Centralized Command Structure Of Russian Military And Its Bane Of Disastrous Performance in Ukraine

"The Non-commissioned Officers are  morally, mentally, physically and operationally charged with the care, continued on the job training, education and readiness of every Soldier in the U.S. Army. Their ability to coach, train and mentor competent Soldiers of character is the key to the success of the force."

Unlike the Russian Military, the United States Military has a decentralized structure which confers the Non Commissioned Officers (NCO), the ability to make on the spot decisions based on operational situation on ground. The Non Commissioned Officer Corps is the backbone of the United States Military. Their ability to assess situations on the ground and make timely and operational decisions gives the United States Military the agility and flexibility to conduct timely and very effective maneuver operations against any foe, without waiting for orders or approval from the Central Command and avoiding unnecessary delays that sacrifice the element of surprise, which is very key to military operations successes, and limiting real time command chain risks and delayed top leadership operation orders.

Major Ndubisi M. Eze (Ex-Military Intelligence & Diplomatic Security Services).

Throughout the history of the U.S. Army, the NCO has been its backbone. The NCO corps of the United States Army is admired by its contemporaries around the world, and is an integral part of what has made the United Army so successful throughout its 246 years of service to the Nation.

The NCO Corps of the United States Army has made revolutionary changes in the past decade and continues to evolve to meet the emerging threats posed by its enemies. Grounded in their Oath of service to the Nation, and its rich history and heritage, the NCO corps of the United States Army is the vanguard for leading and training Soldiers at the crew, team, squad, section and platoon level. Focusing on the basics with tough, realistic combat training, and ensuring that in the crucibles of ground combat, its Soldiers will prevail and  be victorious in any operation. 

The Non-commissioned Officers are  morally, mentally, physically and operationally charged with the care, continued on the job training, education and readiness of every Soldier in the U.S. Army. Their ability to coach, train and mentor competent Soldiers of character is the key to the success of the force. The United States, its Officers and Soldiers have placed great trust and confidence in the NCO Corps, and deserving nothing less than competent, confident, and trusted professionals to remain the world's premier land fighting force on earth.

In the ongoing military conflict between a relatively small and less equipped military of Ukraine and in all accounts, a much larger and supposedly better equipped Russian Military, it's estimated that the Ukrainian Military has neutralized roughly eight Russian generals. This could only have been possible if those general moved to the frontlines to break what seem to have become  consistent, persistent and rampant operational stalls in the so-called military operations of Russia in Ukraine. The Russian military operations may have technically been stalled in most fronts and in most cases, resulting from poor or inadequate  communication, lag on ground operational coordination, morale morbidity of troops, usage of outdated logistical operational field tactics, none intelligence guided indiscriminate deployment of arsenals and consequential shortages in arms, ammunition, fuel and food, and inability of Russian field Soldiers to make on the spot decisions to break the stalls and to advance with their operations. The result of this, must have prompted the Generals to embark on the ground situational assessments, to issue on the ground standing orders and/or in so doing, exposed themselves to Ukrainian snipers who took advantage of the lapses in the Russian Military structure to take out those top brass Soldiers.

Unlike the overly centralized Russian Military, the United States Military rely heavily on its decentralized military structure which gives its Non-commissioned Officers on the ground power and authority to assess frontline/ battlefield situations and make on the spot timely decisions, taking into consideration the enemy's technical, firepower, logistics and manpower deployment which may pose a militating effect against the troops advantageous quest for frontline/battlefield element of surprise.

The war planning and executory capacity of the US armed forces is very layered and detailed. The overall national strategic objective and mission of the United States government are first articulated by the United States National Security Council. 

The National Security Council, as of 2020 and as per statute and National Security Presidential Memorandum–4, is chaired by the President. Its members are the Vice President (statutory), the Secretary of State (statutory), the Secretary of Defense (statutory), the Secretary of Energy (statutory), the National Security Advisor (non-statutory), the Attorney General (non-statutory), the Secretary of Homeland Security (non-statutory), the Representative of the United States to the United Nations (non-statutory), and the Secretary of the Treasury (statutory).

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the military advisor to the Council, the Director of National Intelligence is the Intelligence Advisor, and the Director of National Drug Control Policy is the Drug Control Policy Advisor. The Chief of Staff to the President, White House Counsel, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy are also regularly invited to attend NSC meetings. The Attorney General, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency are invited to attend meetings pertaining to their responsibilities. The Heads of other executive departments and agencies, as well as other senior officials, are invited to attend meetings of the NSC when appropriate.

The White House National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and foreign policy matters with senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials as part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States.

 It's at the NSC that the overall national strategic objective and mission of the United States government are first articulated and conveyed to the top echelon of the United States Military who in turn issues to field commanders, a broad national strategic operational orders bearing in mind the nations overall strategic interests, objective and mission.

The field commanders in turn issue to the field Soldiers tactical operational orders specific to each field operational formations and military units. These operational formation and unit specific orders when combined culminates into the national strategic objective and mission of the United States. It is these operational formations and unit specific orders executed by enlisted Soldiers with the supervision of the Non-Commissioned Officers, via real time on the ground situational assessments and the capacities to make on the spot decisions that puts the United States Army the vintage advantage of agility and flexibility in operations and the morale confidence to carry out given assignments without resorting to a delayed wait for orders to come from above, which in most cases leads to loss of element of surprise, casualties, unnecessary delays and operatoonal stallments or as notoriously evident in the Russian Military operation in Ukraine; or as operational frustrations on the part of Russian Military echelon that informed its kinectic gambles of resorting to the use of ICBM missiles and artillery munitions fired from outside Ukrainian territory, leading to unwarranted and inexcusable loss of so many innocent civilian lives, women, children and the elderly and resulting to the most catastrophic humanitarian disaster in Europe since the end of second world war.

Article authored in collaboration of: 

Capt. Bish C. Johnson (US Army rtd), National Defense and Security Strategist & Major Ndubisi M. Eze (Ex-Military Intelligence & Diplomatic Security Services).