Command-and-Control

My father was the first generation in my family to be born in the United States. Like his father, who immigrated to this country in the early 1900’s, he served his country during times of world war. My father served in the second war to end all wars (WW2), his father in the first (WW1). Both were trained to have faith in the concept of command-and-control to the extent that their lives depended on it. In a tactical environment if a soldier does not submit to what he is commanded to do immediately and without hesitation, he could be killed by an unseen incoming threat. The command of a superior is accepted without question because the soldier believes he is being commanded to do something that is in his best interest to obey. The soldier must trust the commander.

Command-and-control is a popular topic in the news lately concerning the Ukranian war. According to military experts, the Russian assault is not nearly as effective as they thought it would be in a large part because of command-and-control issues. Effective command-and-control is especially critical when a battle has the complexity of being fought on multiple fronts like the Russians are doing. It has been widely reported that Russian communications are difficult, and supplies are inadequate. It has also been reported that Russian soldiers thought they were going on a training exercise and were surprised to find themselves in open warfare with the Ukrainians. Also, it has been noted that the type of fight around Ukrainian cities is highly dependent on communication. These are all issues with command-and-control.

It is not a surprise that in an autocratic regime command-and-control would be an issue. In an autocracy like Russia all commands are controlled from the top autocrat (Mr. Putin) who has demonstrated his priorities are not looking out for the Russian troops’ best interests. They are simply a tool to achieve the autocrat’s purposes. No wonder moral is reportedly low with the desire to dessert only being mitigated by the threat of execution if caught. Command-and-control requires submission to those giving the commands in faith by those being subject to the commands. The Ukranian Army has very effective command-and-control because they are united in their faith in their defense of their country and in submission to their leader.

I believe the natural world (our domain) parallels the spiritual world (God’s domain). We adopt methods in our natural world that parallel those we experience in the spiritual world. I believe when we live with faith in God we live in a very effective command-and-control environment. We have confidence in such commands as “Be still and know I am God” (Psalm 46:10) because when we let go and let God handle our circumstance in faith He always shows up. We know we can walk fearlessly “through the valley of the shadow of death” and “fear no evil” (Psalm 23:4) because we have felt God’s presence and comfort before during those times, every time. We are faithful because He is faithful. (1 Corinthians 1:9) He is faithful even when we lapse in our faith, and we are not. (2 Timothy 2:13) A life of faith is a life of optional command-and-control. We choose to submit to God’s reign and rule in our life, or submit to His authority in our lives, by faith. No one is going to threaten us with execution if we abandon our faith. And even if we do, we have learned to return sooner or later because it is a matter of spiritual life. Our faith is our oxygen supply. Breathe deep, take in as much as you can for the battle ahead. We can’t effectively fight without it. Listen for God’s direction in your life. It’s our spiritual command-and-control system.