Leadership and the Principles of War

Abstract

Leadership has always been the foundation of military discipline, decision-making, and victory. This paper ties together leadership and the principles of war through mental models and their applications to revolutions in military affairs, specifically network centric warfare. In doing so this paper explores, via academic thought and real-world examples, some the pitfalls of wrongful applications of mental models as they apply to the principles of war. In light of the dynamic changes network centric warfare proposes to bring to the battlefield, this paper also offers a balanced and sensible approach to operational and strategic leaders alike in the examination and restructuring of our enduring bedrock of military doctrine. Two principles of war, mass and unity of command, are scrutinized under the above criteria, and the concept of will is introduced as an integral part of leadership and argued to be included in future principles of war.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 16, 2005
Accession Number
ADA463919

Entities

People

  • M. Critz
  • Scott A. Parvin

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Battlefields
  • Combat Areas
  • Doctrine
  • Information Operations
  • Leadership
  • Military Doctrine
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Network Centric Warfare
  • Psychology
  • Revolutions
  • Students
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.