REMOTE COMMAND AND CONTROL COMPROMISES SOLDIERS ’ TRUST IN THEIR LEADERS

We report an experiment on the effect of remote command and control on soldier performance and trust. The experiment was conducted with active duty soldiers and officers as participants at the military training camp at Kvarn, Sweden. Soldiers ran our paintball assault-lane twice, once with the officer present in the lane and once with the officer out of harm’s way. Two sets of data were recorded, response times to the command to “Move! ” and questionnaires on the soldier’s trust in the leader. Trust was significantly greater and response times were significantly faster in the leader-present condition. The best-fit linear regression function reveals a significant negative association between the two data sets. We conclude from this result that (1) remote command and control is associated with a decrement in soldiers ’ trust in their leader and that (2) this decrement in trust is associated with compromised soldier performance