An axiom accepted widely in military establishments around the work is that operational plans are valid only until the first shot is fired. Following that point, dynamic command and control replaces plans as commanders act to counter operations of the enemy that threaten attainment of the organizational mission.
In the conduct of hostile operations in the early years of the twenty-first century, military commanders at all levels still must act in relation to dynamic conditions in zones of conflict; however, decisions directly relevant to tactics must occur within a time frame that is significantly compressed in comparison to military operations of only a decade in the past. The luxury of time is no longer available to military commanders.
Military theoreticians are responding to command and control needs in the changing operational environments in zones of combat with the development of new doctrines of command and control that focus on the enhancement of situational awareness for military commanders at all hierarchical levels, as well as for soldiers on dynamic battlefields. Situation awareness (SA) encompasses three levels of perception, comprehension, and projection as follows (Endsley 3):
Situation Awareness Level 1: Perceive elements of the current situation
Situation Awareness Level 2: Comprehend the relationships between the elements in the current situation
Situation Awareness Level 3: Project the states of future events implied by the current situation
High levels of situation awareness are essential to effective performance in military operations. The changing character is operational environments poses challenges for military organizations in maintaining the capacity for commanders and soldiers to function at high levels of situation awareness (Johnson 1). Command and control doctrines must evolve to facilitate improvements in the capacity for high levels of situational awareness.
Command and cont...