Its About Time

Abstract

Time is an important resource in decision making, especially under conditions of greater global interconnectedness of events, the increased ambiguity associated with them, and the uncertainty of the post-Sept. 11, 2001, environment. Indeed, time has been a critical resource in planning and operations in all peacetime and wartime experiences, but we tend to pay particular attention to time in situations when our foe or competitor can dictate the timing of events. Of course, we would rather have time on our side! This article proposes that those in the defense community have a wider comprehension of time than just clocks and calendars offer. Defense professionals have multiple conceptions of timeall being uniquely useful. Those who serve in or for the military are socialized into other interpretations of time that make their professional culture quite distinctive from that of other institutions. What follows describes these different perceptions of time: event time, time as trust, and time as symbolism.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2009
Accession Number
AD1016181

Entities

People

  • Christopher R. Paparone

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ambiguity
  • Birds
  • Communities
  • Comprehension
  • Contrast
  • Deployment
  • Disasters
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Investments
  • Military Operations
  • Orientation (Direction)
  • Perception
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Task Forces
  • Training
  • Uncertainty
  • United States

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Technology.
  • Systems Analysis and Design