Page:USMC MCDP 1-3 - Tactics.djvu/81

MCDP 1-3 opportunity, C Company's commander will take advantage of it. That is implicit communication. It is faster and more reliable than explicit communication (trying to pass words or messages back and forth over radios or telephones).

Of course, implicit communications must be developed over time. This requires actions that strengthen unit cohesion and mutual trust. This requires keeping people together in their units and stable in their assignments. It implies keeping good teams together. It means developing a band of brothers in our units, as Admiral Horatio Nelson did. He spent many evenings with his captains gathered in the cabin of his flagship talking over tactics, ways they might fight different engagements, how they would defeat this or that opponent. From those evenings came a shared way of thinking so strong that, at Trafalgar, Nelson needed only to signal "England expects every man will do his duty," and "Close action." Sometimes words have meaning beyond the normally obvious meaning because of shared experiences and understanding.

Another way speed gains from experience is in the development of lateral communication, or coordination. If all communication is up and down the chain of command, action will move slowly. If commanders and leaders at every level communicate laterally — if we, as leaders, talk directly to other leaders — action moves much faster. Lateral communication is not a natural consequence of mission orders. It must be practiced in training. It results from the confidence of the higher commander who through past experiences has found that