The NATO Code of Best Practice for Command and Control Assessment

Dr. Stuart H. Starr, FS

The MITRE Corporation

Abstract

In 1999, a NATO Panel issued a Code of Best Practice (COBP) for Command and Control (C2) Assessment. This initial product focused on the processes that should be pursued to support C2 assessments in the context of conventional warfare. Subsequently, a second study team, Studies, Analyses, and Simulations (SAS) –026, was established to explore the extension of the COBP to operations other than war (OOTW).

The NATO COBP for C2 Assessment has been used as the foundation for several MORS Workshops on C2 assessment (e.g., MORS Workshops on C4ISR Assessments in 2010 and Advancing C4ISR Assessments). Both of those workshops recommended that the academic community take steps to incorporated the COBP into the OR curriculum and to encourage studies or theses that employ the COBP.

This presentation will briefly summarize the key features of the NATO COBP for C2 Assessment. It will provide lessons learned from recent applications of the COBP to selected C2 assessments (e.g., the evaluation of alternative Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) facilities in the context of peacekeeping in Bosnia). The presentation will conclude by discussing the opportunities that exist to incorporate the COBP into the military OR curriculum.