Building the Tactical Nerve Center: Enhancing Battalion Commander and StaffPerformance in the Tactical Decision Making Process

摘要

This monograph examines battalion commander and staff performance in conductingthe tactical decision making process. The National Training Center and the Joint Readiness Training Center continue to report battalion commanders and staff have difficulty in executing the tactical decision making process in a time constrained environment. A trained commander and staff are an essential combat multiplier in the rapidly changing, chaotic battlefield of today and the future. This monograph, using Peter Senge's The Fifth Discipline, investigates the five disciplines and their application to the infantry battalion commander and his staff. It will determine if the battalion commander can apply the five disciplines to create a higher performing command and staff system and achieve the necessary leverage to consistently succeed in the tactical decision making process. It will provide a framework for the commander and staff to understand how they think about themselves and their organization; how it affects the commander's decision making and the staff's performance. Finally, this monograph offers recommendations to enable battalions to become a learning organization. Establishing a climate of openness, creating a mini-learning organization within the battalion staff, subordinate leader empowerment in decision making, and microworlds are all means to create the conditions for establishing a learning environment. The battalion as a learning organization is essential to improving the quality of commander and battalion staff decision making.