The Role of Initiative in Soviet Operational Command.

Abstract

This monograph examines the role of initiative in Soviet operational level command. It seeks to answer the question: Do Soviet operational commanders have the personal initiative and latitude to react to unexpected or changed situations on their own responsibility? This question is prompted by a real perception that Soviet commanders tend to be rigid and inflexible due to over centralized command and control. If this perception is correct, the Soviet Army may be unable to react rapidly to changing situations. If it is false, Western military doctrine and planning may be based on false assumptions. This paper begins by defining the terms of the discussion. It defines the concept of personal initiative as it relates to military command. The paper points out that there is a common view that the Soviet concept is more restrictive than the U.S. concept, but concludes that there is really much in common. The paper also defines doctrine as it is used in the discussion.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 20, 1987
Accession Number
ADA184711

Entities

People

  • Russell H. Thaden

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Counter WMD
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Classification
  • Command And Control
  • Command And Control Systems
  • Doctrine
  • Governments
  • Military Doctrine
  • Military Education
  • Military History
  • Military Science
  • Military Training
  • New York
  • Personality
  • Security
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Strategic Security Studies

Technology Areas

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