Education, Training, & War Fighting Capabilities

As the peace operations environment requires different skills and methods than those required for fighting wars, training and education becomes very important. Bhatia (2003) observed “…units and soldiers deployed on peace operations all too often find themselves performing unanticipated tasks for which they have neither been trained nor given specific guidance. A sound military education can pick up where the unit training program left off and provide leaders with the intellectual skills to improvise successfully.” (p. 132). As these types of operations become more prevalent in this post cold war society, military leaders should “…rely on their knowledge of war fighting and training doctrine, but must understand the demands of MOOTW and be prepared to tailor war fighting skills to meet the MOOTW situation.” (JP 3-07, 1995, p. IV-14).

Coordination & Planning

Manwaring (2000) discussed how planning engages military leaders and key civilian agency heads in mission planning and analysis, potential range of tasks that military units should be prepared to perform, as well as those tasks the military should not perform. (p. 82 - 83). However, coordination between the military and relief partners can often be uncertain due to the organizational culture gap that exists. Additionally, the number of dissimilar actors involved in an operation can complicate efforts to improve coordination. The military is familiar with planning and considers the planning process as indispensable, if only to produce an operational framework. NGOs often confuse plans with schedules and consider plans not worth the effort.

“Interagency coordination forges the vital link between the military instrument of power to the economic, political/diplomatic, and information entities of the U.S. government.” (JP 3-08, 1996, p.I-2). NGOs can be difficult partners, especially for the military. It’s important that military leaders recognize and address the barriers that prevent interagency coordination. Pirnie (2000) noted several differences between organizational cultures that create barriers to NGO-military coordination to include: The use of force, Hierarchy vs. decentralization, Uncertainty regarding force protection, and Secrecy. (p. 100 – 103). In MOOTW it is important that Commanders rely heavily on consensus building to achieve unity of effort. Commanders must also establish procedures for liaison and coordination. Joint Pub 3-07 (1995) suggests that one method to help improve coordination is to improve Unity of Effort which can best be accomplished by establishing Civil Military Operations Centers (CMOC). (p. IV-7).