Situational Awareness -- Evolving Knowledge into Understanding: A Competency Critical to US National Interest

Abstract

The value that Situational Awareness (SA) brings to the fight has long been overlooked and even discounted. In hindsight, failures and shortcomings in military operations are often attributed to uninformed decisions based on a lack of awareness. Given the complexities of the modern world, strategic decision makers must be able to make informed decisions that are facilitated by heightened awareness and sound cognitive skills. Understanding what one is unaware of or does not understand is a critical competency if not the cornerstone of informed decision making. It is essential for the warfighter to understand how SA supports U.S. strategic ends, ways, and means in fulfilling U.S. national interests. The thesis of this paper is that strategic, critical thought elevates knowledge, which through heightened situational awareness and a good Frame of Reference develops understanding. It is this enlightened understanding that permits the effective employment of U.S. instruments of national power.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA530070

Entities

People

  • Nevin J. Taylor

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Cognition
  • Department Of Defense
  • Human Factors Engineering
  • Information Operations
  • Information Warfare
  • Language
  • Military Education
  • Military Operations
  • Psychology
  • Situational Awareness
  • Social Psychology
  • Students
  • Thinking
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Strategic Security Studies
  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.