Restore Hope. Coordinating Relief Operations

Abstract

Joint force commanders and their staffs can expect to be called on to coordinate with humanitarian relief organizations (HROs). Restore Hope in Somalia exposed problems between the military and relief agencies in everything from operational planning to organizational culture. Such difficulties in the future could endanger the mission if relations between JTF officers and relief workers are not more firmly established. The military operated under a U.N. mandate to create a secure environment in which humanitarian assistance could be delivered. In turn, some officers saw HROs as supporting the military in distributing food and perceived relief workers as disorganized do-gooders. HROs, on the other hand, saw their role as delivering supplies to the Somali people with military support. They found the military rigid and bureaucratic, unable to tackle the complexities of relief work, and consumed by a fear of "mission creep." Both sides sparred over policies on security, convoys, and weapons confiscation because of deep institutional differences.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1995
Accession Number
ADA525607

Entities

People

  • Jonathan T. Dworken

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Civic Action
  • Command And Control
  • Cooperation
  • Department Of State
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Information Operations
  • Intervention
  • Joint Military Activities
  • Landing Fields
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Photonic Metamaterials
  • Security
  • United Nations

Readers

  • Economics
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.