Decision-Centric Warfare: Reading Between the Lines of Network-Centric Warfare

摘要

Network-Centric Warfare (NCW), as it has come to be called, is here to stay. While the benefits are proving to be many, there are also potential risks that can adversely affect operational leadership. Increasingly, commanders today must be aware of how the effects of information overload, instantaneous communications, and increased opportunities to insert themselves in levels of war outside their traditional sphere of influence can have a bearing on their decision-making. NCW's very name has a tendency to focus attention strictly on the technology, as if once 'the system' is implemented or 'the device' installed, that everything will work out for the best. The technology is merely an enabler, another addition to commanders' toolkits to help them make better decisions. To avoid the 'if you build it they will come' mentality, the focus must be maintained on decision-making and the decisions that result through a commander's application of operational art. This paper proposes replacing one word and calling it Decision-Centric Warfare to maintain the proper focus. Not only does the name change align more directly with Joint Vision 2020's concept of decision superiority, but when one looks at the NCW terminology and construct, decisions are really what NCW is all about.