Modern Communications: A Challenge to the Military Commander.

The U.S. military commander is now witnessing a trend away from control of operations by the military commander in the field toward closer supervision and regulation by the national authorities in Washington of the exact degree of application of military force before, during, and after any initiation of hostilities. The modern military commander needs to examine the reasons for this trend and to consider the philosophy that he should adopt toward it. It is contended in this article that better communications can be a key part of the military commanders response to this challenge since it will provide a means for allowing him to be better informed about the concepts and problems at the national level. This, in turn, will permit him to provide more timely and substantive answers to Washington. There is no guarantee that the military perspective will be given proper consideration in the formulation of decisions under conditions of national crises, but, if the military commander is to act consistently within the circumstances and realities of the current use of communications to control national and military strategy, he must adopt a philosophy representative of those circumstances.