196p rIncIple 2:

a

The essence of this principle is to know at all times where own troops are, and what their current activity is, so that their fire and maneuver can be leveraged in the right place, at the right time. The importance, as a principle, of different types of leadership and command and control systems will be explained by the 5^th principle. Applying this principle creates a workable foundation, so that the commander (or the political leader) will be able to give orders to the units, guidance to the staff, and understandable policy to the non-military and sometimes non-governmental organizations.

This principle is necessary at each level of leadership in all conflicts, from squad leader through army general and prime minister to commander of an alliance’s forces and chairman of the main committee of an alliance, in order to develop, deliver, and sustain the leadership messages.²³ It has never been enough to obtain a clear picture of a situation but it has been essential to transfer it to the higher command without any distortions. The real time and authentic mission analysis, which is based on the current situation, manages to give a chance to the leadership to take and keep the initiative.

The main challenge of the planning process at all levels is time. Time, because if we take a look at the time line we have to realize that the decision is made at the end of the first third of the planning and preparation phase.

It is necessary to give adequate time to the subordinates so that they can prepare themselves for execution. However, during the rest of the time, which is twice as much as used for making the final decision, staff and units receive (if the communication is in tune) thousands of pieces of information which can affect the execution. (Figure 2)

23 For additional background see: BALDONI, John. Great Communication Secrets of Great Lead-ers. New York: McGraw Hill, 2003.

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Decision point

Planing Phase Execution Phase

Praparation Phase

Deployment

time

information

Information gap

 

Figure 2.

Challenge of the relations of the time and information ²⁴

This problem increases during battle, because the situation is changing very fast and therefore the communication is essential so that commanders will be capable of adapting to the already changed situation. To foolishly stick to the plan without adapting it to the realities of the developing situation has caused nations to lose wars.

Now, go back to the idea of time as an important factor for staffs to have enough of it. As Napoleon said, “You can ask me for anything you like, except time.”²⁵ This relation to time is significant throughout an organization, and one factor – the adequacy of communications – can have a disproportionate impact. Even with today’s advanced technologies, communications can eat up a lot of the available time. The information about current and upcoming operations is vital for the higher command and for the subordinates (the vertical information sharing chain), but it is at least as important laterally, for the neighboring units and other friendly forces, as well as civilian participants.

As the tempo and complexity of operations increase, the traditional communication channels usually prove inadequate for the task: they are too slow, and may not reach crucially important partners. In addition, a lot of time

24 The Figure was created by the author based on the presentation of LTC Sándor Kósa in the Hun-garian National Defense University MsC lecture, Budapest, 2002.

25 http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/napoleon/c_quotes.html, accessed: December 08., 2013

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may be wasted in “handshaking” – the repeated coordination with agencies that are new, unexpected, or temporary partners in an operation. This clogs up the communications channels, causes delays, and may lead to the failure of even the best-conceived operation, due to delays in execution or poor timing.

It is critical to be successful in this area, because only well-coordinated common actions, based on timely information, can achieve maximum success with minimum damage. In addition, with perfect and live communication it is possible to reduce the possibility of “friendly” and “Green-on-Blue” Fires.

Real-time communication became important during crisis situations, even between adversaries.

Workable communication has two main parts. The first is the technical side which must provide equipment for sending and receiving understandable real time information. The second is the well-known and unmistakable language of the message. At the beginning of the 21st century some people only believe in communication systems provided by cutting age technology. They are, of course, right in most situations because developed communication systems based on satellite and frequency-hopping can create advantages according to the first principle.²⁶ However, it is a kind of race, similar to the one between armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons, or between multipurpose jets and air-defense systems, because communication systems and electronic warfare solutions and listening stations are eager to understand the opposite side’s communication and try to jam it.

Besides this well designed capacity, the traditional ways of communication are still useful. Different hand signs, body-language, eye contact, flag signals, and code words are still essential especially at the tactical level. Furthermore, it is pretty hard to jam them.

There is one more significant segment of the technical side of communication.

Each type of technical solution has to be capable of providing a two-way transmission. One-way is better than nothing, but practical communication needs both sides’ participation, because only this type of conversation can build real communication and interaction. Feedback, situation reports, early warning reports or even of the request for MEDEVAC, CASEVAC (Medical Evacuation, Casualty Evacuation) are essential for both sides, therefore, sending a message most of the time is not enough.

26 There are many examples when communication based on cutting-edge technology gave not only tactical advantage but also saved lives due to the possibility of calling for MEDEVAC and CASE-VAC anywhere, any time, either in Iraq or in Afghanistan.