The Importance of having a Mission Command Philosophy

Many of us have an opinion on what Mission Command is. Shaping that opinion into a philosophy helps subordinates understand what you expect when it comes to Mission Command. Without a personal Mission Command philosophy, its possible that soldiers may only see Mission Command as it pertains to Mission Command principles.

Mission Command is of course a philosophy made up of principles. Mission Command is also a War Fighting Function. Finally, Mission Command systems enable the Mission Command philosophy and the Mission Command War Fighting Function. Outlying how you see these three areas of mission command will help your leaders enact the full range of Mission Command.

Because there are some intangibles associated with the Mission Command philosophy a personal Mission Command philosophy can help create a shared understanding about your expectations for creating a shared understanding. More than that, a personal Mission Command philosophy can help provide Soldiers with equity among the principles of the Mission Command Philosophy. Providing your insight on cohesive teams, mutual trust, disciplined initiative and prudent risk can help make the use of these terms more palatable when they are used to achieve a unit’s mission.

For commanders a personal mission command philosophy helps the staff understand how they will support the commander with the Commander Tasks associated with the Mission Command War Fighting Function. For staff primaries, a personal Mission Command philosophy helps the rest of the staff understand what they will do in a supporting role. Carefully nested commander and staff Mission Command philosophies can enable staffs to work efficiently during mission execution.

Like playing a musical instrument, one does not simply walk up to a Mission Command system for the first time and use it like a professional. Outlining your expectations for the Mission Command systems in your formation help create a culture of importance around Mission Command systems. A personal Mission Command philosophy that describes how Mission Command systems are used to achieve the mission is a starting point. It will enable care and maintenance of Mission Command systems, training on Mission Command systems and a successful use of Mission Command systems at the critical moment during a real world mission.

A personal Mission Command philosophy is one way to create a shared understanding for subordinates. But, without talking to subordinates about Mission Command it is hard to know what they think about it and how they will use it during mission execution. Encouraging a comprehensive Mission Command discussion among unit leaders before mission execution is critical to ensuring a shared understanding exists before a mission. A personal Mission Command philosophy can act as a breaching tool to get this conversation started.