Battle command (BC) is the discipline of visualizing, describing, directing, and leading forces in operations against a hostile, thinking, and adaptive enemy. Battle command applies leadership to translate decision into actions, by synchronizing forces and warfighting functions in time, space, and purpose, to accomplish missions.
—
—
— Battle command refers both to processes triggered by

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

s and executed by soldiers and to the

system of systems System of systems is a collection of task-oriented or dedicated systems that pool their resources and capabilities together to create a new, more complex system which offers more functionality and performance than simply the sum of the constituent s ...

(SoS) that directly enables those processes.

Alternate definition

FM 100.5

BC is defined as the art of

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

decision-making, leading, and motivating

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

s and their organizations into action to accomplish missions. BC includes visualizing the current state and future state, formulating concepts of operations to get from one to the other, and doing so at least cost. Assigning missions, prioritizing and allocating resources, selecting the critical time and place to act, and knowing how and when to make adjustments during the fight are also included. "Operations", FM 100–5, Headquarters Department of the Army, June 199

FM 7-30

BC is the art and science of battlefield decision making and leading soldiers and units to successfully accomplish the mission. The BC basic elements are decision making, leading, and controlling. The BC

System of Systems System of systems is a collection of task-oriented or dedicated systems that pool their resources and capabilities together to create a new, more complex system which offers more functionality and performance than simply the sum of the constituent s ...

at brigade level enables commanders to lead, prioritize, and allocate assets required to employ and sustain combat power. The brigade commander must see further, process information faster and strike more precisely and quicker. If information is the medium of the BC process, the BC system must provide the commander with timely and accurate information on which to base the commander's decision."The Infantry Brigade", FM 7-30, Headquarters Department of the Army, 3 October 199

/ref>

Synonyms

BC is also known by the following terms: * C4ISTAR, Command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance ( C4ISR)

Battle management

Battle management (BM) is the management of activities within the operational environment based on the commands, direction, and guidance given by appropriate authority. BM is considered to be a subset of BC.In some contexts (e.g. BMC3 and C2BM), BM appears to be distinct from

command and control Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...

. In other contexts (e.g. Battle management command), BM appears to be a subset of

."DoD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms", Joint Publication 1-02, DoD, 17 March 2009

Processes

Business process A business process, business method or business function is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks by people or equipment in which a specific sequence produces a service or product (serves a particular business goal) for a parti ...

es associated with

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

forces are detailed in various publications of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

."Joint Operations", Joint Publication 3-0,

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

, DoD, 13 February 200

System of systems

Modern BC

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

and hardware exhibit all of the traits and qualities of an SoS. A BC SoS can be decomposed into

system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...

s such as

maneuver Maneuver (American English), manoeuvre (British English), manoeuver, manœuver (also spelled, directly from the French, as manœuvre) denotes one's tactical move, or series of moves, that improves or maintains one's strategic situation in a compet ...

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

fires and effects Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are ...

air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movemen ...

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

(alternatively recognizance) (these three sometimes grouped as ISR, or by adding target acquisition,

ISTAR ISTAR stands for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing t ...

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word ...

, and

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...

. Among the many inputs of these systems is a plethora of

sensors A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

which undergo

sensor fusion Sensor fusion is the process of combining sensor data or data derived from disparate sources such that the resulting information has less uncertainty than would be possible when these sources were used individually. For instance, one could potentia ...

and are compiled into a

common operational picture A common operational picture (COP) is a single identical display of relevant (operational) information (e.g. position of own troops and enemy troops, position and status of important infrastructure such as bridges, roads, etc.) shared by more than ...

local operational picture Within military operations, a local operational picture (LOP) is a single identical display of relevant (operational) information of the battlespace (e.g. position of own troops and enemy troops, position and status of important infrastructure suc ...

that enable commanders to achieve

situational awareness Situational awareness or situation awareness (SA) is the perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status. An alternative definition is tha ...

(SA)/ situational understanding (SU). SA/SU is paramount for commanders to command and control modern

forces.

Military acquisition

The Department of the Army organization primarily responsible for the acquisition of the BC SoS is the PM BC, a subordinate organization within the

PEO C3T Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a United States Army, U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Maryland, Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland, United Stat ...

Types

Battle command on the move (BCOTM)

One of the problems with BC SoS is that a

has little

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

while in the battlefield.

Command and control Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...

planning occurs at a

command post Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...

(CP) or

tactical operations center A tactical operations center (TOC) is a command post for police, paramilitary, or military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically au ...

(TOC). Once a battle begins, a

leaves the CP/TOC and moves forward to stay engaged. A commander has limited communication possibilities while in the battlefield, making it difficult to follow and control all events as they happen. ''Battle command on the move'' (BCOTM) is a capability that provides commanders all of the information resident in their CP/TOC and the required communications necessary to command and control on the move, or at a short halt, from any vantage point on the battlefield. Odierno, Raymond T., Erickson, Edward J., "The Battle of

Taji {{Infobox settlement , official_name = Taji , other_name = , nickname = , settlement_type = , motto = , image_skyline = , image_size = , image_caption = , im ...

and Battle Command on the Move",

Military Review The U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (USACAC) is located at Fort Leavenworth and provides leadership and supervision for leader development and professional military and civilian education; institutional and collective training; functional training; ...

, July–August 200

/ref>

Airborne battle command

Example airborne systems that contribute to BC: *

E-8 Joint STARS The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) is a United States Air Force airborne ground surveillance, battle management and command and control aircraft. It tracks ground vehicles and some aircraft, col ...

* E-3 Sentry

Notes

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library - Battle Command
Military terminology Military acquisition Warfare post-1945 Knowledge management