Operational-Level National Security Organization: An Alternative to 'CINC-Ronization

Abstract

With the complexities of today's security environment, and the increasing relevance of the economic and informational elements of national power, effective development and coordination of national security policy requires the continuous efforts of agencies representing the entire spectrum of national power. Regional security issues should be planned and implemented by an organization that provides balanced representation, responsibility, and authority among all elements of national power, rather than a regional system dominated by the military element, Currently there are fundamental differences between the strategic and operational-level organizations that plan and implement national security policy, and these differences may cause inappropriate responses and inefficient resource allocation to address problems. Two models - a Regional Security Council and an Interagency Operations Center - are analyzed against three objectives for a regional security organization: meeting globalization and regionalization challenges in the future security environment; reducing the "national security equals defense equals military" mind set when solving national security problems; and integrating all elements of national power during policy formulation-and long-term planning as well as crisis management. The Regional Security Council model can take us away from the military-dominated operational level integration process ("CINC-ronization") and set us on the path to gain the most from all instruments of national power as we tackle our future security problems.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 16, 2000
Accession Number
ADA382139

Entities

People

  • Colby B. Smith

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Commerce
  • Crisis Management
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Geographic Regions
  • Governments
  • Information Systems
  • Interagency Coordination
  • International Organizations
  • Military Operations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Public Policy
  • Second World War
  • United States
  • United States Military Academy
  • War Colleges

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
  • Strategic Security Studies