Decision Making in the Information Age

Abstract

In the age of instant communications and widespread access to sensors commanders in the field have unprecedented access to a wide range of information from the weather to the enemy order of battle. As these devices become more sophisticated and soldiers' ability to manipulate them grows more refined, the Common Operational Picture displayed on computer screens will enable commanders to better focus their forces and seize fleeting opportunities to defeat enemy forces. Despite this growing access to digital information devices in the Legacy and Interim Force the US Army's Military Decision Making Process, MDMP, has not changed. Our current MDMP of seven steps; Receive the Mission, Mission Analysis, Course of Action Development, Course of Action Analysis, Course of Action Comparison, Course of Action Approval, and Orders Production, are tried and true having been executed on the tops of jeep hoods at training centers to overheated tents during the Gulf War. Generations of officers know where to look in orders for their unit tasks, how to translate those tasks into guidance for their own subordinates, and where and when to accelerate the process when necessary. The solid procedure of developing, analyzing, and comparing courses of action for our operations can be translated into action in all of our units. The use of these steps, taught in our service schools and reinforced by observer/controllers at our Training Centers has resulted in a widely recognized process that anyone can execute. War plan development briefings include as the opening comment, "Sir we are this step in the process." In a world of paper maps and acetate graphical overlays, this process made absolute sense. In the growing world of knowledge based warfare and digital information devices the analog procedure does not make sense.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 09, 2002
Accession Number
ADA404264

Entities

People

  • Kevin C. Benson

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Command And Control
  • Commerce
  • Databases
  • Digital Information
  • Doctrine
  • Electronic Mail
  • Field Army
  • Information Systems
  • Lessons Learned
  • Mental Processes
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Psychology
  • Students
  • War Colleges
  • War Games
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Computer Science.
  • Military Training and Readiness Simulation
  • Strategic Security Studies