In episode 197 of Aerospace Advantage Task Force: Leveraging the American Cognitive AdvantageHeather “Lucky” Penney talks with Lt. Col. Fritz “Plugger” Glojek, a former fellow at the Mitchell Institute, and Lt. Col. Nicholas “Badger” Underwood of Air University’s LeMay Center about how we can best enable soldiers to fly and fight.

The conflict in the Western Pacific will test the U.S. command and control structure. Despite significant efforts and progress with projects such as Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control and the Advanced Battle Management System, China will exploit the electromagnetic spectrum to impede, degrade, and disrupt communications. Mission Command—a leadership philosophy that empowers pilots to operate in uncertain, complex, and rapidly changing environments through trust, shared awareness, and an understanding of the commander’s intent—provides resilience to the physical command and control structure. Without a numerical or technological advantage, Americans must exploit their cognitive advantage and continue to make decisions when temporarily separated from their superiors. We discuss the need for Mission Command in a complex, dispersed, multidisciplinary fight in the Western Pacific.

Credits:

Host: Heather “Lucky” Penney, Senior Resident Fellow, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Producer: Shane Thin

Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey

Guest: Lt Col Fritz “Plugger” Glojek, Air Force Fellow, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies

Guest: Lt Col Nicholas “Badger” Underwood, LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Training, Air University