Micromanagement In Military

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As much as technology has helped the military, it has also become a hindrance and concern for leadership. Advancements in communications have made micromanagers out of senior leaders. The rate technology advances also creates problems in training and implementing technology. As well as the technology of mass media. To best describe micromanagement problems, I will use the Captain (CPT) Swenson story. CPT Swenson was the Ground Force Commander (GFC) of a joint U.S. Army and Marine force in Afghanistan, 2009. On September 8, 2009, his unit was ambushed and attacked by a much larger force of Taliban insurgents. While under attack, many men in the unit were injured. CPT Swenson called for air support or artillery support several times, but was …show more content…
Advancements in technology have now pulled these Generals and senior leadership off the battlefield, leaving Ground Force Commanders to lead the fight on the ground. These GFCs can now be subordinate leaders being guided by their senior leadership, in a control room, sometimes as far away as 1000s of miles. Technology is allowing these “tactical generals” to position troops on the ground, but they are not there seeing the whole picture like the GFC. “Unfortunately, the line between timely supervision and micromanagement is a fine one and may be quickly fading with unmanned systems. More and more frequently, generals insert themselves into situations inappropriately, and their command leadership role becomes command interference” (Singer, 2016). CPT Swenson’s story is a perfect example of this type of micromanagement that becomes an interference. These commanders might think they know better, because they know their own intent, but an unmanned camera in the sky does not see the whole picture like a Ground Force Commander does. Or in Swenson’s case were the commander is more concerned with his own career then the truth on the ground. “In any Army, in any time, the purpose of “leadership” is to get the job done” (Ulmer, 1998). Does using technology to micromanage subordinate leaders allow the job to get done, or does it …show more content…
The question of “With new capabilities being available so quickly, how can we possibly learn to effectively use these capabilities before they, in turn, become obsolete?” (Alberts, 2002). This is a big concern, by the time new technology has been introduced, tested, then implemented and trained, it becomes obsolete. This is especially true in the communications arena. The military and its leaders rely heavily on computer technology. Many man hours, money, and training time is spent learning these new systems and training people on them. By the time someone becomes proficient in a certain system, a new one is out. Normally this might not be an issue, but in the world of cyber security this creates problems having out dated
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