A system and method for efficient collection and distribution of mission-critical information (MCI) throughout a multi-node communication network is disclosed. In embodiments, the multi-node communication network may include a clusterhead node including a communication interface and a controller. In embodiments, the controller transmits an MCI request packet to neighbor nodes of its cluster. The controller receives MCI report packets from the neighbor nodes (or a subset thereof) throughout a first time interval. The controller rebroadcasts the MCI request packet to the neighbor nodes through increasingly shorter time intervals as MCI report packets continue to be transmitted in response. When the controller determines that no MCI report packets have been transmitted during the most recent time interval, the controller generates and transmits an MCI publish packet including the MCI information collected from each neighbor node.