Measuring the Immeasurable: An Approach to Assessing the Effectiveness of Engineering Civic Assistance Projects Towards Achieving National Security Objectives
Abstract
One of the fundamental struggles of U.S. conflicts in the post-World War II era continues to be how to utilize the military instrument of national power as a way to influence people and populations in order to achieve national objectives. In the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey specifies that conducting humanitarian assistance is one of the twelve different ways in which the U.S. military achieves national security objectives. Given this support, there is ever increasing reliance on Humanitarian and Civic Assistance (HCA), specifically engineering civic assistance projects (ENCAPs), as a way to shape the operational environment. Given this increased utilization, assessing their effectiveness towards achieving national security objectives becomes paramount. However, an adequate method of assessment does not exist. The development of such a system will increase the value and effectiveness of ENCAPs given their expanded utilization in a fiscally austere environment that threatens to reduce or eliminate their funding.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 12, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA627059
Entities
People
- Orlando Craig
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College