Command and influence is a component of Military C2 ('
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 ...
') and is a key aspect of
Terrorist Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures
Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) is an essential concept in terrorism and cyber security studies. The role of TTPs in terrorism analysis is to identify individual patterns of behavior of a particular terrorist activity, or a particular ...
.
Definition
Chris Flaherty in 2003 distinguished the concept of command and influence is a component of Military C2 ('
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 the following terms: "Influence, is fundamental to effective Command where forces manoeuvre. Thus, recognition of "Influence" is an important element in any future warfighting concept. As an alternative to relying on Command and Control (C2) based effective Command there should be utilization of command and "influence" (CI) based effective Command.
Role of influence in military theory
Notionally, 'influence' is definable as the effect of one person or thing on another. In particular military
information operation
Information warfare (IW) (as different from cyber warfare that attacks computers, software, and command control systems) is a concept involving the battlespace use and management of information and communication technology (ICT) in pursuit of a ...
s (IO) implicitly incorporates a variety of influence strategies, in order to shape the military and political spheres in conflict.
Relevance of Arquilla and Ronfeldt work
The work of
John Arquilla John Arquilla (born 1954) is an American analyst and academic of international relations.
Biography
Arquilla received a B.A. from Rosary College in 1975. Until 1987, he worked as a surety-bond executive. He then enrolled at Stanford University, ...
and
David Ronfeldt, on the
netwar
The following is a list of terms specific to anarchists. Anarchism is a political and social movement which advocates voluntary association in opposition to authoritarianism and hierarchy.
__NOTOC__
A
:The negation of rule or "government by no ...
actor, was used as the basis for developing the 'command and influence' model. In particular, their characterization of the network based organisation, as these routinely employ non-hierarchical based decision structures:
* An archetypal netwar actor consists of a web (or network) of disperse, interconnected 'nodes' (or activity centres).
* A network based organisation is structurally flat, meaning there is no single central leader or commander, and with little or no hierarchy.
* Decision making and operations are decentralized and depend on consultative consensus-building that allow for local initiative and autonomy.
* A mobilizing factor for decision making depends on a powerful doctrine, ideology, or narrative.
This later dictum clearly identifies 'Influence' as the enabling mechanism allowing actors/agents to disperse, devote to different tasks, as well as coordinate from a ground level up emulating operational centrality.
Relationship swarming tactics
Swarming
Swarm behaviour, or swarming, is a collective behaviour exhibited by entities, particularly animals, of similar size which aggregate together, perhaps milling about the same spot or perhaps moving ''en masse'' or migrating in some direction. ...
attackers or defenders take advantage of any happenstance they can manipulate (to their own advantage); and are able to overcome coordination barriers, as these adopt the following strategies:
[Flaherty, C. (2012) Dangerous Minds: A Monograph on the Relationship Between Beliefs –Behaviours – Tactics. Published by OODA LOOP (7 September 2012). URL: http://www.oodaloop.com/security/2012/09/07/dangerous-minds-the-relationship-between-beliefs-behaviors-and-tactics/]
* There is no discernible communication between swarming attackers (who operate completely without organisation or an apparent plan).
*
Netwar
The following is a list of terms specific to anarchists. Anarchism is a political and social movement which advocates voluntary association in opposition to authoritarianism and hierarchy.
__NOTOC__
A
:The negation of rule or "government by no ...
organisation is described as structurally flat. There is no central leader or commander and little or no hierarchy.
Cohesive factors
The key command and influence cohesive factors, are:
* Actions are independent;
* Coordinated collaboratively and consultatively;
* 'Influence' operates as the attractor and motivator for human-to-human organisation;
* The swarmers rely on broad ideologies to motivate and direct (which operate as unifying and directing precepts); and,
* The swarmers rely on
opinion leaders or
intermediaries
An intermediary (or go-between) is a third party that offers intermediation services between two parties, which involves conveying messages between principals in a dispute, preventing direct contact and potential escalation of the issue. In law ...
, who organize, coordinate, and suggest direction.
References
{{reflist
Counterterrorism