Consideration of the Human Elements in the Command Estimate

This study proposes to determine whether a systematic method of evaluating human elements in combat should be incorporated in the command estimate. The research hypothesis of the study is that the exclusion of the human elements in the command estimate is inconsistent with the concept of combat power; hence the command estimate should incorporate a systematic method of evaluating human elements in combat to conform to that doctrine. The research is conducted with an emphasis on the subject relevant approach, which is the interaction between the human elements and the combat environment. It does not attempt to quantify those human elements but tries to find a conceptual model consisting of indicators that can anticipate human element conditions of a force in an upcoming battle. It uses current theories and studies on how soldiers react to the combat environment, the identification of the influencing factors on combat outcomes and historical data of the overriding influence of the human intangible variables over physical tangible variables on combat outcomes. The study concludes that although there is already an awareness of the human elements in the command estimate, a disconnect in doctrine exists by not providing sufficient attention to consider the human elements in the analysis of relative combat power of the situation estimate. It argues that there is an interaction between human elements and the combat environment, and that those human elements seem to have overriding influence on combat outcomes. The study identifies leadership, training, experience, cohesion, manpower quality and national characteristics as the six major groups of human elements to be considered as indicators to evaluate the influence of human elements on a unit's performance in an upcoming battle. Finally, the study builds a conceptual framework as a guide to identify those factors, to be used in the analysis of relative combat power of the situation estimate.