Embedding mission command into military culture is vital to ensure that the military environment is conducive to conduct military affairs. The guiding principles of mission command are used to decentralize execution and adopt mission orders to ensure disciplined initiative in the military environment and empower subordinate decision-making. Since its inception, mission command has grown in popularity and has been the driving force for counter-insurgency operations in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq. Military operations are very unpredictable, thus can be classified under "gambling." Success is never guaranteed, but the chances of becoming a victor go beyond the definition of regular procedures, and mission command helps unravel this parable that sees many military operations successfully sail through to the end. With the help of scholarly articles, this article will be to assess how some military operations incorporated the six principles of mission command. The essay's dynamics will be to judge whether the Victory on Highway 1: Breaking the Taliban's Stranglehold in Kandahar, appropriately used mission commands.
Principles of Mission Command
Mission command is an army philosophy that entails exercising directives and authority by a military command using command order. Commanders intend to empower adaptive and agile leaders in military operations. Necessity is what led to the birth of mission command in the 19th century. When there was a mobilization of large societies and the advent of lethal weaponry, brigades and Prussian corps were forced to disperse their troops in war, which left senior commanders incapable of controlling their troops. This situation was a wakeup call for junior officers who had to use judgment and decisiveness to carry on with the war. In the modern age, mission command philosophy is guided by six principles which include the creation of shared understanding, the exercise of disciplined initiative, provision of clear commander's intent, the use of mission orders, creation of cohesive teams through trust, and acceptance of prudent risk (McBride & Snell, 2017). This essay will assess whether and how the Victory on Highway 1: Breaking the Taliban's Stranglehold in Kandahar article adhered to six principles of mission command.
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Provision of Clear Commander's intent
Commander's intent is a concise and clear expression of why a military operation is being conducted, which help supporting commanders and subordinate staff to work toward achieving the objectives set by the leading commander even in their absentia or without further instructions. When the operation in the battlefield do not turn out as planned, the subordinate commanders have a clear scope of what steps to take and recover. Higher commanders intend to ensure that there is the unity of purpose among the military personnel, and the objectives of junior officers are nested under those of their senior commanders (McBride & Snell, 2017). The explicit intents of a military commander tend to tell more beyond the confines of what the mission statement of the operation is.
In the case study, the Victory on Highway 1 operation satisfies this principle. Colonel Kandarian planned an offensive attack on the south of Highway 1, whose intent was to ensure freedom of movement on the highway and secure the people from the unjust treatment they were facing (Combat Studies Institute-Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, n.d.). The Taliban group had become unruly by imposing tolls of highway users and frustrating those that did not give in to their demands. Kandarian believed that his troops had undergone rigorous training, and they would fulfil his intents without much struggle. His instructions were as simple as drawing a map on a chart and letting his subordinates deliver. LTC Peter Benchoff lauded COL Kandarian's clarity of intention that left the subordinate to design customized schemes to manoeuvre with the plot as long as it was in line with the objectivity of the operation. The clarity of intent is evidenced in CPT Price's bold move to engage the Taliban head-on in their compounds based on the directives he gave to the machine gun commanders.
Build cohesive teams through mutual trust.
The idea of mutual trust is built around genuine belief that subordinates, partners, and commanders share. A competent commander should nurture a cohesive team in which confidence is shared. There is no easy way to build mutual trust; rather, it takes time to develop it or earn it from someone else (McBride & Snell, 2017). This mutual trust can quickly develop when someone has admirable or reputable character, competence at work. Besides, when conflicts are resolved in the shortest time possible, military personnel get enough time to rebuild trust and embrace positivity.
In the Highway 1 operation, Benchoff fostered small unit cohesiveness and mutual trust, which transcended down to subordinate personnel in action. Besides, Price and the Machine Gun System (MGS) commanders thrived under mutual trust and this is what helped the latter support and obey Price's decision to hail gunfire at the Taliban (Combat Studies Institute-Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, n.d.). Had there been no mutual trust, the MGS commanders may have defied the instructions or brought up a conflicting opinion.
Create a shared understanding.
A shared understanding occurs when military leaders take their time to help their subordinates understand vital information or commands. Rather than speaking from the top and leaving junior and subordinate members of the team to implement the commands, a good leader interacts with other junior members to learn about the gravity of an intended initiative plan. This move helps military personnel compliant and committed to achieving the set objectives. Besides, understanding what colleagues do eradicates occurrences of task overlapping while in the line of duty.
Benchoff took his time to explain the intents of the mission to his subordinates before embarking on operation. He helped even empower his team by daring them to take the initiative and come up with new ideas of facing the enemy, depending on the circumstances and the environment as long as it was in line with the intent of the operation. He also understood that the military personnel might find themselves in difficult terrain, which would call for inward motivation to see them through among the smaller units. Besides, CPT Price perfectly coordinated his team to ensure that there was no overlapping of tasks. It all started by assigning his team members, British sappers and engineers, specific functions in the fight, which helped a lot in creating working boundaries.
Exercise disciplined initiative.
Discipline is a minimum requirement for any army personnel. The unpredictability of military operations often calls for the need always to have an alternative solution to a problem at hand rather than following traditionally set procedures (McBride & Snell, 2017). A good leader is expected to take the initiative and empower the rest to support their new directives because once a troop loses the real sense of leadership, defeat is always imminent.
The Highway 1 operation had a notable character, CPT Price, who, regardless of the difficult terrain that could easily give them away to the enemy, he remained undeterred. Price came up with a smart scheme to call in several CCA missions by Apaches and Kiowas. The platoon leader also found an ingenious way of flashing pinpointing the exact position of the muzzle flashes before relaying them to the helicopters. Besides, taking bold and disciplined initiatives was something that Kandarian expected from his subordinate members because of the nature of training they had undergone.
Use mission orders
This principle is meant to help military personnel to apply directives rather than follow them as a specific procedure. Team members should be in a position to capitalize on the guidelines they are given as an opportunity to learn and grow. Any subordinate leader in the military should desist from having a fixed mind-set on how to handle matters. In the case study, CPT Price knew that he was to work within the limits of his senior's directives. He was assigned to operate in his area of jurisdiction and avoid overlapping on tasks meant for other personnel. However, when he learned that CPT Flaucher's platoon had been overwhelmed. He quickly made his mind and guided his team to offer reinforcement to CPT Flaucher, leaving his part of the task unattended. This is a skill of initiative that he was learning in the line of duty.
Accept prudent risk.
Military field manuals require that a leader assess the resources he has, their subordinates' capabilities, and make decisions about resource allocation. In the case study, Benchoff took it upon himself to evaluate the experience that Price had and decided to give him total freedom of action to employ two MGSs to fulfil his intentions. From a lei man's understanding, it is a tough decision to make and can be compared to carrying one's eggs in one basket. That was too much freedom to give one person. Luckily for Benchoff, he had entrusted the right person. Price was worth the freedom he was given because his operations were successful, and he even offered support to CPT Flaucher when his team was overwhelmed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, mission command is a philosophy that guides military operations in the battlefield. This philosophy is used by military leaders oversee military operations and incorporate vital practises like empowering subordinates to be creative, initiative-minded, have trust in one another, and follow the explicit intents of their seniors. The case study highlighted in the above essay is a good example of how military operations are conducted in adherence to the Mission command philosophy. Characters like Price excelled in their practice because they vested their energy in observing most of the guidelines of military mission command. Thus, adherence principles of mission command has proved to work for many military operations since its inception.
References
McBride , D. M., & Snell, R. L. (2017). Applying mission command to overcome challenges .
https://www.army.mil/article/179942/applying_mission_command_to_overcome_challenges .
Combat Studies Institute Fort Leavenworth Kansas, C., (n.d.). Victory on Highway 1: Breaking
the Taliban’s Stranglehold in Kandahar . file:///C:/Users/Dorie%20Edwards/Downloads/NASHVILLE.pdf .
