'Dealing with it': Disorder in Command and Control

摘要

... [T]here must be a realization that a ceftain amount of confusion and waste ate, owing to the great uncertainty involved, inevitable in war; and that such confusion is not inconsistent with, and may indeed be a prerequisite for, results. These words by Martin van Creveld1 at the closure of his masterwork Command in War underlie the central thesis of this article. Disorder-which will be defined more precisely shortly-is unavoidable in military command and control (C2). All military commanders are well aware that disorder cannot be stamped out. Over and above 'accommodating' it, 1 will argue that disorder is essential in order that the mission of a command and control system can be accomplished. The secret to 'dealing with it' is to know where in the system the demon of disorder lurks, how it evolves and how it can be effectively channelled into appropriate dimensions of the system. The military art already encapsulates many strategies to manage disorder. This article presents a theoretical framework that underpins these heuristics and offers a path to 'dealing with disorder' in the future environment of a networked Australian Defence Force (ADF).