What Military Commanders do and how they do it: Executive Decision-Making in the Context of Standardised Planning Processes and Doctrine

In this article, I explore how contemporary military commanders understand command in the context of standardised planning processes, doctrine, and a supporting staff organiation. The article is based on 30 interviews with former and current NATO commanders and senior staff officers. I describe the interplay between commanders and their staff, including its clear division of labour, authority, and responsibility. I argue that commanders make key decisions in the planning process based on professional judgement. Commanders recognise the usefulness and limits of structured decision-making processes and doctrine while acknowledging also the need for surprise, creativity, and risk-taking. Left unattended, the military staff tends to develop mechanical behaviour by following a bureaucratic logic of rationality, control, and optimisation. In this context, command is a distinct and necessary function for the making of key decisions that allow for creative applications of doctrine, while avoiding any succumbing to predictable textbook solutions. Finally, the article points toward the importance of developing future commanders and their staff officers to understand the limits of doctrine and procedural approaches and develop professional judgement.