Shannon W Unit 13: Command and Control in the uniformed public services P2, M1, D1
Task 2 (P2 M1 D1)
In this assignment I will show the importance of command and control within the public services.
Chain of command is a system used by the public services, where instructions are passed from one
individual to another. It is based on the gold, silver and bronze hierarchy of command. This is an
important system to have because it leads to more efficient decision making, it ensures there is
better communication throughout the services and it helps delegate authority (This ensures
everyone knows where to report to.) It is needed in situations that require immediate and decisive
action. For example, the 7/7 bombings.
In the British army, they have organisations that operate within the command structure. My three
examples are, a Division, a Brigade and a Regiment. A Division is the largest group of the three,
containing approximately 10,000 to 18,000 soldiers and it is commanded by a Major General. A
Major General is at the top of the command hierarchy; therefore, they are the gold commander in
the chain of command. They have the responsibility to perform major tactical operations. A brigade
is made up of approximately 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers and they are commanded by a Brigade
commander (also known as a Brigadier.) A Brigadier is the equivalent to a silver commander and
they take orders from a Major General. My final example is a regiment. A regiment is a military unit
and they are usually front line soldiers. They vary in size because there are many different regiments
such as; the Parachute regiment, the Rifles, SAS, the Yorkshire regiment, the Armoured Medical
regiment etc. However, it is estimated that they can range from 800 to 1,000 soldiers. They are
commanded by a commanding officer (also known as a Lieutenant Colonel) and they are the
equivalent to bronze command.
The Ministry of Defence is a non-uniformed organisation that controls the British Army. It gives
commands to the divisional commander in the British Army (Major General), where the divisional
commander then decide what brigade to use. For example, there was a flooding at the start of 2014;
the Ministry of Defence then commanded the divisional commander to decide which Brigade they
should use. In this case, they sent soldiers from the 16 Air Assault Brigade to support the emergency
services. Another example would be when the fire service goes on strike, the military are called upon
by the Government (or Ministry of Defence) to carry out their work and provide support.
Having a chain of command can be much more effective when dealing with major incidents, such as
the 7/7 bombings, the 2017 London bridge attack, Hillsborough disaster, Grenfell tower or even
large events such as the 2012 London Olympics. However, it is only successful with good
communication and a reliable commander. An event where chain of command wasn’t used to its full
potential was the Hillsborough disaster, causing a total of 96 deaths. David Duckenfield was the
police chief superintendent, who took charge of the event. He admitted his major failures that
resulted in 96 deaths, due to a lack of experience in leading large events like this one. He was
promoted to chief superintendent only just 19 days before the match, meaning it was his first major
match to be in control of.
The main cause of this disaster was due to a lack of police control. Duckenfield gave orders to the
police officers at the Leppings Lane turnstiles to open the gate in order to relieve a crush in the
bottleneck. Due to Duckenfield being at the top of the chain of command, the police sergeants and
police constables listened to his orders. The police constables initially have to listen to commands
given to them by the gold commander however, if they thought something was going wrong, they
should use their initiative and disobey the gold commander’s commands. Is this acceptable though
in a disciplined service? However, there wasn’t much communication happening between the ranks.
Not having good communication between the ranks was hindering the situation because, without
useful commands from the gold commander, the police constables wouldn’t know what to do and
what they shouldn’t do.
Task 2 (P2 M1 D1)
In this assignment I will show the importance of command and control within the public services.
Chain of command is a system used by the public services, where instructions are passed from one
individual to another. It is based on the gold, silver and bronze hierarchy of command. This is an
important system to have because it leads to more efficient decision making, it ensures there is
better communication throughout the services and it helps delegate authority (This ensures
everyone knows where to report to.) It is needed in situations that require immediate and decisive
action. For example, the 7/7 bombings.
In the British army, they have organisations that operate within the command structure. My three
examples are, a Division, a Brigade and a Regiment. A Division is the largest group of the three,
containing approximately 10,000 to 18,000 soldiers and it is commanded by a Major General. A
Major General is at the top of the command hierarchy; therefore, they are the gold commander in
the chain of command. They have the responsibility to perform major tactical operations. A brigade
is made up of approximately 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers and they are commanded by a Brigade
commander (also known as a Brigadier.) A Brigadier is the equivalent to a silver commander and
they take orders from a Major General. My final example is a regiment. A regiment is a military unit
and they are usually front line soldiers. They vary in size because there are many different regiments
such as; the Parachute regiment, the Rifles, SAS, the Yorkshire regiment, the Armoured Medical
regiment etc. However, it is estimated that they can range from 800 to 1,000 soldiers. They are
commanded by a commanding officer (also known as a Lieutenant Colonel) and they are the
equivalent to bronze command.
The Ministry of Defence is a non-uniformed organisation that controls the British Army. It gives
commands to the divisional commander in the British Army (Major General), where the divisional
commander then decide what brigade to use. For example, there was a flooding at the start of 2014;
the Ministry of Defence then commanded the divisional commander to decide which Brigade they
should use. In this case, they sent soldiers from the 16 Air Assault Brigade to support the emergency
services. Another example would be when the fire service goes on strike, the military are called upon
by the Government (or Ministry of Defence) to carry out their work and provide support.
Having a chain of command can be much more effective when dealing with major incidents, such as
the 7/7 bombings, the 2017 London bridge attack, Hillsborough disaster, Grenfell tower or even
large events such as the 2012 London Olympics. However, it is only successful with good
communication and a reliable commander. An event where chain of command wasn’t used to its full
potential was the Hillsborough disaster, causing a total of 96 deaths. David Duckenfield was the
police chief superintendent, who took charge of the event. He admitted his major failures that
resulted in 96 deaths, due to a lack of experience in leading large events like this one. He was
promoted to chief superintendent only just 19 days before the match, meaning it was his first major
match to be in control of.
The main cause of this disaster was due to a lack of police control. Duckenfield gave orders to the
police officers at the Leppings Lane turnstiles to open the gate in order to relieve a crush in the
bottleneck. Due to Duckenfield being at the top of the chain of command, the police sergeants and
police constables listened to his orders. The police constables initially have to listen to commands
given to them by the gold commander however, if they thought something was going wrong, they
should use their initiative and disobey the gold commander’s commands. Is this acceptable though
in a disciplined service? However, there wasn’t much communication happening between the ranks.
Not having good communication between the ranks was hindering the situation because, without
useful commands from the gold commander, the police constables wouldn’t know what to do and
what they shouldn’t do.
