text: Chapter 8
  COMMAND AND CONTROL DURING DEGRADED OR DENIED COMMUNICATIONS
  8-23. U.S. adversaries, including Russia and China, have demonstrated the ability to contest communications
  in the electromagnetic spectrum and degrade friendly C2. Degraded connectivity to a secure communications
  network poses risks to situational understanding, C2, and ultimately mission accomplishment. Army forces
  must be prepared to continue operations and achieve mission objectives when out of contact with higher
  echelons or adjacent units. They should assume intermittent rather than continuous connectivity during the
  course of operations. A mission command approach to C2 empowers subordinate leaders to act within the
  commander’s intent with degraded communications, reporting their new situation when able to do so.
  8-24. Exercising C2 with degraded connectivity does not begin when communications break down or when
  a crisis develops. It must be trained and rehearsed as part of an overall cultural norm designed to make
  friendly forces more difficult to detect. Commanders ensure that staffs are trained on analog and manual C2,
  and that units have rehearsed reliable primary, alternate, contingency, and emergency communications plans.
  During extended periods of communication breakdown, C2 becomes more difficult as shared understanding
  of a situation deteriorates over time. To maintain C2 with degraded communication, personnel should be
  trained and proficient in—
  (cid:122) Employing all available C2 systems.
  (cid:122) Operating dispersed command posts.
  (cid:122) Maintaining an other-than-digital common operational picture (COP).
  (cid:122) Managing information with analog processes.
  (cid:122) Monitoring communications channels and crosstalk across echelons.
  (cid:122) Maintaining manual running staff estimates.
  (cid:122) Conducting command post battle drills.
  8-25. Army forces improve readiness for degraded communications by decreasing vulnerabilities and
  preparing appropriately. Units decrease their vulnerability through electromagnetic protection, including
  emission control, electromagnetic masking, electromagnetic hardening, and electromagnetic security. (See
  FM 3-12 for more information on electromagnetic protection.) Units practice degraded communications
  during training and rehearsals, including those that involve allies, and they use the mission command
  approach to C2 during garrison events. Ultimately, the solution to degraded communications is mission
  command and training. Even under severely degraded conditions, Army forces continue to make decisions
  and act in the absence of orders, when existing orders no longer fit the situation, or when unforeseen
  opportunities arise.
  8-26. All leaders must be prepared to take action and make timely decisions when communication is not
  possible. The commander responsible for a decision may not be available to make that decision for a variety
  of reasons, such as jammed communications, the loss of a command post, or being killed by the enemy. In
  all cases, the senior leader able to communicate must be ready to take charge and make the best decisions
  possible based on available information so operations can continue. The actions of Navy pilots in a degraded
  communications environment during the battle of Midway demonstrated the effectiveness of exercising
  disciplined initiative.