How General Macarthur Used To Use Mission Orders To Plan The Inchon Landing

Leaders at all levels of the Army are faced with difficult decisions every day, decisions that can affect the lives of everyone around them. The thought processes used by individual leaders to make decisions can be as far reaching as their imagination; however, it is every leader’s responsibility to make these decisions using the tenants of mission command. Mission command is not an easy skill to master, however great leaders understand it and the proper use of it when planning a mission. Mission command is broken down into six major principles: Build cohesive teams through trust, create a shared understanding, provide a clear commanders’ intent, exercise-disciplined initiative, use mission orders and accept prudent risk . General Douglas

In the below paragraph we will look at how General Macarthur used mission orders to plan the Inchon landing.
Mission orders allow subordinate leaders to take charge of their part of the mission, this is something that General Macarthur understood and clearly exercised during the landing at
Inchon. The Landing itself would be done by two different forces, he directed that the navy would be in charge of the amphibious landing and once that was complete X Corps would take over the land invasion. General Macarthur planned neither he simply let the commander’s of their respective organizations plan their own missions and make coordination where necessary .
Allowing his subordinate commander’s to plan their own missions showed that General
Macarthur understood that you must allow subordinates to exercise their own initiative and that you must only give them guidance as to what you want to happen. General Macarthur and his subordinate commander’s were very successful using the technique; you just have to look at the results of the landing at Inchon. The invasion of Inchon took only eleven days to reach its

Mission command is a skill that is not easily mastered nor is it one that any great commander can live without. General Macarthur was a great commander and he was capable of using mission command to achieve his goals. The landing at Inchon is proof the General
Macarthur understood mission command and that he used it. During the landing at Inchon
General Macarthur created a shared understanding, provided clear commander’s intent, exercised disciplined initiative, used mission orders and accepted prudent risk. He used these tenants to create and execute an offensive operation that changed the face and direction of a war. General
Macarthur and his plan to attack Inchon was a daring endeavor however, it was one that was analyzed greatly and used the tenants of mission command. General Macarthur used his considerable leadership skills and understanding of mission command to develop a winning strategy for the landing at Inchon, skills that all leaders should know and use. Mission command is a powerful tool when used correctly and General Macarthur was a master at