Unit 1 – Introduction to Crisis Management

Unit 2 - THE COMMANDER

Reading 1

THE COMMANDER

‘ ... at the lower levels it takes a robust nature to cope with the overwhelming mixture of
physical hardship, stress and danger. At the higher levels, uncertainty, combined with
responsibility for life and death, can easily crush those who are unprepared to deal with it.
Often a great mental force is required just to keep one’s sanity, let alone maintain control and
operate effectively. Unless it takes due cognizance of the things that men fight for, as well as
the motives that make them fight, no doctrine is worth a fig; conversely, it is from these
problems that any attempt at understanding war must proceed.’
Martin van Creveld

Much has been written on the subject of command, particularly from a single-Service
perspective, but command at the operational level of war has received less attention.
Although success at the tactical level is a necessary prerequisite to success at the operational
level of command, the one does not always follow the other.

THE PERSONAL DIMENSION

Command is personal. There is no unique formula or right combination of qualities. Moreover,

different types of commanders are required for different circumstances. It is important,
therefore, that strategic level commanders have a choice of whom they select for operational
level command to fit the circumstances that prevail at the time. Views differ on the balance of
qualities required for command at the higher levels. Clausewitz, for example, described 2
‘indispensable’ qualities of command:
‘First, an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmerings of the Inner Light
which leads to the truth; and second, the courage to follow this faint light wherever it may go.’
Field Marshal Montgomery described command as:
‘ ... the capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose, and the character
which inspires confidence.’

A 1961 military publication claimed:

‘The 2 essentials of a commander are that he must have the determination to dominate his
opponent and the capacity to lead his subordinate commanders and inspire their confidence.’
All 3 quotations are as valid in future operations as they were when they were written.
Command requires a combination of cerebral, moral and physical qualities.

LEADERSHIP

Military leadership is the projection of personality and character to get a force to do what is
required of it. Skill in the techniques of leadership is the foremost quality in the art of
command and contributes very largely to success. There is no prescription for good
leadership; it may be a product of persuasion, compulsion, force of personality, charm or any
combination of techniques. What is clear is that the commander must understand what makes
his force ‘tick’; the force in turn must understand his intentions and trust his leadership.
The commander must have a thorough understanding of the relative capabilities and
weaknesses of each component and, if applicable, contributing forces from other nations, and
must be attuned to national sensitivities and vital interests. This calls for political awareness,
together with patience, tact and mutual understanding based on knowledge of other nations’
languages, history and culture - qualities not always consistent with that of the dynamic
commander. The commander must weld all the joint and national contingents together into a
strong and coordinated team and, by his personal example, continue to motivate it.
When cracks appear, as inevitably they will - whether due to conflicting national pressures
and/or exploitation by the opponent (as Iraq attempted to do by attacking Israel during the
Gulf War) - the commander will have to call upon all his leadership skills to re-build the morale
of the force and confidence of the alliance or coalition.

UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF OPERATIONAL ART

Operational art requires a penetrating intellect and vision. Without clarity of thought,
intelligence and judgement, a commander will neither understand a complex situation, be able
to identify the key essentials (and therefore identify correctly, for example, an enemy centre of
gravity and decisive points) nor be able to decide what to do (vision). As Napoleon once
remarked: ‘It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly and secretly what I should do in
circumstances unexpected by others; it is thought and meditation.’

It follows that the operational level commander must be the master of his profession. He must
be able to judge the soundness of technical advice and be familiar with the characteristics,
strengths and weaknesses of likely enemies/ belligerent parties and those of potential allies or
partners. He must understand the political dimension of operational level command and how
to deal with the media. In short, the operational level commander must understand
operational art.
(from United Kingdom doctrine for Joint and Multinational Operations, Joint Warfare
Publication 0-10, pp. 4-1, 4-3)

Glossary

Overwhelming (adj.) - So strong as to be irresistible

Hardship (n.) - A state of misfortune or affliction; something hard to endure
Sanity (n.) - Normal or sound powers of mind
Cognizance (n.) - Having knowledge of; range of what one can know or understand
To be worth a fig (idiom) – To be worth nothing; to have no value
Prerequisite (adj.)- Required as a prior condition or course of study
(n.) - Something that is required in advance

to prevail (v.) - Be larger in number, quantity, or importance

glimmerings (n.) - soft and intermittent lights
faint (adj.) - Barely perceptible; lacking clarity or brightness or loudness etc
ro rally (v.) - Gather or bring together
foremost (adj.) - Ranking above all others
compulsion (n.) – 1. An urge to do or say something that might be better left undone or
unsaid; 2. Using force to cause something; the act of compelling; constraint; coercion.
thorough (adj.) - Painstakingly careful and accurate
to attune (vt.) - Adjust or accustom to; bring into harmony with
to weld (v.) - Unite closely or intimately
decisive (adj.) - Determining or having the power to determine an outcome
soundness (n.) – 1. A state or condition free from damage or decay 2. The quality of being
prudent and sensible

Reading

Exercise 1

Read the text “The Commander” and choose the best synonym of the underlined word.
Choose between A, B or C and use the Glossary for Unit 2.

1. Command implies bringing people together to perform a common task.

A. spread
B. accumulate
C. rally

2. Understanding war must proceed from the awareness of the things and motives that men
fight for.

A. cognizance
B. feeling
C. well-being

3. A good commander must have an exhaustive understanding of the capabilities and

weaknesses of each component.

A. good
B. interesting
C. thorough

4. The commander should unite people closely so that they will act as a single entity.

A. put in
B. weld
C. get together

5. The commander must be able to judge the wiseness of technical advice and know the
strengths and weaknesses of likely enemies and those of potential allies or partners.

A. goodness
B. firmness
C. soundness
Exercise 2

Read the text “The Commander” and decide weather the following statements are true or
false. Choose T for true and F for false:

1. The Commander must have the capacity to lead his subordinate commanders and inspire
their confidence.

A. T
B. F

2. Military leadership is the projection of personality and character to get a force to do what
the commander wants to do.

A. T
B. F

3. A dynamic commander will always have patience, tact and mutual understanding based on
knowledge of other nations’ culture.

A. T
B. F

4. When unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty occur, the commander will have to
be able to re-build the morale of the force and confidence of the alliance or coalition.

A. T
B. F

5. Operational art requires clarity of thought, intelligence and judgement.

A. T
B. F

6. A genial commander will not need to rely on thought and meditation.

A. T
B. F

Exercise 3

Exercise 4