Advising Host Nations and Host Nation Security Forces: The United States Military Advisory Efforts through 2020
Abstract
The Army is well acquainted with advising Host Nations (HN) and Host Nation Security Forces (HNSF). Major General Marquis de La Fayette from France and Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben from Germany advised the United States' Continental Army under General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. And the US Army can trace its advisory history to the Philippine War in 1899 with the establishment and training of the Filipino constabulary police force. In the Army's 238 year history, it has fought eleven years of conventional war with the myriad of remaining conflicts characterized as stability operations. As the Army looks to 2020, given budget and force structure reductions, it must determine how to best employ forces to advise HNs and HNSFs. In order for the Army to do so, it is essential it look at its past in order to address its future. In February 2007, the Department of the Army (DA) announced the advisor mission as its top priority. In 2009, then Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA) select, General Martin Dempsey, and US Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, both proclaimed the importance of building HNSF capacity and the advisor mission as an enduring requirement. However, despite these proclamations, the Army never placed the requisite emphasis on the advisor mission. Given its long history of advising HNs and HNSFs, stability operations and Security Force Assistance (SFA), the US should have had the requisite expertise, plans, authorities, and organizational solutions readily at hand to address the full range of advising and partnership activities in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Department of Defense (DOD) must act now to avoid future advising and SFA difficulties and ensure that it does not disregard the hard-won lessons of recent experience. To address future advising, the Army should first capture and implement valuable lessons learned from the Iraq and Afghan wars while leaders experienced in advising are still serving.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 22, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA612130
Entities
People
- David M. Wood
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College