Cohesion, Combat Performance and Civil-Military Relations: Contextualizing “The Word of Command”

In 2006, Armed Forces & Society published my article on small unit cohesion, “The Word of Command.” It has been the focus of considerable discussion since that time. This essay describes the origins and the purpose of that 2006 article, as an attempt to contribute to an emergent “practical” paradigm in the study of cohesion. Instead of focusing on interpersonal cohesion, my original article prioritized skill—task cohesion. This commentary argues that although the political implications of small unit cohesion was subordinate in 2006, that initial article—and my wider work on cohesion—speaks directly to a key theme in the journal: civil-military relations.