e necessity for alert supervision creates
an accentuated demand for the intelligent application of mental power
to the solution of military problems. Professional judgment then
assumes supreme importance because vital issues may hinge upon the
decisions reached during the development of the action.

Conditions in War. Standards of performance in peacetime exercises
cannot be a conclusive guide as to what may be expected under the
conditions of war. In the conduct of hostilities against a strong and
determined enemy, men and materiel do not always function at their
best. Commanders undergo extreme strains. Orders are often
misinterpreted or go astray. Men, and the machines which they operate,
frequently give less effective service than under the conditions of
peace.

In war, mistakes are normal; errors are usual; information is seldom
complete, often inaccurate, and frequently misleading. Success is won,
not by personnel and materiel in prime condition, but by the debris of
an organization worn by the strain of campaign and shaken by the shock
of battle. The objective is attained, in war, under conditions which
often impose extreme disadvantages. It is in the light of these facts
that the commander expects to shape his course during the supervision
of the planned action.

The Incentive. During the supervision of the action, problems calling
for decision may derive their incentive, as already noted (page 79)
either from a directive issued by superior authority, or by reason of
a Decision which the commander himself has already made, or because of
a recognition, by the commander concerned, of an incentive
originating from the demands of the situation.

In the event that the incentive appears in the form of a new task
assigned by a higher echelon, the commander's problem may become,
relatively, simple. In such a case he is relieved of the necessity of
recognizing for himself that the time is ripe for a new decision. This
fact, however, in no wise alters his fundamental responsibility for
taking action, or for abstaining therefrom, in accordance with the
actual demands of the situation (page 15) in the event that the
assigned task requires modification or alteration, or, further, in the
event that circumstances even call for a departure from his
instructions. Should modification, alteration, or departure be in
order, the commander is responsible for recognition of the fact that
the demands of the situation have introduc