Transmission and Reception of Commander’s Intent in a Hierarchical Chain of Command

A study of Commander's Intent (CI) in a Command and Control (C2) exercise was performed. The study focused on the performance of a brigade battle group. The highest commander and the battle commander, respectively, considered having transmitted CI to the subordinate commander in a distinct and clear manner. The brigade command considered having transmitted CI somewhat less clearly to their subordinate commanders. Both the brigade and battle commanders considered having transmitted CI somewhat more clearly to their subordinate commanders than they considered having received CI from their superior command. This is crucial since commanders at a subordinate level are supposed to act in accordance with mission-type tactics. If CI is not fully understood, or even altered, the risk for misinterpretation of CI at even lower levels is substantial. This study revealed a discrepancy between highest command and subordinate commanders in the formulation of CI during the scenario, where CI changes from an overall understanding of what need to be accomplished to be more focused on the actual situations. This could be problematic since the understanding for goals like initiation of piece agreements might get lost when CI is expressed more like solving the ongoing problems or conflicts.