Mattis: Military Should Rely Less on Technology

Mattis: Military Should Rely Less on Technology – Christopher P. Cavas, Marine Corps Times.

The military relies too much on technology, and soldiers need to practice more “with the radios turned off,” a key general said.

“We must be able to operate when systems go down,” Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, head of Joint Forces Command, told a luncheon audience Thursday at a joint war-fighting conference. “It is much more important for officers to get comfortable operating with uncertainty rather than to keep grasping for more certainty.” …

“I don’t think we have turned off our radios in the last eight years. What kind of systems are we creating where we depend on this connection to headquarters? While we want the most robust communications, we also want to make sure we can operate with none of it.” …

“Mission-type orders rather than bandwidth are the key to the future,” he said. “We need officers who can operate off a commander’s intent, understand what the boss several levels above wants, and carry them out to suffocate the enemy’s hopes.” …

More at Marine Corps Times.