Collaboration and Coordination Improves Civil Military Operations

JOINT EXPEDITIONARY BASE LITTLE CREEK- FORT STORY, VA, UNITED STATES

11.23.2010

Courtesy Story

Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command

JOINT EXPEDITIONARY BASE LITTLE CREEK- FORT STORY, Va. – The changing face of warfare, the rise of non-state actors and constantly evolving National Security imperatives are driving a 'whole of government approach’ to engaging the global community, particularly in the way defense forces are employed. For the U.S. Navy’s newest expeditionary capability, Maritime Civil Affairs and Security Training Command, which supports two unique mission sets, Martime Civil Affairs and Security Force Assistance, this means building highly collaborative relationships with other government agencies to respond to this multi-threat world.

The necessity to collaborate and coordinate has garned considerable attention in recent years due to U.S. experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan and a sharing of the battlespace between not only Department of Defense, Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development elements, but also foreign military forces and government agencies, as well as nongovernmental, intergovernmental and private sector organizations. However, it is more than just building relationships, but rather fostering a culture of cooperation that facilitates a shared understanding of the situation. As the Government Accountability Office report America’s Security Role in a Changing World (Ed. Patrick Cronin, 2010) notes, such collaboration ensures “the appropriate military and civilian resources are being put forth to meet the demands of current contingencies.”

“One of our great challenges for us as warfighters is defining what it means to win in today’s battlespace,” said MCAST Command Commanding Officer Capt. Frank Hughlett.

“Increasingly, that has less to do with the abilities of our adversaries and more to do with the conditions of the battlespace, such as economic and political development, culture and power struggles. This is why it is so important for us to build constructive, sustainable relationships with other U.S. global affairs professionals.”

MCAST Command focuses on interagency coordination to support its missions and utilitzes the expertise of its Interagency Analyst who serves as the architect for building coalitions, both internally to the Department of Defense, but also with other U.S. government agencies to achieve common goals in support of Maritime and National Security objectives. This is particularly important given the command’s MCA and SFA missions, where MCA teams, planners and specialists provide Navy Component Commanders and Joint Task Force Commanders support in Civil Military Operations, and SFA mobile training teams provide military-to-military training to host nations through U.S. Embassy Country Team requests.

One such example is the command’s effort to build a mutually beneficial interagency relationship with USAID, a primary component of disaster response, stabilization and reconstruction and development programs. Greater understanding of each other’s missions, specialized expertise and unique technical knowledge promotes increased coordination throughout activity planning, execution and assessment cycles.

“It is critical for military teams to coordinate activities with USAID officers and U.S. Embassy personnel for advise on U.S. foreign policy, development and economic objectives,” said Richard Byess, Senior Planning and Program Advisor, USAID Office of Military Affairs. “This coordination leads to designing activities that further U.S. goals, but also help to prevent conflicts that result from uncoordinated or poorly designed projects on the ground.”

Understanding the correlation between interagency and interorganizational coordination, as defined by Joint Publication 3-08 Interorganizaitonal Coordination During Joint Operations (2010), MCAST Command is also establishing formal relationships with academia, private research programs and intergovernmental organizations to provide full spectrum support to its operational resources. As a result deploying teams and personnel are better prepared to facilitate interorganizational development of procedures, points of contact and civil military courses of action.

“Successful interagency operations bring together the interests of multiple elements of Department of Defense and engaged U.S. Government agencies for the purpose of achieving an objective, but we can’t forget the interorganizational component of operating forward” said Hughlett. “As such we will continue to foster and mature collaborative relationships internally and with other U.S. government agencies, private sector organizations and international organizations to achieve our common goals.”

• Date Taken: 11.23.2010
• Date Posted: 11.23.2010 14:35
• Story ID: 60739
• Location: JOINT EXPEDITIONARY BASE LITTLE CREEK- FORT STORY, VA, US