The U.S. Army’s Defense Forensic and Biometrics Agency asked ANSER to develop and produce a forensics capabilities-based programmatic roadmap (CBPR) for FY13 19 in accordance with the Secretary of the Army’s designation as the Executive Agent for forensics and biometrics disciplines.

Expeditionary forensic operations are resourced through annual supplemental funding that is being reduced and phased out. In inverse proportion to budget reductions, the need for joint force commander forensic capabilities across the full spectrum of operations is growing in importance and demand. An efficiently managed and executed DoD forensic enterprise (DFE) is essential to the range of U.S. military operations, including support of multinational forces.

The DFE had been operating without an integrated capabilities-based strategy. With no established approach for the planning, programming, budgeting, and execution of near, mid, and far term forensic operational capabilities and programs, the Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency was limited in its ability to mission-resource and defend programs to meet increasing operational requirements. Consequently, the Army’s March 2012 Forensic Campaign Plan directed a detailed review and analysis to support the formulation of a strategic approach.

In response, ANSER conducted a nine-month three-phased project in FY12-13 to develop the Forensics CBPR. The project leveraged information from the Capabilities Based Assessment (CBA) for Forensics Support Across the Range of Military Operations, 31 January 2010. ANSER facilitated working group meetings and teleconferences with experts throughout the DFE (including the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Combatant Commands, Services, combat development centers, and materiel developers) to capture and exchange information.

• Nine major guidance documents and associated information were studied.
• Approximately 900 lines of 2012 “as is” forensics capabilities and operational problems were reviewed, analyzed, and updated.
• Over 900 lines of 2019 “to be” operational capabilities were reviewed and organized by the six forensics operational capabilities (that is, recognize, preserve, collect, analyze, store, and share).
• The process formulated and established 55 capabilities solutions projects from 300 functional requirements and operational problems.

The resulting roadmap provides a technical, programmatic, organizational, and financial approach to resolve forensics operational problems, support and advance ongoing operational capabilities and provide capabilities solutions during FY13-19. The Forensics CBPR allows managers to track, monitor, coordinate, assess, adjust, and implement activities and resources. It supports issue resolution to maximize forensics portfolio investments, identifies and justifies funding to administer the roadmap and its capabilities solutions, and provides a top-level venue for coordinating progress.