Memo to commanders: less micromanaging.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY - Brief article

* U.S. technological prowess has made it possible to centralize command-and-control functions in the military, to the point that a general sitting at the Pentagon can micromanage a war half a world away.

This may satisfy senior leaders' yearning for efficiency but it also makes the U.S. military more vulnerable, especially in wars such as the ones it's fighting today, says Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, head of U.S. Joint Forces Command. Highly centralized and computerized command is not the way to go, he says, because the enemy could easily disrupt the network and cause chaos. "The U.S. military is the single most vulnerable military in the world when we overly rely on...