The Carrot in COIN: Effectively Utilizing the Commander's Emergency Response Program in Irregular Warfare

Abstract

Over the last seven years, the appropriateness of how the CERP is used during counterinsurgency operations has raised a number of concerns. Within Congress, concerns over duplication of efforts between DoD and USAID during reconstruction programs, expertise of DoD personnel to manage and administer the program for large scale projects, and a perceived lack of oversight on small scale. projects have led Congress to reduce the CERP appropriation below that requested by DoD. Additionally, Congress has increasingly attached reporting and coordination requirements to restrict uncontrolled spending in an ever-expanding counterinsurgency. Additional protests by non-governmental organizations raise the issue of whether a military force should be engaged in humanitarian support activities while the same force is concurrently conducting kinetic operations. The reality is that the CERP functions' more as a non-kinetic weapons system for the tactical commander than a humanitarian or foreign aid program. CERP serves as a vital tool for commanders during counterinsurgency operations whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, or operations in future theaters.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 30, 2011
Accession Number
ADA600871

Entities

People

  • Kyle G. Phillips

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Congress
  • Counterinsurgency
  • Department Of Defense
  • Foreign Aid
  • Governments
  • Interagency Coordination
  • Law
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Operations
  • Military Personnel
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Terrorism
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.