Taming the Information Firehose - Command and Control for 2000 and Beyond.
Abstract
Information requirements have grown drastically in conjunction with the increased complexity of today's battlefield in terms of time, space, and force diversity. We are now on the verge of significantly lifting the 'fog of war', giving commanders and staffs at all echelons a clearer and greatly expanded view of the battlefield. As real-time high resolution imagery and live video, weather overlays, enemy templates, situation assessments, spot reports, friendly location and status, and a host of other information is pushed out to the field in ever increasing quantity and speed, our technological successes threaten to overwhelm commanders with 'too much of a good thing.' It is at the operational level of warfare that the commander is most likely to be caught in the blast of this potential information firehose. Responsible for implementing strategic guidance from above and planning and orchestrating campaigns or operations ranging from joint to combined that must successfully be translated into victorious tactical actions at echelons below, the operational commander represents the critical juncture for information traffic. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the information management issues that must be addressed to support the C2 process for maximizing decision quality, communication, and execution, and minimizing the commander's decision cycle. These issues include man-machine interfaces, workflow and retrieval, and organizational support structures.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 07, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA325829
Entities
People
- Scott J. Dolgoff
Organizations
- Naval War College