Abstract
Sensemaking and dynamics concerning transactive memory systems (TMS) were crucial to the outcome of the battle of Kamdesh, which took place in Afghanistan on October 3rd 2009. A small outpost of predominantly American soldiers suffered an attack by a numerically overwhelming enemy force. The Americans came close to being wiped out but managed to turn the battle in their favor. The article looks at both dynamics inside the unit on the ground, as well as within the emerging team constituted by ground force components and air support. A key takeaway is that sensemaking is a critical process, where poor execution can make a group vulnerable to psychological shock, which in turn could threaten to destroy the group. Furthermore, the article looks at how rotating key personnel in combat areas can impact group performance and survival negatively. Finally, different possibilities for how organizing tasks may develop in emerging teams is explored, finding differences in the emphasis on differentiation and integration of knowledge in various team constellations at work in the battle. In conclusion, the article proposes that optimizing for high team performance outweighs the costs this has for handling more common but less complex and critical combat incidents.
Highlights
Sensemaking and dynamics concerning transactive memory systems (TMS) were crucial to the outcome of the battle of Kamdesh, which took place in Afghanistan on October 3rd 2009
The article proposes that optimizing for high team performance outweighs the costs this has for handling more common but less complex and critical combat incidents
Artikkelens problemstilling er å øke forståelsen for hvordan sensemaking og transaktive hukommelsessystemer spilte en rolle i slaget ved Kamdesh
Summary
Den 3. oktober 2009 ble COP1 Keating utsatt for et kraftig angrep. Opprørsstyrken som angrep var tallmessig overlegen og hadde en voldsom fordel på grunn av terrenget. Men hva var i grunnen uventet med akkurat dette angrepet? At denne utposten kom til å bli angrepet var ingen overraskelse – det ble den faktisk ganske ofte. Slaget ved Kamdesh er et spennende militært tilfellestudie for å kaste lys på dette, da fienden manipulerte amerikanernes sensemaking – selv om amerikanerne i siste liten klarte å få denne prosessen på rett kjøl. Artikkelens problemstilling er å øke forståelsen for hvordan sensemaking og transaktive hukommelsessystemer spilte en rolle i slaget ved Kamdesh. Etter et nærmere blikk på kildene til det empiriske grunnlaget i artikkelen avsluttes innledningen med en historisk beskrivelse av slaget ved Kamdesh. Hver av delene har samme struktur; først gis en innledende beskrivelse av de sentrale teoretiske begrepene; deretter ser vi nærmere på hvordan disse er i virksomhet i utvalgte hendelser fra slaget ved Kamdesh; avslutningsvis oppsummeres delkapitlene med en delkonklusjon.
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