The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Joint Service: Dispelling the Department of Defense Groupthink about the Interagency Process

Abstract

The Nation's need for joint military operations was identified and mandated through the passage of the Goldwater Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986. Over the 19-year life span of Goldwater Nichols, the Department of Defense (DoD) has developed and educated officers who are the operational planners of today and who have only known the joint approach. These same officers are witnessing our country's failures, response, and transformation after the events of September 11, 2001, and clamor for similar legislation that will mandate the unification of command and effort of their civilian counterpart. The primary question is whether or not the U.S. Government's actions have been integrated without legislation requiring sweeping changes. This paper will show that as a result of the terrorist events (FBI) has emerged as an integrated joint force enabler even in the absence of Goldwater Nichols-type legislation. The paper also discusses the challenges of legislating joint requirements for the vast number of U.S. Government agencies as well as the obstacles that would have to be overcome to integrate the priorities of the DoD and the various Federal, state, local, and tribal agencies. Finally, the paper discusses how the widespread notion within the military that the interagency process is in need of a Goldwater Nichols mandate is the result of Groupthink. Groupthink is a process that occurs when a dominant figure within a group or organization proposes a point of view or opinion that may be inaccurate. Due to the group's perception that the dominant figure's points are accurate, these potentially inaccurate views or opinions are incorporated by the organization as a whole. The hierarchical nature and isolated culture of military service makes it susceptible to the effects of Irving Janis' theory on the Groupthink dynamic. Staff Officers from the military services must be influenced to break this tendency toward insularity and bias.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA506956

Entities

People

  • James E. Ammons

Organizations

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Counter WMD
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Combatant Commanders
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Interagency Coordination
  • Law
  • Military Education
  • Military Science
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Students
  • Teamwork
  • United States Government
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.