What is a risk of excessive centralization under Mission Command in LSCO?

What is a risk of excessive centralization under Mission Command in LSCO?

• A. Faster decisions.
• B. Slower decisions and hindered initiative.
• C. Enhanced initiative.
• D. No change in outcomes.

Answer: (B)

Mission Command relies on pushing authority down to subordinates so they can act on the commander’s intent with disciplined initiative. When centralization becomes excessive in LSCO, decisions get bottlenecked at higher levels, forcing subordinates to wait for orders rather than act quickly. That slows tempo and curtails initiative just when rapid, on-the-ground responses are essential, especially given potential degraded communications and the complexity of large-scale operations. So the main risk is slower decisions and hindered initiative.

Mission Command relies on pushing authority down to subordinates so they can act on the commander’s intent with disciplined initiative. When centralization becomes excessive in LSCO, decisions get bottlenecked at higher levels, forcing subordinates to wait for orders rather than act quickly. That slows tempo and curtails initiative just when rapid, on-the-ground responses are essential, especially given potential degraded communications and the complexity of large-scale operations. So the main risk is slower decisions and hindered initiative.