Toward Omniscient Command

This study examines information age leadership in the United States armed forces. The intent is to develop specific skills that will enhance future military operations in the information age. The study will investigate a number of issues with regard to information age leadership: historical background, its nature and dynamics, significant factors, and doctrine covering information management and leadership. This multi-pronged approach will serve as the catalyst to a better understanding of information age leadership and the development of applicable skills. The study will open with a historical perspective of selected wars spanning the history of humankind. The following conflicts will be analyzed in terms of leadership: Peloponnesian Wars, Napoleonic Warfare, the American Civil War, World War II, and Operation Allied Force. The analysis and resulting factors will focus primarily on how commanders received and used information, and how it affected their leadership. These resulting factors will be analyzed to determine information age leadership skills. The study will then conduct a review and analysis of joint and service-specific leadership doctrine. Through this review, the study will examine what the military's doctrinal position is on leadership and information management. This step will also evaluate current doctrine as compared to the previously identified information age leadership skills to discover current leadership skill shortfalls. The study will also place these leadership skills into the context of the Joint Operating Environment (JOE) to determine how these skills will answer the challenges of our anticipated dynamic combat environment. The study concludes with an extended description of those leadership skills required to lead effectively in the information age. This will include a discussion on the advantages and challenges of leading in the information age. The United States armed forces must develop new leadership doctrine that reflects the skil