Exercise of Control by Joint Force Commanders

摘要

Certain characteristics of the Information Age both pressure and tempt commanders, in powerful ways, to exert greater control over military forces during the execution of operations. As examples, real-time communications with political leaders and the impact of global media pressure, while battlespace awareness, intelligence collection, and communications capabilities tempt. These increased capabilities seem to present commanders with a command option not available for over two centuries: centralized control. As stated in Joint and Army Doctrine as well as in the majority of literature on the subject, commanders have a greater ability to exercise control over their forces than at any time since Napoleon's. Therefore, one pressing question that faces today's military is how to use the Information Age capabilities now becoming available. Whereas U.S. Army doctrine is clear on its preference for the method known as 'mission command,' Joint Doctrine is less clear. Commanders of U.S. and Combined Joint Task Forces (CJFCs of CJTFs) should use the increased capabilities provided by the technological advancements of the Information Age to cope with increasing complexity, distribution, and specialization in the environment of their military operations. They should not use them to attempt to reduce the 'fog of war' by increasing control over the execution of land-based military operations. The monograph therefore finds that in the face of Information Age pressures and temptations towards centralized control, the U.S. Military must institutionalize decentralized control at the Joint Task Force level. To that end, it offers recommendations for rewriting and reorganizing elements of Joint Doctrine covering command and control. It also offers recommendations for organizations and procedures that will foster decentralized control.