Task Identification and Skill Deterioration in Peacekeeping Operations
Abstract
Three applied studies are reported, associated with two peacekeeping missions involving US troops. The first concerns identifying peacekeeping tasks and predicting their decay based on an empirically derived analytic model. Here, the tasks relate to a peacekeeping mission to Bosnia. The second study concerns the identification of tasks and the predeployment training patterns of two units assigned during separate rotations to the Multinational Force and Observers mission in the Sinai. One unit was drawn from the regular army and represented the active component of the US Army, whereas the other was composed primarily of reserve-component soldiers. The third study, which further examined the same two units, concerns the comparative behavior of these units in sustaining proficiency on both peacekeeping and war-fighting tasks during their deployment. It is concluded that a well-trained, disciplined force was a fundamental prerequisite for conducting peacekeeping operations. Although both peacekeeping and soldiering skills, as defined in this chapter, appear to deteriorate because of lack of training, there are other ways in which soldier skills may in fact be enhanced by the deployment experience, which the chapter describes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- AD1080900
Entities
People
- Robert A. Wisher
Organizations
- U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences