ABSTRACT
The bases for the development of the generic model are field studies conducted in three domains. These were the emergency services, civilian services and armed services. It is the cumulative understanding of command and control, developed through a variety of domains, which led to the development of a generic model. Police operations were studied through observations in Force Command and Control and Operational Command Unit sites. Command and control applications were analysed within all three armed services: army, air force and navy. The study of command and control in the Army took place at the Command And Staff Training exercises at the British Army's Land Warfare Centre in Warminster. Military Command and Control can be seen to progress through three distinct phases of activity, broadly; information retrieval, decision making, then dispersion and action. The generic decision ladder model could be used to describe any system, but it lacks the fidelity of Smalley's model for command and control.
