Genius Revisted: Human Aspects of Command and Control

Abstract

Command and control on today's battlefield is a complex process that integrates facilities, equipment, procedures and people into a network to support the military commander. People are the most important part of that process, and the commander is the most important person. Clausewitz introduced the concept of military genius in On War, highlighting those traits necessary in the commander to achieve that genius. The study examines those intellectual and tempermental traits necessary on today's battlefield, relating them to key decision points in the command and control process. The importance of human interaction throughout the command and control process is discussed in light of the myriad of informational, operational and organizational decisions required of the commander within and about the process. Finally, the implications of human aspects of command and control for the future U.S. Army considering force and budget reductions are presented.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA233475

Entities

People

  • Patrick T. Thornton

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Command And Control
  • Command And Control Systems
  • Command Control Communications
  • Computers
  • Control Systems
  • Doctrine
  • Information Processing
  • Information Systems
  • International Relations
  • Military Commanders
  • Personality
  • Personnel Management
  • Procurement
  • Second World War
  • Students
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Military Training and Readiness Simulation
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

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