The Global Fragility Act of 20191 outlined a US strategy to prevent conflict and promote stability in countries identified by the Department of State in partnership with other federal agencies. Among those agencies is the Department of Defense (DOD) with its relatively new interagency support authority, the Defense Support to Stabilization, or DSS.2 As Stephanie Hammond, then Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability and Humanitarian Affairs, indicated This new authority allows DOD to provide logistical support, supplies and services to other federal agencies conducting stabilization activities… [so that] … critical civilian expertise can get into hard-to-reach areas more quickly and efficiently and with more effective resources, creating a unity of effort that the agencies have lacked in the past.3 The intent of this lesson collection is to offer some insight into topics and concepts DOD should recognize or consider as it plans and programs itself to partner with other federal agencies across the stabilization spectrum.
To read this Lesson Report click on the link below:
On MAY 25, 2022, PKSOI and the U.S. Army War College celebrated the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
Speakers for the event included Brig. Gen. Janeen Birckhead, Deputy Commanding General for Reserve Affairs at the Army War College, as well as former peacekeepers — all highlighting the history, challenges, and future of UN missions. “I am proud of the number of International Fellows in the Army War College Resident Class of 2022 who have served in UN Peace Operations….Half of our 80 International Fellows have served in at least one peacekeeping mission,” said Birckhead.
On this International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, we honor and remember those who have fallen: over 4,197 peacekeepers have lost their lives in the cause of peace – including 79 Americans. We also honor those who currently serve in peacekeeping missions, representing the best intentions of their nations, and who selflessly dedicate their lives to enable sustainable growth in the war-torn spaces around the world. Their shared determination and unified efforts will bring a greater chance of achieving peace than any single country could attain alone.
Did you know?
•The US Army has been engaged in peace operations since 1948 and currently is deployed in six UN operations, the Multinational Force Observers in the Sinai, and Kosovo.
Did you know?
•The United States is the largest contributor to military and police capacity building efforts in support of international peacekeeping, contributing more than $1 billion since 2005
PKSOI representative Mr. Lieto participates in the closing ceremony with key leaders from AFRICOM, SETAF-AF, Kenya, Uganda and other African nations.
A three-week joint military exercise ‘Justified Accord 22’ officially closed on Thursday, 17th March 2022 in Nairobi. PKSOI remained a key participant in the training and CPX phases of Justified Accord 22. PKSOI has supported past exercise in Africa since 2012.
Mr. Lieto with representatives from the European Union and an observer from Brazil during justified Accord 22.
Justified Accord is U.S. Africa Command’s joint, combined exercise that involves multiple U.S. military components, allied partner nations and international organizations to promote interoperability between participants for operations in East Africa. Justified Accord 22 brought together over 800 participants from twenty militaries across the world and it involved both Command Post and Field Training exercises. The exercise seeks to assess participant abilities in conducting operations and to enhance positive bilateral and regional relationships in conflict environments with coalition partners.
Mr Lieto with the Justified Accord senior leaders for the CPX from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Nigeria (representing the African Union).
Representing Chief of the Defense Forces (KDF), the Director of National Security Major General Solomon Manambo stated that KDF and Kenya at large was honored to host the exercise for the first time and is ready to work with her counterparts and partners in hosting similar crucial exercises. PKSOI continues to engage with AFRICOM and SETAF-AF for future exercises on the African continent.
Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration Programs for Military Practitioners serves as a guide for organizing, planning, preparing, and executing activities in support of such operations. As the book underscores, the military’s supporting role is not passive; instead, it practices active engagement by incorporating the experience and expertise of DDR partners. Achieving a sense of teamwork among diverse organizational cultures requires creative thinking. While recognizing that DDR is essentially a civilian-led venture, the military can furnish key enablers that enhance performance and effectiveness. PKSOI regards this book as a valuable reference for military and civilian organizations coming together to implement meaningful DDR.
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Maritime Stability Operations – China: Bullying Their Way Into the Arctic -The US Geological Survey estimates that the Arctic holds approximately 90 billion barrels of undiscovered oil which is about 13 percent of global estimates and 30 percent of the Earth’s undiscovered natural gas.[i] This increase in regional shipping and resource mining may cause regional instability in the Arctic as China, Russia, and the United States and its Arctic State partners compete to ensure their interests are attended to in this newly marketable portion of the Arctic.
The U.S. Army has always worked among people in areas of conflict. In recent times, the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are wrestling with what human security means, how military operations impact it, and what can be done to mitigate the harm. This primer is published to inform those within DOD working in this area, whether commanders, planners or curious soldiers and civilians. If we have learned nothing else in the past 20 years of war and its aftermath, it should be that the human domain is complex. If we fail to get our efforts right in these areas, we may well have tactical successes and strategic failure.
To read the full paper click on the link below. To download this paper click on the button below.
This edition of the Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute’s Semi-Annual Lesson Report: Setting the Stage for Peace and Stability Operations explores the challenges and complexities of “setting the stage” for peace and stability operations and activities.
To read the full report click on the link below. To download a copy of the report click on the button below.
Maritime stability operations are a subset of larger stability operations which take advantage of the freedoms that operating from the sea and operating under maritime law provide. Maritime stability operations are divided into two types, steady state and crisis response. Steady state stability operations are typically conducted by geographic combatant commanders in the form of exercises, port visits, or peace operations. Crisis response stability operations come in the form of civil support operations, Foreign Humanitarian Assistance (FHA), and disaster response. Whether operations are conducted by U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard units, alone or along with allied maritime forces, each agency follows a list of tenets set forth for maritime stability operations planning. This case study presents a FHA crisis response mission which was small in scope but demonstrates planners effectively and efficiently employing the tenets of maritime stability operations to ensure mission effectiveness.
Click on the link below to read the full Case Study or click the button below to Download.
The Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) will sunset the Stability Operations Lessons Learned & Information Management System (SOLLIMS). The system will not be available after Friday, March 13, 2020. The lessons and resources archived in SOLLIMS have been moved to the Joint Lessons Learned Information System (JLLIS). JLLIS serves as the system of record for all lessons learned across the joint force.
The decision to sunset SOLLIMS was made in coordination with the US Army Combined Arms Center, the US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), and the Joint Staff J7 Joint Lessons Learned Division to eliminate the redundancy between the two systems.
Leveraging JLLIS, PKSOI will continue to serve as the integrator of joint lessons learned for P&SO in its role as the Army and TRADOC lead for Joint Proponent of Stabilization and Peace Operations.
Members of the Peacekeeping and Stability Operations (P&SO) community of practice/interest who possess a DoD Common Access Card (CAC) can now query the JLLIS system for P&SO related observations and document files previously archived in SOLLIMS. The website is https://www.jllis.mil.
Those members of the P&SO community who are not CAC holders can “Ask PKSOI” for assistance at the PKSOI website, http://pksoi.armywarcollege.edu/.
All members of the P&SO community can still submit lessons. CAC holders can contribute new P&SO lessons directly in JLLIS. All others can submit lessons directly to PKSOI by emailing usarmy.carlisle.awc.list.pksoi-operations@mail.mil. Lessons should be in Observations, Discussion, and Recommendation format, and if needed can also include Implications, Comments, and Event Description.
PKSOI created SOLLIMS in 2009 as a web-enabled database to provide a repository for observations, insights and lessons pertaining to P&SO. SOLLIMS was an unclassified, open-source system available to a larger P&SO community that spanned joint, interagency, inter-governmental, multinational, and non-governmental organizations. SOLLIMS has served that community for more than a decade holding over 750 P&SO lessons and more than 7,700 resources. All of those lessons and records were transferred to the JLLIS database on March 6, 2020, and PKSOI will continue to produce new lessons directly in JLLIS
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) published an Essay Series, Protecting Civilians: A Humanitarian Obligation, with a contribution from Sarah Petrin (Williamson), and Col (Ret.) Dwight Raymond, on “A U.S. Perspective on the Protection of Civilians.”
The essay outlines the U.S. military framework for civilian protection, which includes: 1) understand civilian risks 2) conduct activities that protect civilians, and 3) shape a protective environment. It also offers perspective on the challenges that the military confronts in operations to protect civilians, and highlights the importance of building the capacity of national governments to provide security. The series was published by the NATO Office of the Secretary General, Human Security Unit and includes essays on Children and Armed Conflict and Cultural Property Protection.
To read this essay please click on the link below or to download click on the button below.
