In telecommunication, command and control (C ² ) is the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission.

In the military, command and monitoring of the outcome of control functions are performed through an arrangement of personnel (the command hierarchy), equipment (the signal infrastructure of communications facilities), and all other procedures employed by a commander in planning, directing, coordinating, and controlling forces and operations in the accomplishment of the mission. See Command, Control, and Communication for more on the military view.

The term however also applies in governance and government where it refers more generally to the maintenance of authority with somewhat more distributed decision making. In these civilian contexts the term command is unfashionable but the meaning is the same. Some management science theorists even hold that the idea is now obsolete. For instance Dee Hock says that "Purpose and principle, clearly understoood and articulated, and commonly shared, are the genetic code of any healthy organization. To the degree that you hold purpose and principles in common among you, you can dispense with command and control. People will know how to behave in accordance with them, and they'll do it in thousands of unimaginable, creative ways. The organization will become a vital, living set of beliefs."

Until this occurs, however, there will be a need for both orders, and those who carry them out with little question.

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The term command and controll (note the ll) is sometimes employed by Internet trolls to suggest that their activities are more organized than they might appear.