Command wheel and numbers - HELP!

[phoenix]

Sorry if this has already been dealt with. I've read the manual and I'm still at a loss to understand what I should do to get the command wheel thingy nice and black, so all my orders are carried out?   Which things affect this. I've been playing the 'Surprise Me!' slot battles a lot, to try to familiarize myself with all the new stuff, and often when I get the soviet side they're completely crippled by the orders never going through. A red command wheel things, negative numbers etc. What should I do when this happens to regain control? Etc.....

Thanks.

Peter