From WAR ROOM—Online Journal of the U.S. Army War College
Without a doubt, the chain of command is one of the most durable concepts in military organizations. From Roman times until present, the chain of command fixed formal authorities and accountability from the highest leader to the front line soldier. It made the generation, issuing, and following of orders simple despite the vastness of formations being put to battle. The chain also formalized the separation of officers and soldiers into different castes. As societies industrialized, formal chains of command were instituted in bureaucracy which would become the leading model of organization in the civilian sector.
But times are changing, and the civilian sector has been moving away from traditional bureaucracies because they can be too rigid in the face of information age challenges. From “flattening” organizations in the late 20th century to today’s algorithmic management, modern control and coordination structures are flexible and more responsive. From Google to Uber, dynamic organizational structures have proven very successful in meeting customer needs.
What about the military? With so much change in the private sector, continued adherence to formal structures in the military seems old-fashioned. On current and future battlefields, Strategic Corporals exercise leadership; cyber warfare, artificial intelligence, and robotics are standard features; urban environments are the probable settings; and war will be cross-domain, high-speed, and complex. The military has already evolved much of its norms and practices away from the linear chain into greater reliance on centers and working groups, vestiges of flatter structures. But how far should this go? Is the linear chain truly no longer relevant? These are the subjects of this essay.
Continue reading here.