Mission Command Analysis

Mission Command evolved from years of defining tactical leadership. As its official reference defines it, “Mission command is the exercise of authority and direction by the commander using mission orders to enable disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land operations”. This radical shift from centralized strict command to decentralized initiative evolved as a pragmatic result of the decentralized style of Wide Area Security operations our army has fought for 16 years. The six principles of Mission Command are: Build cohesive teams through mutual trust, create a shared understanding, provide a clear commander’s intent, exercise disciplined initiative, use mission
In the midst of the battle, Urquhart recalled, “Not only was there no word from [subordinate commander] Gough, but...headquarters communications had completely failed”. The technical communications broke down so thoroughly that they forced MG Urquhart to leave his headquarters in search of his subordinate commanders. As a result, his subordinate commanders did not know where he was. According to acclaimed historian Cornelius Ryan, “The breakdown of communications and subsequent lack of direction was making it impossible for battalion commanders to know with any clarity what was happening now”. This complete breakdown in communication establishes enough evidence to conclude that MG Urquhart did not effectively create a shared
However, MG Urquhart failed to allow his subordinate commanders to control their local environments. After losing communication and moving to find his subordinate commanders, he found himself in a dogfight and starting doling out tactical tasks regarding medical attention to the wounded. One of his commanders in a different situation on the following day finally spoke up. Urquhart recalls his subordinate saying, “that it cut across his notions as a commander to be told how to dispose the troops under his command, instead of being given a task to do” . Upon hearing this direct rebuke of MG Urquhart’s mission orders, MG Urquhart’s own memoir neglects to appreciate the importance of the critique. Due to the technical issues, he found himself engaging in street fighting and giving direct tasks to units two and three levels beneath him, which nearly completely goes against every word that ADP 6-0 uses to describe “mission