Mission Command Principles

During the Revolutionary War and many wars to follow, the physical concept of Mission Command was not yet developed. However, as any leader in a military force, some form of a Mission Command philosophy has been executed in major military battles. Colonel William Prescott, the Commander during the Battle of Bunker Hill, while serving with General Israel Putnam, portrayed what is now known by the United States military as Mission Command Principles. The Battle of Bunker Hill began when the order came down that Colonel Prescott was to defend the Charlestown Peninsula from the British to prevent access to the mainland through the Charlestown Neck. Although the Colonials did not physically win the Battle of Bunker Hill, Colonel Prescott’s leadership …show more content…
Many times, disciplined initiative may be executed during a tactical situation. Colonel Prescott portrayed disciplined initiative when he allowed for his subordinate units and commanders to develop plans based off of what they believed to be the best battle tactic once the British arrived to fight. Captain Knowlton was able to secure the left flank along the Mystic River with the stone wall and rail fence with Colonel Stark. Also, Colonel Prescott allowed for all of the men in the fighting force to exercise disciplined initiative when he ordered them to not fire until they saw the whites of the enemy’s eyes. Colonel Prescott had provided his commander’s intent which allowed the subordinates to exercise the initiative when it was needed.13 With Colonel Prescott’s ability to utilize this Mission Command Principle, the American forces were able to cause heavy casualties to the British during the first two advances and caused the British to retreat …show more content…
It was made clear to the men that the belief was that this would provide them the best advantage again the British. On the morning of the battle, Colonel Prescott performed an assessment of the battlefield position. When he realized the vulnerability to his left, Colonel Stark’s knew what his mission needed to be and was able to provide support along the rail fence, to the right of Captain Knowlton’s men at the stone wall along the Mystic River. Colonel Stark’s was able to act in this manner because Colonel Prescott was able to provide the desired end state of the mission of Charlestown Peninsula, which was to keep the British forces off and did not need any further orders in order to accomplish Colonel Prescott’s