As a simple lesson in mission command, new lieutenants and sergeants could certainly do worse than A Message to Garcia. Given ambiguous orders by President William McKinley to find Cuban insurgent leader Calixto Garcia, Lt. Andrew Rowan “landed off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, and in three weeks came out the other side of the island . . . having delivered his letter to Garcia.” Rowan's orders enable “disciplined initiative in accomplishment” of his commander's intent.
However, to graduate to a level of study with more nuance, students of mission command should consider turning to the Navy for lessons in what service calls “command by negation.”
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