Practicing mission command for future battlefield challenges: the case of the Swedish army. Issue 4 (1st October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nilsson, Niklas
• Is Part Of: Defence studies. Volume 20:Issue 4(2020)
• Page Start: 436
• Page End: 452
• Publication Date: 2020-10-01
• Subjects: Mission command -- Army tactics -- Land warfare -- Military profession -- Sweden; Military policy -- Periodicals; International relations -- Periodicals; National security -- Periodicals; Defensive (Military science) -- Periodicals; 355.0305
• DOI: 10.1080/14702436.2020.1828870
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1470-2436

Abstract

ABSTRACT: As armies across Europe are currently developing capabilities to fight a high-intensity conventional war against a peer adversary, these armies will have to develop units that can fight independently in a complex environment, with limited direction from higher levels of command. Integral to this process is the need for a competent practice of mission command, viewed as a key component of maneuver warfare. The article identifies a set of enablers that need to be present in a military organization in order to practice mission command efficiently, including shared understanding and trust; initiative; a tolerant approach to failure, success, and learning; and the acceptance of mission command as an all-encompassing practice. The article then presents data from interviews with Swedish army officers focusing on the presence and significance of these enablers in their professional context. The article concludes that the increasing complexity of the peacetime tasks performed by military officers give rise to conflicting leadership demands. Consequently, exercising mission command and socializing younger colleagues into the practice is a far from straightforward process, which frequently competes with other demands placed on officers by their colleagues, the organization that they are part of, or the broader societal context.