In examining the military history, one can easily find out that the main role of military leaders in the field is to decrease confusion and to guide units to achieve the desired end state. In accomplishing these tasks, Situational Understanding and Visualization have become necessary steps especially in today’s complex environment. This importance legitimates the question about their relationship between these two steps and the challenges facing leaders to achieve situational understanding and visualization. Commander’s visualization depends on Situational understanding. Leader’s success in these two phases remains conditioned by overcoming some challenges related to his bias, time and the efficiency of his staff. In order to debate this thesis statement, this essay will describe the relationship between situational understanding and visualization before presenting the challenges facing commanders to draw the desired end state. First, there is a …show more content…
strong relationship between situational understanding and commander’s visualization (the first is necessary for the second). Leaders reach situational understanding through analyzing both operational and mission variables. Situational understanding has to be maintained during the operation because variables change with the progress of time and events. Building on this understanding, leaders visualize the desired end state and the appropriate operations solution. During this step, judgment plays an important role in directing the commander’s decision making depending on his past experiences, training and study. In Normandy, MG Cota succeeded in his mission because he perfectly understood the situation through studying the enemy, its defense capabilities and also all aspects related to amphibious operations.
Also, his judgment built from his experience as an expert in amphibious operations and his participation in the Torch operation played a great role in his situational understanding and visualization. Moreover, because he was in the front line, MG Cota maintained his situational understanding during the first day at Normandy. Consequently, he was able to rectify his orders, direct his soldiers and make right decisions. On the opposite of Normandy, MG Cota, lacking experience in commanding Infantry units (his last command duty was in 1917 as company Commander), failed in the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest to understand the situation. As a result, he failed to visualize the appropriate solution. His misunderstanding of the terrain led to choose an inadequate route to support units and to not exploit all his assets especially
tanks. Second, situational understanding and visualization face many challenges. Time in one of them. In the field, commanders lacking time, they do not profoundly analyze mission and operational variables and they rely in most cases on their experiences. The excessive reliance on experience increases the bias of the commander (another challenge). The last challenge is the inefficiency of the staff. Situational understanding and the visualization is a collective process. If the commander is not supported by the staff, there will be a big risk of failure. A clear example of this last challenge is the quality of staff which served under MG Cota in 28th ID. Failure of this division in the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest was partly due to the staff which was incapable to provide relevant information to MG Cota to deliver right decision (choice of MSR). In conclusion, commander success to visualize the desired end state and the right operational approach depends on his situational understanding. During these two processes, judgment plays an important role in guiding the commander’s analysis and decisions. Commanders’ success to understand the situation and visualize the solution remains challenged by the lack of time and qualified staff as well as the excessive reliance on past experiences
COL Prescott’s role in the Battle of Bunker Hill, or more correctly know as the Battle of Breed’s Hill, is a great example of how to properly execute mission command. An overview from The Cowpens Staff Ride and Battlefield Tour (Moncure) reveals a number of operation and strategic objectives that the American militia had to consider. In this instance, COL Prescott takes charge of 1200 men with instructions to defend against incoming British forces that were seeking to occupy the surrounding hills during the Siege of Boston campaign. COL Prescott utilized a variety of steps in the operations process that contributed to his expert utilization of mission command over his forces. Through various sources from published works by experts on the subject, COL Prescott’s mission command demonstrates its effectiveness in his understanding of the situation against the British, his visualization to create an end state for t...
Effective planning is impossible without first understanding the problem. Commanders rely on personal observations, experiences, and input from others to develop understanding. They also prioritize information requests and incorporate additional information as those requests are answered. A complete understanding of the problem and environment builds the foundation for the operational process and ...
Compare and Contrast the Army Problem Solving Model (Process) with the Rapid Decision making and Synchronization Process. (C100)
In order to receive a victory in the Battle of the Bulge, General Patton used Mission Command Analysis in order to understand how he can be successful for this mission. The first thing of understanding t...
Commanders must be able to describe their operation visualization to staffs and subordinates. It fosters a working relationship and a shared understanding of the situation, mission and intent. Without description of mission command from the commander, a unit may not be able to accomplish their task or mission.
The Army incorporated the concept of design into doctrine to emphasize the importance of developing an appreciation of complex problems and ways to solve them before conducting detailed planning. Design’s holistic understanding of unique situations is reached through critical and creative thinking, mediated by discourse and drawings. ADM addresses a different approach to provide the ends, ways, and means to answer the commander’s question. The first part of this paper will explain how understanding the problem provides the initial approach framework. The second part will demonstrate how visualizing the problem allows the commander to conceptualize. The third and final part explores how understand...
ADM offers Commanders and planning staff a tool for the conceptual component of an integrated planning process. The goal is to provide the commander with a cognitive tool that he can use to understand the logic of the system. Design is non-linear in thought and application. Its methodology clari¬fies guidance in the consideration of operational environment, and the current system is understood within existing limitations. The design team pro¬duces an environmental frame, an initial problem statement, and an initial theory of action. As the teams’ understanding increases and the nature of the problem begins to take form, the team explores in greater detail aspects of the environment that appear relevant to the problem. Here choices are made about boundaries and areas for possible inter¬vention. From this deeper understanding, the des...
... Like the relationship of situational understanding and situational awareness, operational art is at a higher stratum than operational design. The commander must visualize the operation from start to finish with elements of creativity and innovation. For the operations-level commander, this is the premise for them to reach their determination of intent. Yet at some point, intangibles and the unquantifiable have to enter into a system of process. This is the goal of operational design. In simplest terms, operational art may draw commander’s attention to the forces of PMESH-II to aid in the identification of the operational environment; operational design will draw the commander’s attention to his or her combat capability and time constraints while contextually and adaptively improving MDMP or Joint Operational Planning process efficiencies and effectiveness.
Both passages concern the same topic, the Okefenokee Swamp. Yet, through the use of various techniques, the depictions of the swamp are entirely different. While Passage 1 relies on simplicity and admiration to publicize the swamp, Passage 2 uses explicitness and disgust to emphasize the discomfort the swamp brings to visitors.
Some reasons why powerful situations and a person 's conscience may influence a person’s behavior are because of situations of a moment, feeling pressured by others, and what someone might believe is an authority figure.
Military leaders make decisions and solve problems every day. Some need a decision quickly while others can take time. The US Army has several decision-making methods to assist leaders. The Army Problem Solving Model (Process) (PSM) is a systematic approach to identifying the best possible solution to an issue or problem and a deliberate method of decision-making (FM 6-0, 2009). Leaders use it to solve a problem when time is not critical and they can put some thought into different solutions. The solution must be objective and based on facts in order for the decision to be relevant and practical. The Rapid Decision Making and Synchronization Process (RDM) is a decision-making and synchronization technique typically used during the execution phase of an operation (FM 5-0, 2010). Besides its use during execution, this style of decision making is quick and focuses on the ability to modify the plan, due to changing circumstances, and synchronize those changes with subordinate elements. Determining which method to apply requires an understanding of the similarities and differences of both techniques.
Possessing an underutilized brain is like making a billion dollars, but simply hiding the money away forever: there are so many opportunities that stem from it, but it is worthless because it is never put to use. Rene Descartes felt this way himself, as he said, “It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well.” I wholeheartedly agree with this quote; a mind is the most precious of commodities but one’s brain is not employed, than it is as useless as a pile of dirt. Still, not only does one have to make use of their mind, it must be in a way that can benefit society. Only than has one truly “used it well.” Despite what some may believe, it is not enough to simply be intelligence; one must use it to make something of themselves.
The most effective commanders through their leadership build cohesive teams. Mutual trust, shared understanding, and accepting prudent risk serve as just a few principles for mission command. Mutual trust is the foundation of any successful professional relationship that a commander shares with his staff and subordinates. The shared understanding of an operational environment functions, as the basis for the commander to effectively accomplish the mission. While my advice for the commander on what prudent risks to take may create more opportunities rather than accepting defeat. Incorporating the principles of mission command by building cohesive teams through mutual trust, fostering an environment of shared understanding, and accepting prudent risk will make me an effective adviser to the commander, aid the staff during the operations process, and provide an example for Soldiers to emulate.
The Intuitive Psychology is linked to the greater capacity exhibited by some people regarding their desires, motives, and beliefs of others, moreover being able to more accurately anticipate reactions as well as behaviours, an intuitive person is a person who has feelings or seemingly acquires knowledge about events, circumstances, or other information, mainly without ordinary sensory input or previous training.
In the cognitive level of analysis there are three principals that can be demonstrated through research. The cognitive level of analysis focuses on the mental processes, for instance like memory, attention, thinking and language. With that information it see how we take in all our outside information and process it. The three principals consist of; social and cultural factors that affect cognitive processes, human beings are information processors and that mental representations guide behavior, and that mental processes can and should be studied scientifically by developing theories and by using a variety of research methods. These principals allow us to focus on how behavior can truly affect our cognitive levels of analysis.