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Abstract
Purpose - To propose a new military academic area called the "Science of Military Command and Control" which will demand an entirely new way of thinking regarding decision-making command and control and use of modern technology.
Design/methodology/approach - Defines basic terms and concepts of the discipline and a meta-theory consisting of General Systems Theory and its related areas is presented.
Findings - Three main perspectives are recommended where the first is General Systems Theory, the second is the Cybernetics Regulatory Paradigm and the third is Communication and Information Theory. The components of military command and control system were analysed and a general model for information system development recommended.
Research limitations/implications - Current thinking in favour of a "network-defense" that is based on information and communication technology has changed the traditional perspective. New thinking and research development is required. New research using scientific approach is needed.
Practical implications - Shows that the old and exact strategies for Swedish defence has totally changed. New military academic area is proposed and a general model outlined.
Originality/value - Proposes a new way of thinking which will affect future military planning. A cybernetic/systemic methodology provides solutions.
Keywords Cybernetics, Control systems, Complexity theory, Armed forces
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
As long as man has organized himself, first at tribe level and later in societies and nations which then have created international pacts, it has always existed more or less organised fighting forces. The somewhat stereotyped statement that a country always has an army, its own or that of someone else, within its borders, is still of current interest.
Military activity has constantly been characterised by the need to design, realize, train and thereafter maintain an organization capable to fight against various kinds of external threats. Such a force has always been used in offensive as well as defensive tasks, e.g. from attacking neighbouring enemies to going together in order to defend oneself from invading forces. To succeed with this, strategical, operational and tactical skill is necessary for the joint effort. Further, a flexible tactical adaptation is necessary when the enemy changes his behaviour or take counter-measure.
The military manoeuvring has always felt the need for some kind of decision support and a management system. The decision support has...