FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — The U.S. Army unveiled its latest digital command and control system, allowing commanders at higher echelons to make decisions at increasingly lower levels of responsibility.
"We hear all this talk about Carl von Clausewitz and 'empowering subordinates' in ARDP 3-0" said Brig. Gen. William Burleson, Commander of the Mission Command Center of Excellence, referring to the Prussian officer's influence on the Army's latest operations manual. "But what I think we're forgetting is that Clausewitz never said anything about empowering subordinates. The guy was actually a huge micromanager. With this new battle command network, we can micromange our troops in ways Clausewitz never dreamed of."
Officials at the Mission Command Center of Excellence demonstrated how commanders could monitor whether or not soldiers were wearing reflector belts through an "exquisite" computer network linked to imagery from surveillance drones. Other unique features allow generals to examine down to the individual soldier level, such as whether or not they had complied with mandatory Consideration Of Others (CO2) training.
