Blogtrek

C4ISR

I note that the Department of Defense has a lot of acronyms, such as DOD, TRADOC, METT-TC to name a few. I feel one of the more interesting ones is C4ISR. This acronym is actually growing over the years as if it were a tree! Maybe some of the reason for its growth is that it refers to the most abstruse area of the military: electronics and technology. Initially it was a simple, humble C2. That stood for Command and Control. But then people saw that intelligence was part of this. So now it was C2I. Then computers came along and became an essential part of Army technology. So then it became C3I. And then it was C4I and now C4ISR, which stands for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. I hunted for acronyms that begin with C4I and found a whole bunch including Ts for Targeting or Technology, EW for Electronic Warfare, and I for Information. So I combined these together to form the acronym C3I3T2SCREW, which stands for command, control, communications, information, intelligence, Internet, technology, targeting, surveillance, computers, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare. I can just imagine a military unit having a C3I3T2SCREW officer. A what kind of officer?

Another possible acronym is CITRICC CITIES, which omits the W in warfare. That suggests where centers of CITRICC CITIES for the military should be - in places like Naranja, Florida (naranja is Spanish for orange, a citrus fruit). In any case I expect the acronym to continue to grow. It may grow to C6I6T4G3BRAVONEWSTATUS by 2100, at which point they may decide the acronym right there and go back to the old command and control (C2).