INDOPACOM Tasks Industry with Addressing IT Challenges in Theater

Honolulu — U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s (INDOPACOM) IT chief called on industry to provide solutions to major technology deficiencies within the command during the 2025 AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific conference.

Brig. Gen. Michael Smith, director for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Cyber (C4/Cyber), J6 at INDOPACOM, said his command suffers from 30 IT gaps across its services, which hinder its ability to modernize systems, enhance interoperability and address critical infrastructure challenges.

“One of the biggest gaps in our headquarters right now, from a, J6, C4, cyber perspective, is an understanding of defense and civilian critical infrastructure and key resources,” Smith told the audience during the conference. “I can build all the Department of War- modernized networks possible in-theater, but the defense and civilian critical infrastructure that’s supporting our bases and our outposts, I have very little visibility on.”

Smith said INDOPACOM is trying to remedy the situation through the establishment of partnerships with local telecommunications, power generation and electricity companies within the region, but pointed out challenges still remain regarding network mapping and incident response.

He said that moving at speed has also been a major challenge and called for automated technologies to assist in responding to threats and challenges faster across the space.

“Any automated capabilities for hunt and clear would be super welcomed. I don’t have the time to bring defensive cyber operations forces into theater. We have some in-theater, but mostly in Hawaii, some postured throughout theater, but I can’t move them at speed across the theater to react and provide incident response at speed,” Smith said.

Artificial intelligence has also opened new opportunities within INDOPACOM, especially as the command struggles with bringing talent from the continental United States to its Hawaii-based headquarters.

Smith said that INDOPACOM headquarters adopted AI capabilities only in the past year, after reviewing how other services were using the technology in concert with industry.

“At our headquarters 12 months ago, we had no AI capabilities, not even basic LLMs for ChatGPT. Within 12 months, we have scoured all the services, what all the services are doing and what industry is doing,” Smith said during the fireside chat.

“Our AI platform is very robust. We’re still looking to integrate a lot of AI capability, and there’s lots of opportunity in that space for various functions, across all the joint warfighting functions, from our J1 to our J8, whether you’re logistics personnel, J6 comms, there’s lots of opportunities.”

Services are moving at different modernization paces, which creates challenges in ensuring they communicate with each other, Smith explained.

“I have to work through DOW CIO to herd cats a lot when it comes to mission partner space. Across the services, everyone does their own thing,” Smith said, before highlighting the Mission Network as a Service concept created by the DOW CIO and DISA.

“It really consolidates and converges all service efforts in the Mission Partner Environments (MPE) space and creates enterprise level capabilities at DISA that we want to leverage and that we can expand and push out to other combatant commands,” Smith said of the concept.

Smith called on industry to approach him with novel ideas and invest upfront, so INDOPACOM is able to test and pilot new technologies quickly rather than get bogged down in lengthy acquisition processes.

“I know nothing’s cheap, but if it’s the right capability, we will find the funding for it. If it provides us the right overmatch across any more fighting functions or principles, we will find the funding for it. What I have to balance is how fast I can get that integrated, how fast I can get that trained and how fast I can get that across the joint force,” he said.