Unsolved Mystery of Coalition Command and Control

摘要

The current U.S. National Security Strategy places great emphasis on multinational cooperation and execution for all facets of the Global War on Terror. Current political realities and the stretched state of our deployed military forces are likely to increase that focus during President Bush s second term and beyond. While working through alliances and coalitions for missions as diverse as peacekeeping or conventional war, Command and Control (C2) problems continue to severely limit multinational military effectiveness. Despite multiple post-Cold War military interventions shared by the U.S. and its European allies, a readily adaptable or in-place C2 structure remains elusive. This has led to the twofold problem of decreasing warfighting effectiveness and jeopardizing some or all of coalition objectives. However, a successful C2 structure is attainable through steadfast insistence on unity of effort, doctrinal advances, and assured multinational interoperability. Several recent examples of NATO or coalition Command and Control failures exemplify how this critical principle of war continues to be neglected at the expense of money, time, and lives. Current endeavors to strengthen the ability of NATO or coalitions to establish clear, functional command structures are investigated. Finally, some recommendations and simplified examples for how they might play out in potential scenarios serve to illustrate how multinational military operations can be improved.