A mobile ad hoc network includes a plurality of wireless mobile nodes and a plurality of wireless communication links (Fig. 5) connecting the plurality of nodes together over a plurality of channels. The method includes each node monitoring link performance on a first channel, link performance being based upon at least one quality of service (QoS) threshold, and each node scouting one or more other available channels when the monitored link performance on the first channel falls below the QoS threshold. The QoS threshold is preferably based upon at least one of available bandwidth, error rate, end-to-end delay, end-to-end delay variation, hop count, expected path durability, and priority.