Command and Control

Peace keeping missions (whether peace enforcement, peace building, peace making, or conflict prevention) are very different to the formatted hierarchy and organisation of set-piece, large-scale military missions which Western allies have been accustomed to over the past decade. Even the experiences of ISAF or Iraq are outliers rather than a standardised format replicable across peace keeping tasks. This is also evident in the C2 of these missions: often more complex, ambiguous, woolly, and confusing than most military officers will be accustomed to. And that’s without bringing in a strategic HQ structure that has fewer staff and less experience than Western counterparts. Ewan Lawson, associate fellow at RUSI, talks through what characterises PK missions: his one-word answer? Fragmentation.

Steve Leonard, a seasoned military strategist and author, joins Jon Klug, an award-winning military history instructor, to discuss the critical role of logistics in warfare. They explore how protracted conflicts change command conversations about supply and resources, stressing the need for honest dialogue from logistical leaders. The conversation highlights the challenges of modern military logistics and the importance of adapting traditional strategies for contemporary warfare. Their new book delves into these essential principles, making logistics a vital focus for military professionals.

Join Mick Ryan, a retired Major General and esteemed military strategist, as he delves into the transformative restructuring of Ukrainian command and control. He stresses the vital need for skilled commanders amid evolving battlefield dynamics. Discover how lessons from the Ukrainian conflict are reshaping European military strategies and the significance of history in understanding military failures and successes. Mick also draws intriguing comparisons with Israeli military operations, highlighting their diverse command strategies.

Everyone understands that civil agencies and institutions do not operate in the same way as military organisations. The culture, aims, objectives, and funding models are different, as is the way they run activity. So when militaries and these agencies interact, a sense of friction and misunderstanding often emerges. A small group of military staff stand between the behemoths of civil and military leaders – the CIMIC staff; it is their understanding of both sets of cultures that smooths activity in the 97% of military activity that is not combat operations. Kathleen Porath, academic advisor at the NATO CIMIC COE, talks about areas for improvement, the impact of technology, and the investments needed to improve relationships for the future.

It’s not a topic that is spoken about enough in the national security community: Nuclear Command and Control (NC2), and Communications (NC3) is a world apart from C2 for conventional forces: it underpins strategic stability between nuclear armed states. With the emergence of a ‘3-body problem’ in Great Power Competition, there is a risk that Western leaders (political and military) simply try and transpose Cold War theories onto the problems of today, and add some AI/ML to make it look pretty. Professor Andrew Reddie from the Berkeley Goldman School at the University of California, explains why this would be foolhardy in a remarkably accessible way. That’s not easy given the emotion, biases, and vitriol that surround any discussion on NC2/NC3.

Meitta Groeneveld, commanding officer of the NATO C2 Centre of Excellence, shares insights from the recent conference in The Hague. The discussion traverses the complexities of multi-domain operations and the critical need for synchronization between military and civilian actions. Groeneveld emphasizes the importance of reevaluating command and control systems in light of lessons learned from Ukraine. The podcast also highlights the significance of trust and collaborative innovation in adapting military strategies to evolving threats.

Guest William Scott Jackson, a Professor at Oxford University and a leading expert in leadership and succession management, shares fascinating insights on handling poor leadership in the military. He discusses how not all bad bosses are toxic, emphasizing the need for effective succession planning and decision-making strategies. Jackson explores the importance of thinking time, differentiated capability theory, and the Blue Ocean Strategy as solutions for leadership challenges. He also links workplace happiness to performance, suggesting that a supportive environment is crucial for success.

Sean Welch, a seasoned US Marine with rich combat experience and expertise in military strategy, dives deep into the concept of 'coupling' in military operations. He contrasts traditional command philosophies with modern demands, emphasizing the balance between control and creative initiative. Welch also discusses the challenges of decision-making in a tech-driven military landscape, advocating for human intuition amidst data overload. He critiques rigid command structures and highlights the importance of adapting strategies to effectively engage with adversarial capabilities in complex scenarios like Ukraine.

Imagine sitting on a battlefield and trying to figure out what is happening with only your ears to guide you; your guidance is based on orders written weeks or months ago, and the last time you got an update of where your own forces where was a day old (at best). That, in essence, is submarine warfare. There is no constant information flow for situational awareness and communication (of any kind) endangers your existence; so submarine commanders are required to make decisions based on a series of assumptions about a myriad of variables and use their experience, judgement, advice from their team, and a deep understanding of their adversary. Building people who can do this – so different to most other warfare experiences – requires a special process: The Perisher. Peter talks to Phil Titterton about command and control of submarines, his experiences in the Royal Navy’s submarine service, and about waterspace management (submarine control measures). Now you can open your eyes.

Former NATO Sec Gen Jaap de Hoop Scheffer talks about what it takes to make effective command relationships work at the highest level of Pol/Mil C2: the tensions between domestic agendas and international obligations, decision-making in NATO, and how to achieve coherence and agreement in matters of war. The conclusion, perhaps unsurprisingly, is that the level of co-operation between politicians and their military counterparts is not something that can be scripted or forced: it depends more on personalities, behaviours, and shared interests than on orders and formal hierarchies. Reflecting on successes and failures, Jaap makes for compelling listening.