The Imperative of Mission Command: A Case Study of First Contact in the Korean War

Abstract

Mission command, as both a philosophy and a warfighting function, is the conduit through which commanders provide command and control to subordinate units and the binding agent of all warfighting functions. The publication of Army Field Manual (FM) 3-0, Operations, in October 2017 signaled a renewed operational focus on large-scale combat operations. FM 3-0 stresses the importance of commanders utilizing mission-based orders to provide subordinates the flexibility to execute operations with disciplined initiative. Without effective use of mission command, commanders assume greater risk to mission success. As demonstrated in July 1950, by US and North Korean People's Army forces, the absence of mission command supported by effective command and control systems denies flexibility in a time constrained environment, creating an inability to effectively transition to the next phase of the operation.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 23, 2019
Accession Number
AD1083319

Entities

People

  • Cary J. Fitzpatrick

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Command And Control
  • Command And Control Systems
  • Control Systems
  • Deployment
  • Doctrine
  • Far East
  • Governments
  • Information Systems
  • International Organizations
  • Korean War
  • Logistics
  • Military History
  • New York
  • Second World War
  • United States
  • War
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control