An Exploratory [Silver] Path to Interagency Reconstruction
Abstract
The U.S. Army's Counterinsurgency manual says the integration of civilian and military efforts is "crucial" in operations. We talk a good game. In practice, there are significant integration challenges. Tensions abound -- who leads, who follows, quick projects to gain influence or longer development projects, how to measure progress, dueling cultures, and different funding sources. In addition, many civil-military teams attempting reconstruction in complex operations are "cobbled together." This is not unique to U.S. operations. That there is expertise available to deal with complex operations is not for debate; the Department of State, especially the U.S. Agency for International Development, has extensive development experience, while the Department of Defense knows combat and security operations. Integration comes in the middle ground, where we often step on each other. This paper classifies complex reconstruction problems as "wicked problems," identifies interagency challenges and shortfalls that exacerbate their wicked nature, develops an operational concept of reconstruction for essential services, and gives recommendations for improving interagency operations and the Army's support to civilian lead agencies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 31, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA565463
Entities
People
- Daniel Larsen
Organizations
- Queen's University