Allied Air Power Doctrine: Royal Air Force War Manual; Volume I - Chapter 3: Command, Leadership and Morale

General Considerations

1. Success in war depends more on moral than on physical qualities. Neither numbers, armament, resources, nor skill can compensate for lack of courage, energy, determination, confidence in the justice of the national cause, and the bold offensive spirit which springs from a national determination to conquer.

2. The development of the necessary moral qualities is therefore the first object to be attained in the training of an air force ; next in importance are organization, discipline, skill in the handling of air units, aircraft and weapons-and skilful and resolute leadership in every grade of command.

Command

3. War is a contest between the will of the opposing peoples and their leaders. Given reasonably equal conditions, success in war will be attained by the com­mander who possesses the greater degree of persistent resolution and energy in bringing his decision, once made, into effect and carrying it through.

4. The essential characteristics of a commander are a strong and resolute will and a ready acceptance of respon­sibility. He must have ability, clear judgment and a well-balanced sense of proportion, and he must possess a temperament which is neither unduly elated by success nor depressed by failure.

5. These characteristics should be supported by thorough knowledge of his profession, the consciousness of which ensures self-confidence, enables a commander to judge situations on their merits rather than in accordance with any fixed formulae, and assists him in making decisions.

6. By the confidence which he inspires and by his knowledge of human nature, a commander exercises his authority and maintains the morale of his men. It is his duty to study the capabilities and characters of commanders subordinate to himself and to foster mutual understanding by every means in his power. A commander should lose no opportunity of actual contact with his officers and men in order that the influence of his person­ality should permeate those under his command. He must avoid interference with the initiative of his sub-ordinates, who, within the scope of the task allotted to them, must be responsible for the means adopted to attain the end in view. On the other hand, no superior commander is justified in shifting responsibility on to the shoulders of a subordinate on the pretext of allowing full play to the latter's initiative. Delegation to a subordinate of undue liberty of action is as fatal as undue centralization of authority.

7. Every commander must make sure that he understands the wishes and intentions of his superior. Not only must he know his orders, but he must know the intention which lies behind those orders. Commanders of all ranks must be imbued with the doctrine that inaction and fear of responsibility are graver faults than errors in the choice of plan.

Leadership

8 Leadership can be defined as the power to influence and inspire men. It is the most important influence in cultivating those sentiments and habits which are the foundations of high morale. Hence it is essential that the powers of leadership of all officers and noncom­missioned officers should be of the highest standard.

9. Leadership is called for, not only in the air, but in the direction of all activities of men, such as their instruction, practical handling, their food, accommoda­tion, recreations and welfare. In an air force it is essential that sympathy and a complete understanding should exist between those employed in the air and those employed on the ground.

10. The main qualities conducive to successful leader-ship are :

(i) Personality or strength of character, the manifestation of which instinctively instils in others willingness to follow and obey.

(ii) Sympathy—evidenced by tact, a genial manner, humour, knowledge of character and human nature, and an understanding regard for the needs and interests of others.

(iii) Resolution not only in obtaining the object in view, but in determining what that object shall be.

(iv) Personal courage shown especially by coolness in emergency.

(v) Energy, both physical and mental.

(vi) Self-confidence, based on a consciousness of the possession of professional knowledge and efficiency.

11. An officer or N.C.O. has the greatest scope for leadership when the results of his work can be seen in the efficiency of his men. On the other hand the scope for leadership and interest will be diminished when responsi­bility for this efficiency is divided among a number of officers or N.C.Os.

12. An organization based upon the principle of centralization of direction and decentralization of command and which associates the same officers and subordinates in all their activities, will provide the best conditions for leadership.

Morale

13. Morale may be defined as the general spirit or state of mind of a group of men as reflected by their behaviour under all conditions.

14. High morale will, on the one hand, enable officers and men to rise to heights of achievement which could not be attained by professional skill alone, and on the other hand, provide the power to resist demoralizing influences, such as fear, fatigue, hunger, sickness and sedition and enemy propaganda. High morale is therefore vital to success in war.

15. The behaviour of a group of men is governed more by sentiment and habit than by reason. The problem in the development of morale in a group of men is so to cultivate the quality of their collective sentiments, and the habits of self-control, that their standard of behaviour will be considerably higher than that to he expected of an average individual. But it must be borne in mind that the progress of civilization and the spread of educa­tion tend to raise the mental and moral standard of men and that the higher the intellect, the stronger the appeal has to be to the higher senses.

16. The right collective sentiments and habits for a fighting force can be summarized as follows :

(i) Sentiments : Esprit-de-corps, patriotism.

(ii) Habits :      Discipline, cleanliness, physical fitness.

17. These sentiments and habits are formed and maintained by the influences of environment to which the group of men is subjected, such as :--

(i) Human influences, i.e., leadership.

(ii) Living conditions, i.e., organization and administration.

18. A good environment will produce the right sentiments and habits with considerable rapidity, and high morale will result so long as the standard of environment is maintained. If a high standard is maintained, its effect is to cause a permanent improvement in men's individual characters.

19. Esprit-de-corps is the outcome of pride in the air force, affection for the air force and confidence in the air force. Its effect is to make men have confidence not only in one another but also in their units, and the force, to such an extent that the honour, welfare and reputation of both will be as important as their own ; hence the pride of each man in himself and in his reputation for smartness and efficiency is a condition essential to esprit-de-corps.

20. Patriotism, like esprit-de-corps, is enthusiasm for the national cause and is in essence the same sentiment felt for the country as a whole. Enthusiasm, however, may prove an unstable quality unless it is based on high ideals, the appreciation of which is permanent and instinctive. It should, therefore, be continually refreshed and stimulated by appeals to such ideals.

21. The true basis of discipline is a spirit of willingness, cheerful obedience and enthusiasm, such as is produced by esprit-de-corps and mutual confidence. In order to instil the habit of trained obedience, drill of all kinds is necessary ; the disciplinary effect of drill is at its maximum when men can work together with absolute precision, and can absorb the meaning of an order and obey it instantly. By rendering each man apt and exact in his response to commands, they enable him to foresee the action of his fellows in all ordinary circumstances.

22. Morale is subject to fluctuations from many causes ; for example

(i) A lowering of the general vitality due to fatigue has a depressing mental effect.

(ii) Confidence in aircraft and in capacity to handle them will stimulate, but the lack of such confidence will lower morale.

(iii) Conditions which produce monotony tend to lower morale ; monotony is similar in its effects to fatigue.

(iv) Forced inaction in war, or frequent with­drawals lead to depression offensive action, on the other hand, is stimulating to morale.

(v) Seditious propaganda tends to lower morale.

(vi) Adverse criticism of operations by persons in positions of authority tends to undermine confi­dence and adversely affect morale.

23. Despondency, depression or anxiety arising from causes such as those mentioned above will tend to spread rapidly through the personnel of a unit, but where a high standard of morale is the normal condition, the confidence and self-respect of the unit as such will enable them to resist these tendencies. In all cases the remedy is good leadership and constant attention to the development of esprit-de-corps and discipline.