MINDPRINT: Developing the Soldiers and Leaders of Objective Force and Beyond

摘要

This report was developed under the Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. Information technologies are changing the way organizations do business. In the case of the Army's Objective Force, these technologies will fundamentally transform the way in which battles are fought. They wilt also transform the decisions, judgments, and cognitive tasks of Soldiers and leaders. Without adequate preparation for these new cognitive requirements, the Army will be ill-equipped to use, much less capitalize on, the new technologies. The need is to (a) identify, in advance, the requirements introduced by Objective Force technologies, and (b) build skill and expertise around those requirements prior to implementation of the new technologies. In this research, a macrocognition framework was employed to study how Objective Force technologies will alter the cognitive landscape for small unit leaders. Data collection methods were developed to capture the macrocognitive requirements associated with the new technologies. Findings suggest that substantial changes will occur with regard to seven macrocognitive activities: the Sensemaking and Coordination functions, and the processes of Maintaining Common Ground, Developing Mental Models, Uncertainty Management, Attention Management, and Turning %Leverage Points into Courses of Action. Preliminary implications for training addressing each of these macrocognitive activities are presented.