CAMP DOHA, Kuwait (March 21, 2003) - Lt. Gen. David McKiernan (right), commander of the Coalition Forces Land Component Command, talks on the phone in the War Room to his subordinate commanders on the ground forward in Iraq.From The Strategy Page:
July 16, 2008: One of those unreported victories in Iraq and Afghanistan has been the triumph over micromanagement. This has not been easy, and is little talked about, because letting the enemy know how U.S. commanders make decisions in combat is not considered a wise move. However, without much fanfare, UAVs, targeting pods and Internet like communications have led to the use of "war rooms" on the battlefield for infantry commanders, using setups that were seen as science fiction a decade ago.
Micromanagement, first seen during the Vietnam war when advances in communications allowed someone in the Washington to communicate directly with commanders in combat, has been a curse for troops commanders ever since. Most often, it was a brigade or divisional commander up there in a helicopter, second guessing lieutenants and sergeants on the ground. This "micromanagement" was much disliked by the guys being second-guessed, while trying to run a battle they were right in the middle of.
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My Comment: New technology is also enabling soldiers to pass on information and strategy to soldiers who are rotating in. This constant flow of info and feedback keeps everyone informed and up to date with what is happening on the battlefield. This must cut down significantly the time that it takes for a soldier to be completely aware of the environment that he is in.
Hidden sensors, biometrics that can monitor populations, UAVs, eye in the sky gadgets, predators that operate 24/7 with Hellfire missiles that can fire with deadly accuracy .... these new technologies have now made irreverent the manual for guerrilla warfare.
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