It’s a New Battlespace:

There are no rear areas in the nonlinear battlespace, said Rebecca Grant, president of IRIS Research, during a speech called “What Non-Linear Ops Mean for Airmen” at AFA’s Air and Space Conference Tuesday morning. The linear battlespace in World War II was characterized by massed armies with a clear front and rear, but today’s nonlinear battlespace presents new challenges, Grant said. She characterized the nonlinear battlefield as one spread over many simultaneous operations that feature continuous airpower support for ground troops. Grant remarked that nonlinear operations are not new; however, she said the today’s Afghanistan battlespace is new. Joint operations in Afghanistan are dependent on airpower and “air operations from austere, hostile, expeditionary airfields,” she said. The challenge ahead for airmen is a nonlinear battle on a large scale, which will present different requirements for the air component, not just the joint force, Grant concluded.