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Overview
No military function is more critical to operational success
than effective command and control (C2). There also is no more
daunting military function to get right when it comes to the
employment of complex multinational formations in the fast-paced
arena of crisis response. Since the Cold War, the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)—unique as an alliance
with a permanent standing C2 structure—has ventured into a
broader spectrum of missions and across a wider geographical
area of operations, posing far greater C2 challenges than the single-
mission, fixed-territory defense of the past. Threats to NATO
interests have increased, demanding military structures and
capabilities that can be employed on shorter notice and further
outside NATO territory. At the same time, more sophisticated
information-based battle systems and technologies are driving
the need for increasingly interoperable forces. A key factor for
success in this new environment will be a more agile, flexible, and
responsive NATO C2 architecture for the 21st century.
The NATO summit at Prague in November 2002 was a major
milestone in the evolution of alliance command structure and
future military force posture. Prague decisions outlined a new
arrangement that will take several years and significant investment
by both NATO and each member state to put in place.
Although many details must still be worked out, early momentum
toward the Prague goals is strong and encouraging. Those efforts
should not falter at a time of new and proximate threats to NATO
member territory and citizens, or collective interests.
Alliance military commanders direct their organizations
through the architecture of the distinctive NATO political-military
process called consultation, command, and control (C3).
Although C3 is a single NATO process, consultation is focused on
the political process of consensus decisionmaking among allies,
while command and control (C2) is a military function achieved
through the full array of NATO military command and force
structures, doctrinal command relationships, and technical
standards and interoperability agreements. NATO C2 is also underpinned by a multifaceted communications and information
system (CIS) that provides the connectivity and networks
to conduct military operations. Related but separate NATO doctrines
cover the functions of intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance.
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