Cognitive Readiness in Network-Centric Operations

I n a 1998 article in Proceedings, Arthur Cebrowski and John Garstka described network-centric warfare as the “next revolution in military affairs,” comparable in magnitude to the revolution triggered by mass conscription during the Napoleonic era. The term network-centric operations refers to military operations enabled by networking the military force. Networking has multiple meanings, but in the network-centric context it means computer networkbased provision of an integrated picture of the battlefield, available in detail to all levels of command and control down to the individual soldier. The latter is achieved through command post, vehicle, and helmetor head-mounted displays, and individual soldier computers, all linked by radio-frequency networks. As stated in a 2001 Defense Department report to Congress, “NetworkCentric Warfare is to warfare what e-business is to business.” E-business applications may have come first, but as indicated in the introductory quote from S. L. A. Marshall, “battle is the freest of all free enterprises,” making battle and network-centric organization a natural fit. Network-centric operations (whether of a military or commercial nature) are characterized by information-sharing across multiple levels of traditional echelons of command and control. This information-sharing is made possible by networking the entire force down to the individual level. Therefore, network-centric operations depend upon the availability of in-