for national security, or an investor backing dual-use tech, we want to work with you. Come to us with your problems that need operational context, with your prototypes that need testing in real-world conditions, and with your best teams ready to iterate side by side with our operators. We will provide the mission context, access to end-users, and challenging environments to push your solutions to the limit. In return, you will see your innovations accelerated from concept to field deployment at a pace rarely seen in traditional programs. This is a call to break down barriers between “government” and “industry” in favor of a blended ecosystem of innovators dedicated to the warfighter. Bring your problems, bring your prototypes, bring your best teams, and embed with us, on the flight line, on the ship, in the jungle, or in the command center. Together, we can co-create the next generation of capabilities our forces need. The door is open for those bold enough to step through it. Let’s team up, innovate, and deliver at the speed of relevance to ensure our men and women in uniform never face a fair fight. The nation is counting on this collaboration, and the time to act is now.