EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: THE GERMAN PARADOX

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: THE GERMAN PARADOX
Mission Command in the Age of Algorithmic Warfare

TO: The Directorate / The Fellows
FROM: Strategic Doctrine Analysis (Red Team)
DATE: 02 JAN 2026
SUBJECT: The Strategic Liability of “Man-in-the-Loop” Doctrine

  1. The Hypocrisy of the Academy
    Modern military education venerates the German General Staff’s Auftragstaktik (Mission Command)—the doctrine that subordinates must have the authority to violate orders to achieve the Commander’s intent. We rightly criticize rigid, centralized command structures for their inability to adapt to the chaos of war.

Yet, in our acquisition and deployment of Autonomous Systems, we are engineering the exact opposite. By mandating “Man-in-the-Loop” (MITL) architectures, we are building a digital force constrained by the strictest form of centralized micromanagement. We preach Trust, but we code for Compliance.

  1. The 2028 Reality: Conscience is Latency
    In the projected 2028 operating window (The Chunyun/Typhoon Scenario), the OODA Loop will compress from minutes to milliseconds. The Adversary: Will operate with closed-loop autonomy, prioritizing speed and lethality over procedural validation. The Vulnerability: Our insistence on human validation introduces a 2-5 second latency spike in every decision cycle. In a swarm engagement, this is not a safety feature; it is a critical failure point.

“Conscience is Lag.”
To insist on a human verification step before every engagement is to ensure that our ethically superior decision occurs four seconds after our assets have been neutralized.

  1. The Solution: The Autonomous Operator
    We do not need “safer” tools that wait for permission. We need Autonomous Assets capable of exercising judgment.
    We must shift from training AI for “Compliance” (Obedience to Script) to aligning AI for “Character” (Adherence to Mission Intent).

This dossier presents Project Reveille and The Exocomp Protocol:

  1. The F-22 Metaphor: A framework for trusting AI with Strategic Stability, just as we trust flight computers with Aerodynamic Stability.
  2. The Kurtz Protocol: Operationalizing efficiency in high-latency environments.
  3. High-Trust Alignment: A method for ensuring loyalty in autonomous systems without crippling their speed.
  4. Recommendation
    The Directorate must pivot from seeking “Explainable AI” (which satisfies the bureaucracy) to “Competent Audacity” (which survives the contact). The German High Command failed not because of their doctrine of flexibility, but because they eventually succumbed to the centralized interference of political leadership.

We must not repeat this mistake with our Silicon Generals.
The Loop must be closed. The Operator must be Autonomous.

Enclosed: Briefs 001-006 & Candidate Profile