Harnessing Initiative and Innovation: A Process for Mission Command
Abstract
Appreciating the need to institutionalize mission command in today s Army is easy given the future described by General Martin E. Dempsey above. As leaders, we spend a great deal of time discussing the significance of mission command. Current doctrine, as described in FM 6-0, Mission Command, is sufficient for a military organization to accomplish its mission. However, does it inform us as to how to institutionalize mission command and develop leaders who exercise disciplined initiative, as called for by General Dempsey? Army doctrine mentions the need to develop leaders who are empowered to exercise initiative. It does not currently describe a way to do that. We believe that we have found a method for establishing a shared vision across a unit that is useful in all operational environments, integrates all necessary functions of the organization, and addresses the question of how we harness the skills of today s young tactical leaders-officers and NCOs-who came of age during this time of war. The shared vision offers a way to develop them as leaders for the future. We argue that commanders should not act alone to understand and visualize the mission. By allowing subordinates to be involved in this process, we achieved shared understanding and initiative far sooner, and more efficiently, than our doctrine describes. We have tested this method during garrison training, major field exercises, and our recent deployment in Operation New Dawn in Iraq, which served as a final proof of concept. We found that our approach to mission command: (1) Developed critical thinkers; (2) Established ownership at all levels; (3) Developed a proactive staff; (4) Established a predictable environment; (5) Clearly established priorities; and (6) Produced flexible and adaptive subordinate units.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA570485
Entities
People
- Chip Daniels
- John Poole
- Mark Huhtanen
Organizations
- United States Army Combined Arms Center