Leaders are the Network

First Place Winner of the MacArthur Military Leadership Writing Competition for the 2010 CGSC Class. Lessons learned from manually tracking friendly and enemy forces during Operations Desert Storm (ODS) in Iraq and Restore Hope in Somalia, resulted in a demand for more efficient information systems on the battlefield. Maintaining situational awareness and understanding of multiple elements moving throughout the operational area and performing different tactical missions simultaneously became extremely difficult. In the years since the end of the Cold War, the military has developed and delivered significantly advanced command and control platforms based on these lessons learned and the recommendations of past leaders. However, today's operating environment and the uncertainty and complexity of future armed conflict call for a new approach to "network-centric warfare."