mission command

Mission Command in the Yom Kippur War

Riley.C.Murray — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 09:56:38 +0000

Mission Command in the Yom Kippur War Riley.C.Murray Tue, 09/28/2021 - 5:56am

Mission command dates back to the mid-19th century, when the Chief of Prussian general staff, Helmuth von Moltke, first conceptualized the decentralized operational framework known as Auftragstaktik. German doctrine adopted Auftragstaktik in 1888, which later served as the foundation for the infamous German Blitzkrieg of WWII. Today, Auftragstaktik provides the foundation for mission command, which U.S. doctrine defines as having seven key principles: competence, mutual trust, shared understanding, commander’s intent, mission orders, disciplined initiative, and risk acceptance. These principles are compounding, with each one enhancing the efficacy of the next. This article analyzes MG Ariel Sharon’s effective employment of mission command during the Yom Kippur War, specifically through the principles of competence, mutual trust, disciplined initiative, and risk acceptance.

Read more about Mission Command in the Yom Kippur War

Mission Command and Armed Robotic Systems Command and Control: A Human and Machine Assessment

ZFTWARNING — Tue, 09 Jun 2020 21:50:25 +0000

Mission Command and Armed Robotic Systems Command and Control: A Human and Machine Assessment

Dr. Robert J. Bunker, Senior Fellow, Small Wars Journal-El Centro has a new Land Warfare Paper at the Association of the United States Army. The paper, "Mission Command and Armed Robotic Systems Command and Control: A Human and Machine Assessment" looks at 'Mission Command' in the context of emerging armed robotic systems (artificial intelligence driven autonomous and semiautonomous weapons systems) in war. — SWJ Editors

Mission Command and Armed Robotic Systems Command and Control: A Human
and Machine Assessment

Robert J. Bunker
AUSA ILW Paper 132
29 May 2020

For almost 20 years, mission command has been a key component of command and control (C2) in the U.S. Army. However, with the advancements in the realm of artificial intelligence and the resultant utilization of autonomous and semiautonomous weapon systems in warfare, it is necessary to examine the extent to which these machines can cooperate within this construct.

Mission command, properly understood, empowers subordinate decisionmaking and decentralized execution appropriate to any given situation. It is solely meant for human-to-human C2. Like war itself, it is an inherently “human endeavor . . . not a mechanical process that can be precisely controlled by machines [or] calculations.” Systems that use machine algorithms for their decisionmaking processes are in direct variance to the emotive- and moral-seeking components of
human cognition. Humans experience love, fear, camaraderie and hate—machines do not. Nor do they understand honor, integrity or self-sacrifice. Faced with this conflict, how can the deployment of machines work in concert with the Army’s C2?

Available at: https://www.ausa.org/publications/mission-command-and-armed-robotic-systems-command-and-control-human-and-machine.

Read more about Mission Command and Armed Robotic Systems Command and Control: A Human and Machine Assessment

Empowering a Mission Command Climate

SWJED — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 04:07:20 +0000

Empowering a Mission Command Climate SWJED Tue, 09/24/2019 - 12:07am

As the Department of Defense shifts its national defense strategy to re-establish dominance against near-peer threats by synchronizing joint and coalition forces in full-spectrum operations, the Army is well served to update its doctrine into a universally shared language with sister services and allied partners.

Practicing What We Preach: Creating a Culture to Support Mission Command

SWJED — Sun, 21 Jul 2019 15:02:56 +0000

Practicing What We Preach: Creating a Culture to Support Mission Command SWJED Sun, 07/21/2019 - 11:02am

This is a practical guide for unit cultural change - a simple yet powerful tool for command teams to create shared understanding around “what is,” what we would prefer, but most importantly, how to discuss what change means on a day-to-day basis.

Read more about Practicing What We Preach: Creating a Culture to Support Mission Command

Why History Matters: Making Junior Leaders More Effective

SWJED — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 04:37:41 +0000

Why History Matters: Making Junior Leaders More Effective SWJED Tue, 08/28/2018 - 12:37am

With posters on Mission Command adorning virtually every classroom at the US Army’s Command and General Staff College, and with its prominence as one of the pillars of the Army’s Operational Concept, the term Mission Command has become a buzzword. One of the concept’s true benefits relies on quality personnel, and developing those leaders through the proper use of historical case studies can help to not only make military history engaging but also useful in everyday duties for even a young officer or a non-commissioned officer, and contribute to developing quality personnel.

Read more about Why History Matters: Making Junior Leaders More Effective

How to Develop for Mission Command: The Missing Link

SWJED — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 05:03:12 +0000

How to Develop for Mission Command: The Missing Link

The Army defines Mission Command as the exercise of authority and direction by the commander using mission orders to enable disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land operations. But before a culture of Mission Command (Auftragstaktik) succeeds, the Army must possess the moral courage to identify countless Industrial Age barriers

Read more about How to Develop for Mission Command: The Missing Link

About the Author(s)

How the Germans Defined Auftragstaktik: What Mission Command is - AND - is Not

SWJED — Thu, 21 Jun 2018 16:17:05 +0000

How the Germans Defined Auftragstaktik: What Mission Command is - AND - is Not

As an institution, the U.S. Army has yet to see Mission Command as what it really is - a culture of professionalism. All too often, we have sought tangible metrics at the expense of holistic understanding.

Read more about How the Germans Defined Auftragstaktik: What Mission Command is - AND - is Not

About the Author(s)

Hypervisibility: Mission Command’s Unseen Adversary

SWJED — Sun, 04 Mar 2018 06:21:04 +0000

Hypervisibility: Mission Command’s Unseen Adversary

The increased proliferation of information collection technologies is becoming a threat to the Army’s Mission Command Philosophy.

Read more about Hypervisibility: Mission Command’s Unseen Adversary

About the Author(s)

The Paradox of Control

SWJED — Sat, 14 Oct 2017 02:02:39 +0000

The Paradox of Control SWJED Fri, 10/13/2017 - 10:02pm

Fighting the urge for unnecessary control is a difficult addiction to break. It requires trust not commonly seen, especially when outcomes are unknown.

Introducing the Notion of “Type II” Mission Command

SWJED — Sat, 30 Sep 2017 05:20:03 +0000

Introducing the Notion of “Type II” Mission Command SWJED Sat, 09/30/2017 - 1:20am

This is a synopsis of a chapter I wrote in the newly released book, "Mission Command: The Who, What, Where, When and Why: An Anthology".

Read more about Introducing the Notion of “Type II” Mission Command