This is not an article about how to tactically employ swarm theory as a form of maneuver, or a simplistic trick on getting squads to attack an objective while making decentralized decisions in a swarm-like manner. Can swarm theory, something that functions in the antithesis of centralized hierarchies, be of any use to our militaries? Is there anything beyond literal adaptations of swarm theory for robots and technological applications – can we convert General Officers into “Queen Bees” for certain complex situations, and would this do us any good? Can we make military decisions in any process other than the hierarchical, centralized, and dominant form that permeates our doctrine, education, and practice? 3 Lastly, can we gain perspective with respect to how our military hierarchy drives organizational decision-making to create environments that are rigidly inhospitable to introducing swarm constructs? Perhaps the deeper question is whether the ‘buzz’ of an exotic theory missed a larger point of reflecting upon the hierarchical and centralized organizational structure that define virtually all Western military organizations today. Is this another techno-centric fad, or does swarm theory offer military applications superior to traditional methodologies? Can the joint military community gain anything from considering swarming constructs? 2 Clearly, the notion of alternative organizational intelligence and decentralized problem solving has sparked the interest of military academia. Defence innovators such as the RAND Corporation sponsored multiple studies on swarm theory in the past decade and a half, and recent popular books such as The Starfish and the Spider offer tantalizing prospects on decentralized organizations for future military applications. Since the 1990s, Western military organizations have demonstrated periodic interest in whether the emergent behavior of decentralized systems, commonly referred to as ‘swarm theory’ or ‘swarm behavior,’ might be relevant in military applications. Thomas Malone (MIT’s Center for Collective Intelligence) 1 Introduction “No single person knows everything that’s needed to deal with problems we face as a society, such as health care or climate change, but collectively we know far more than we’ve been able to tap so far.” He is currently assisting development of design and operational design programs for the Royal Netherlands military, the Canadian Armed Forces, and USSOCOM’s Joint Special Operations University. Extensively published, he has recent design articles in the March-April 2015 issue of Military Review, and the March 2015 issue of the Journal of Military and Strategic Studies. Major Ben Zweibelson, an American infantry officer, has over 21 years of combined service in the United States Army, to include four combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. For more information on accessing this file, please visit our help page.
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