Episode two of the CAAL podcast series discusses the practice of Mission Command in the Australian Army with Brigadier Chris Smith DSC, CSC, Director General Land Operations.

On a dynamic and unpredictable battlefield, which we refer to as an environment of Accelerated Warfare, leaders must be versatile, agile and adaptive. These requirements are enabled by Mission Command.

Mission command is: 'a philosophy of command and a system for conducting operations in which a commander may chose the freedom of action afforded to subordinates against the level to which the pre-conditions have been set.' The result required, the task, the level of managed risk, the resources and any constraints are clearly dictated. Subordinates then use disciplined initiative to achieve the required results.