Home Guard, Police, and the Social Contract
Abstract
Establishing local security through indigenous security forces or "Home Guard" programs has proven beneficial in establishing security and separating the civilian population from the insurgents. Joint and Army doctrine provide for host nation government creation of Home Guard security forces, but it does not go far enough in stressing their importance. Research from previous counterinsurgency campaigns has identified the linkages of Home Guard, auxiliary forces, and police forces with the overall success of the campaign. To benefit from historic lessons learned, we should incorporate them into doctrine. We can approach the situation in three ways. If the host nation government can be trusted, we can build a Home Guard through them. If no police force or host nation government exists, we should first build a robust Home Guard and then transition those individuals who are proven to be effective into the core of a police force. If a corrupt or non-functioning police force exists, we should form a Home Guard or an auxiliary force that remains under our control until fully trained. This force can then be used to modify the police force for overall counterinsurgency success.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 15, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA560256
Entities
People
- Kevin S. Macwatters
Organizations
- United States Army War College