C3 in Maneuver Warfare: The Expanding Role of the Communications Officer

摘要

In 1989, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General A.M. Gray, endorsed theMarine Corps philosophy on warfighting in FMFM 1 (33). The adoption of this maneuver warfare philosophy has raised many important issues about the future role of the communications officer in the command, control, and communications (C3) process employed within the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF). Over the past two decades, the rapid advance of technology has literally taken the communications officer out of the command and control process and made him a communications systems specialist. The result is a communications officer who is perceived by many commanders and other staff officers as an innocuous technocrat whose primary function is to keep the radios and telephones working. For C3 in maneuver warfare to be successful, the communications officer must be a key player in the overall planning process as well as a dynamic C3 architect (30). He must understand the C3 process and be able to design and implement a flexible system that will support it in the maneuver environment.