Thursday 6 June 2013

The Essentials Of Good War Command Are A Disparate And Diverse Range Of Abilities

By Michelle Howe


Being able to lead groups of people in war situations is a very testing and difficult thing to do. A young officer ordering his men in front line combat faces a very different type of task to a general plotting and scheming in rear echelon office. Nevertheless, the principles to be followed remain the same at every level fo war command.

Leadership in a situation of conflict needs to have a clear idea of what it is hoping to achieve, of what its aims are. A leader needs to inspire a group of people, often very dissimilar in their temperaments and motivations, to cooperate in hope of achieving a specific task. A leader is there to provide the glue and the inspiration which bonds a team together; without a leader, a team is merely a crowd.

A good commander must be intelligent, with an analytical and sharp intellect which can clearly find the nub of an issue. Without adequate intellectual and analytical skills, it is hard for a general to make the right decisions. Planning processes will also be negatively affected by an officer not being able to cope intellectually with the demands of the job.

A good commander must also possess empathy, the ability to understand human behaviour by putting himself into the situation of other people. A good leader should be able to second-guess his opponents as well as motivate his own troops. The ability to be able to envisage multiple different outcomes to a situation based on how people might react is an attribute which is invaluable for military leaders.

Perhaps the one quality which no military commander should ever possess is indecision. The ability to make decisions quickly and effectively is rightly highly prized in military circles. There simply is not the time in combat situations to prevaricate and try to weigh things up slowly; decisions which affect lives have to be taken as quickly as possible when lives are at stake.

Another essential quality for any military leader to possess is the ability to remain calm when under pressure. The pressures which military situations can exert on people are different to many of the problems of ordinary living. A good commander is able to seem as though he is calm and considered even when the bullets are flying and people are going down wounded.

As well as natural intelligence, a good commander should also be well educated and have a deep store of military knowledge on which to draw. An officer needs to be abreast of developments in tactics, technology and the psychology of command. A good knowledge of politics and history also plays an important role in shaping a good battle leader, who is likely to have to appreciate the complex circumstances which have created the conflict in the first place.

War command is a weighty and burdensome responsibility which only certain kinds of people can handle. Successful commanders often display a mix of abilities, traits and emotions which are used to make sure that they get the job done. In the end, a leader has to bind disparate elements together in a common search for success.




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