Cognitive Dominance: A Historical Perspective

Abstract

Cognitive dominance is not a new concept. Commanders throughout history sought to gain a position of intellectual advantage over their adversaries. Present day army leaders can follow the example of past generals and achieve cognitive dominance through intense personal study before campaigns, focus on visualization during campaigns, and effective communication throughout the operations process. Napoleon Bonaparte, Ulysses Grant, and Norman Schwarzkopf used similar methods to gain this position of advantage. Each used a combination of self-study and intelligence collection to prepare before campaigns. During campaigns, all three focused on visualization of the battlefield. Maps played a critical role in their understanding and allowed them to take prudent risks. Personal understanding is not enough to ensure battlefield victory. Each commander built winning teams that worked well together, and each developed a concise style of oral and written communications.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 23, 2015
Accession Number
AD1001894

Entities

People

  • James H. Thomas

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Power
  • Civil War
  • Doctrine
  • Geography
  • Intelligence Collection
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Personnel Management
  • Students
  • Surveillance
  • United States
  • United States Central Command
  • United States European Command
  • United States Military Academy
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.