Journal on Baltic Security, 2021; 7(1): 1–11 Original Study Open Access Niklas Nilsson* Mission Command in a Modern Military Context Open Access. © 2021 Niklas Nilsson, published by Sciendo. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License. https://doi.org//10.2478/jobs-2021-0001 received December 10, 2020; accepted February 5, 2021. Abstract: The development of capabilities for national defence among land forces in the Baltic region underscores the need for mission command as a guiding principle of leadership and command. However, the practice of mission command in the contemporary military context is far from straightforward. This article presents the results of a survey conducted with Swedish Army officers, examining their perspectives on positive as well as negative influences on their ability to utilize mission in their contemporary working environment. While mission command is envisioned to become increasingly important in the future, several obstacles are identified to its utilization and development. Keywords: mission command; army; Sweden. 1 Introduction Land forces in the Wider Baltic region are, especially since 2014, in the process of reorienting from a force structure and command methods designed primarily for expeditionary operations overseas, towards capabilities for national defence against a high-technological peer adversary. They thus need to develop the capacity for high-intensity warfare across wide stretches of territory. Moreover, technological developments, including long-distance precision fires and disruption capability, indicate a need for dispersion as well as the ability to function independently in a complex environment and to operate without immediate direction from higher levels of command. This underscores the need for mission command as a guiding principle of leadership and command, understood as a precondition for efficient force employment as well as the speed and flexibility required in modern manoeuvre warfare. This article presents a survey-based study of the contemporary problems and prospects of mission command in the case of the Swedish Army. Sweden’s military-strategic and joint operations doctrines explicitly state that mission command is the core leadership philosophy of the Swedish Armed Forces (Swedish Armed Forces 2016, 2020). However, although the doctrines present the utilisation of mission command as a cornerstone of leadership, the preconditions for practicing and utilising it in the professional environment of Swedish Army officers are far from straightforward. Numerous aspects of the reality in which these officers work and train present potential obstacles to the efficient practice of mission command. These factors include, for example, the integration and use of new technology, competing demands from tasks relating to combat training and administration, arduous C2 methods for planning and production of orders, and aspects of organisational culture and attitudes that do not always favour initiative and creativity. Although the empirical results presented in the article derive from the context of the Swedish Army, the observations have a much wider applicability. Indeed, the identified preconditions and needs pertaining to the improved practice of mission command are relevant in other land forces across the Wider Baltic region and beyond. The article therefore aims to present experiences with mission command from the perspective of military practitioners in a manner that can provide general input to the discussion on principles and methods of command in land forces region-wide. The article starts with an outline of the survey study that forms the empirical basis for the argument. It then presents the survey results regarding the prospects and problems of mission command, thematised as theory and practice, organisation and command methods, equipment and technology, colleagues: personal and professional traits, the utility of mission command, dealing with failure, success and learning and current conditions for practicing mission command, and its present and future importance. Finally, the article presents conclusions drawn from the survey results and some general observations for the development of mission command in land forces. *Corresponding author: Niklas Nilsson, Swedish Defence University: Forsvarshogskolan, Stockholm, Sweden, E-mail: niklas.nilsson@fhs.se