Butler, W: How Should the Brigade and Division Commander Ass

This monograph deals with the assessment process during the course of battle. The accuracy of assessment can mean the difference in success or failure in combat. To enhance the potential for success the commander must have a method to assess the progress of battle. A method of assessment provides information from which the commander can make decisions during the course of battle. If the assessment process is absent or faulty there is a greater chance that the decisions made will be counter-productive to the accomplishment of the mission. Current US Army doctrine does not address the question of how to assess the progress of battle. Military theory provides a foundation and a general direction to focus a potential assessment process. History provides examples of battles where the successful commanders had an adequate assessment process and unsuccessful commanders failed to recognize success or failure due to an inadequate assessment process. This paper culls out from military theory and historical examples principles for assessing the progress of battle. It concludes with a recommended assessment method. The recommended method incorporates the physical, cybernetic, and moral domains of battle with the elements of combat power and the historical principles of effective assessment processes. The study then briefly examines the implications of this process for contemporary doctrine.