THE CHAIN OF COMMAND Unit 13 Command Control

THE CHAIN OF COMMAND Unit 13 – Command Control in the Uniformed Public Services

INTRODUCTION…. The chain of command in the public services is very important to the smooth running of the day to day business of the organisation. As the public services by their very nature are made up of lots of units, some with specialist skills the chain of command is needed to effectively lead and command such large organisations. Without the chain of command leading such large numbers of people would be very problematic indeed. The chain of command is to enable the passage of information/orders/commands throughout the organisation using the rank structure that is already in place in most public services. What problems can arise if you don’t use the chain of command?

CHAIN OF COMMAND DEFINITION The order in which authority and power in an organization is wielded and delegated from top management to every employee at every level of the organization. Instructions flow downward along the chain of command accountability flows upward. According to its proponent Henri Fayol (18411925), the more clear cut the chain of command, the more effective the decision making process and greater the efficiency. Military forces are an example of straight chain of command that extends in unbroken line from the top brass to ranks. Also called line of command. http: //www. businessdictionary. com/definition/chain-ofcommand. html

WRITTEN GROUP TASK…. . In your groups…. try and think about the chain of command here at college or at the school you previously attended, work or even cadets. On the paper provided draw what you think the chain of command is.

CHAIN OF COMMAND…. POLICE There are 43 police services throughout England Wales, and the structure of all these services is very similar. Each service will be divided into divisions and will have a central divisional headquarters where the main administrative and personnel services are based. Criminal Records Bureau checks are usually carried out here, and also other services such as Scenes of Crime, and other specialist units could be based here. Each division will have its own divisional headquarters, which will be commanded by a Chief Superintendent, and some outlying areas, or sub-divisions, will have a smaller police station. Some rural areas may have a section station, which is not always staffed 24 hours a day. On the next slide is an example of S Yorkshire Police force.

CHAIN OF COMMAND…. BRITISH ARMY The Army, Royal Navy and RAF have similar, although not identical, command structures. They all need to be prepared to deploy and operate anywhere in the world at short notice. All the organisations need to be clearly divided into separate, but linked, units to enable them to do this. The British Army consists of five divisions, two fighting divisions and three support divisions. Each fighting division consists of three or four brigades. The above could be subject to change in the future due to changes in the structure of the British Army.

CHAIN OF COMMAND…. BRITISH ARMY A Brigade contains three or four Battalion sized units, around 5, 000 personnel, and is commanded by a Brigadier. The Brigade will contain a wide range of military disciplines, allowing it to carry out a variety of military tasks. The Brigade would be required to deploy up to three separate battle-groups, the main tactical formation used in the British Army. The battle-group is a mixed formation around the core of one unit, an armoured regiment or infantry battalion, with sub-units providing artillery, engineers, logistics, aviation, etc. , as and when required.

THINKING POINT……. In a Battle-group why can’t an Infantry Battalion fight by itself? Why does it have to have supporting units? Give reasons why you think this might be the case.

CHAIN OF COMMAND…. BRITISH ARMY On the next two slides are examples of a British Army Brigade and the different specialisms needed on the modern battlefield.

THINKING POINT…. Why would the chain of command be so important on the modern battlefield as shown in the previous slide? How could the overall objective be at risk if the chain of command was not followed?

SUMMARY……