Optimising Effectiveness of Military Command Teams, Technologies & Organisations

Network Enabled Capability (NEC) requires improved effectiveness of command teams to provide the vision, direction, and command and control of such networks. Teams must be able to understand and interpret superior command intent, to disseminate their own intent rapidly and effectively, and to make sense of the mass of information available from networks, whilst generating and maintaining shared awareness across other command teams. They must also be able to employ dynamic, distributed decision making at all levels of command and co-ordinate their actions. The Haldane-Spearman Consortium would be able to carry out useful, utilisable research into the following areas and many more:

• Requirements for formulating, sharing and interpreting intent in networked environments (including across coalitions), identifying appropriate supporting technologies and proposing methods for migrating this knowledge into system specification, design and procurement processes. This potentially includes trial and demonstration of web based chat across a distributed team.
  The Haldane-Spearman Consortium can extend knowledge of communications media, to understand the way in which peer-to-peer communications create social networks, and their impact on mission command and self-synchronisation.
  
  
• Overcoming barriers to effective distributed command team working and enhancing and extending their capabilities. The Haldane-Spearman Consortium can develop means of achieving shared situation awareness, common intent, and processes for synchronising plans and effects. Consideration of increased use of distributed expertise to reduce in-theatre footprint, and the development of new doctrine to support such real-time, collaborative inter-working in support of Effects-Based Operations. Team design and role configuration research could support the development of new doctrine, operational processes, training and technology to facilitate smaller, task-based teams, and the identification of new styles and ways of command for such teams working within an NEC setting. In particular, the requirements for new team roles and configurations driven by ad hoc formations, new task demands and the need for new skills and abilities could be identified.
  
  
• New ways of team building for ad hoc task-based groups, training to participate in such groups, new skill sets for personnel in these groups and tools to engender adaptability and flexibility in future command team leaders, all within the context of Effects-Based Operations. Development of methods of achieving synchronised effects across distributed and ad hoc organisational structures - critical challenges could include multi-national and multi-cultural teams.
  
  
• New approaches to leading multi-cultural and multi-agency coalitions in the context of NEC. Research could address leadership knowledge, skills and attitudes, and methods for heightening team members’ sensitivities to working in such environments. This knowledge could be transitioned into doctrine and training, operational selection tools, and technological systems.
  
  
• Approaches to effective inter-working between the military and NGOs. Critical issues include defining and managing the span of command, creation of synchronised effects with NGOs, demarcation of authority and responsibility, policy and processes for information generation and sharing, and sharing of command intent across different organisational and role structures.