Military Review English Edition September-October 2014 | Page 8

Spc. Austin Berner, 982nd Combat Camera Company (Airborne)

An Afghan National Army command sergeant major records a message about the Afghanistan most-wanted high-value insurgents for
transmission on the radio, Forward Operating Base Shank, Logar Province, Afghanistan, 18 January 2012. The sergeant major is informing
the people of Afghanistan about the crimes and atrocities the individuals have committed and is asking for information about them.

but a new publications hierarchy has led to the transfer of certain doctrinal subjects from field manuals to
new publications categories known as Army doctrine
publications (ADPs) and Army doctrine reference publications (ADRPs). Army mission command doctrine
has moved to two new doctrinal publications that
rightfully have garnered much attention since their
release in 2012: ADP 6-0 and ADRP 6-0, both named
Mission Command.2
Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Raymond Odierno
has, on many occasions, emphasized the importance
of integrating the ideas in mission command doctrine
into how the Army conducts operations at all levels of
leadership. This level of visibility has caused some to
question their role within mission command because
if, according to doctrine, only commanders exercise
or apply mission command, how is mission command
doctrine relevant to everyone else? One group in
particular seems to be struggling: the noncommissioned officer (NCO) corps. How is the Army’s idea
of mission command relevant to NCOs? What is the
NCO’s role?
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All NCOs acknowledge that commanders command, and NCOs support them in the accomplishment of the mission. Given that thought process,
many NCOs have difficulty envisioning their role in
mission command. As I travel to camps, posts, and
stations around the country, I continue to hear similar rumblings from our NCOs: “Mission command,
that’s an officer thing,” or “That’s officer business.” This
way of thinking can be no further from the truth. My
response is always the same, “No, mission command is
leader business.”
As NCOs, and senior NCOs in particular, we must
change the way we think about mission command. To
accomplish this, we need to understand the basics of
mission command and gain an appreciation for our role
as NCOs within it. Then we can show our subordinates
their part helping commanders apply its principles.

Mission Command Defined
The Army’s approach to mission command incorporates three main concepts commanders apply to overcome the complex challenges of military operations.
September-October 2014  MILITARY REVIEW