The End of Command And Control? Shedding New Light on Transformation and the Revolution in Military Affairs

<p>For more than a decade the United States military has been frenetically searching for the key to success in the Information Age. The American Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) has been at the center of efforts to transform the armed forces for the twenty-first century. Revolution however means different things to different people. Attempts to understand the motivation for and implications of the RMA are thus frustrated by the lack of a suitable framework for analyzing change in military organizations. Could it be that having neither a reliable definition for revolution nor a suitable framework in which to analyze its implications the United States military may be proceeding on a misunderstood and ill-founded course? This thesis proposes that Thomas Kuhn's notion of a paradigm shift is a useful framework within which to analyze revolutionary change. Proceeding from the general pattern that Kuhn identified in scientific revolutions examination of similar patterns in both technological and political revolutions indicates that a paradigm shift can occur in a variety of domains. A case study of the Blitzkrieg revolution in interwar Germany suggests that one such domain is the realm of warfare. Analysis suggests that in times of crisis due to failure to secure victory in battle armed forces can construct a new battle tradition. Application of the paradigm shift framework to the American RMA shows that for much of history military forces have relied on a single paradigm to manage the conduct of war-- Command and Control (C2). This tradition relies on the coup d'oeil of military genius and Newtonian reductionism to exercise precise control over armed forces in order to direct the conduct of battle. Analysis of the RMA further suggests that the United States may have misinterpreted the impact of the Information Age.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>