Analysis and evaluation of the Command and Control concept of the NATO Immediate Reaction Task Force (Land)

Basic operations research techniques (problem structuring, process analysis, discrete event simulation, wargaming, etc) were successfully combined to form a multi-method to help address the complex task of evaluating the novel Command and Control (C2) concept of the HQ Immediate Reaction Task Force (Land) (IRTF(L)). This paper highlights the approach taken and some of the analytical and data collection activities used to evolve and evaluate the concept. The roles played by exercise observation, process analysis, wargames, historical analyses and simulation in the evaluation are also mentioned. The evaluation was the test case project for the new process of NATO Concept Development and Experimentation (CDE). Within constraints, the C2 concept was assessed as to be doctrinally sound and practical for a light infantry formation in warfighting scenarios.