Can Decentralized Command And Control Complement Network-Centric Warfare?
Abstract
Future technology will allow the Joint Force Commander unprecedented access to the tactical level of war. Depending on his personality, he may chose to directly control events unfolding at the tactical level or leave the fighting to individuals charged with employing their weapon systems. The ability of a pilot, tank driver or infantry battalion commander in the future to share his operational picture with the entire chain of command (shared situational awareness) and vice versa, begs the need for sound, authoritative command and control doctrine to maximize the inherent benefits of this information advantage. All players in this future system must share a common rule set in order to exploit the war fighting advantages described in Joint Vision 2020 (JV 2020). Command and control doctrine must now outline this new rule set. With a common rule set, reorganization, training and education of staffs and combat units can begin. Overcoming old paradigms will be difficult, but by applying the doctrine of maneuver warfare to Network-centric Warfare (NCW) and JV 2020 concepts, a better command and control method can be implemented. The purpose of this paper is to reconcile the conflicts between maneuver warfare doctrine and the warfighting concepts currently being developed under JV 2020 and NCW by establishing a strong case for decentralized command and control.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 09, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA422815
Entities
People
- Donald K. Hansen
Organizations
- Naval War College