Foreign Military Advisor Proficiency: The Need for Screening, Selection and Qualification
Abstract
Will centralized screening and selection improve foreign military advisor performance on the battlefield? The Army's 2009 doctrine on security force assistance indicates that a selection process is necessary to find suitable Soldiers for the mission. The factors affecting advisor team performance include mission complexity and environment, team leadership, team development training, and Soldier attributes. Research indicates that a lack of appropriate leadership skills and personal attributes of advisor team members are the primary factors affecting cohesion on advisor teams. Special Forces (SF) assumed principal responsibility for the foreign internal defense mission post-Vietnam, but the Global War on Terrorism and competing SF mission requirements have once again created a demand for advisors from conventional forces. SF recruiting units screen all advisor candidates to ensure that they meet a high standard for foreign military advising. However, the Army as a whole has not employed this same procedure for conventional force Soldiers. A more deliberate and rigorous screening and selection process for conventional force military advisors will improve advisor team leadership, team cohesion, and combat performance. The Army should maintain the current advisory team construct, but the SF model for centrally screening, selecting, and qualifying foreign military advisors should be incorporated, with modifications. Human Resources Command (HRC) should retain current responsibility for manning teams, but with specific changes to the selection, assignment process, and policy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 12, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA510940
Entities
People
- Richard H. Hetherington
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College