All posts by PKSOI

Ms. Claire Hutchinson, NATO Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) for Women, Peace and Security hosted a conference attended by over 70 academics and practitioners from the Protection of Civilians (PoC) community of interest. PoC within NATO includes all efforts taken to avoid, minimize and mitigate the negative effects that might arise from NATO and NATO-led military operations. It also includes efforts to prevent conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence. Panel members from NATO Allied Command Operations, Norwegian Defence College, NATO Office of Legal Affairs, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Center for Civilians in Conflict, and Humanity and Inclusion assessed past PoC efforts and identified potential future initiatives. PKSOI’s Sarah Petrin presented ideas on the way ahead to include NATO HQ, with a critical role to play in setting the future direction of the POC policy, sustaining robust engagement with the international community and civilian actors, including non-governmental and international organizations on the front lines of protecting civilians. Similarly, NATO should continue raising public awareness of PoC in countries where NATO is actively engaged. Both recommendations support the NATO Policy and Action Plan 2017-2020 that contains several objectives for a coherent, consistent, and integrated approach to PoC. The conference served as a start point for the incorporation of changes to PoC policy currently under consideration. The role and prioritization of associated cross-cutting topics (CCT), such as Cultural Property Protection (CPP) and human trafficking, are being examined.

 In conjunction with the PoC conference, PKSOI Analysts Sarah Petrin and George McDonnell met with members of the Norwegian Defence International Centre (NODEFIC) on September 17, 2009 in Oslo, Norway.  With LtCol (NO) John Otto Pederson – NODEFIC Director, Stian Kjeksrud – Senior Lecturer United Nations (UN) Peace Operations, and Sine Vorland Holen, Researcher and Senior Advisor, the group discussed mutual capabilities, priorities, and concerns.  In addition, areas of potential collaboration for Human Security training and leader development were identified.  NODEFIC is a knowledge and training center offering expertise and individual training on UN and NATO operations.  NODEFIC is a component of the Norwegian Staff College and is shifting its focus to state-centric threats to national security.

Stability Operations Institute, in coordination with Headquarters Department of Army G-3/5/7 conducted the 28th offering of the Army Security Cooperation Planners Course (ASCPC) from 23-27 September in the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center at Carlisle Barracks.

The ASCPC is offered three times a year at Carlisle Barracks and is designed to familiarize Army security cooperation staff officers with necessary planning, resourcing, execution, and evaluation programs and authorities in accordance with current Army regulations and public law. The target audience for the class is Army Service Component Command Security Cooperation Planners and associated staff but has robust participation from other Army Commands as well as Joint and Interagency staffs working in the Security Cooperation field of practice.

The course employs up to 30 different instructors. Leveraging its proximity to the National Capital Region, the course brings subject matter experts from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Headquarters Department of Army, State Department political-military bureau, U.S. Agency for International Development, Non-Governmental Organizations, partner nation Defense Attachés, among others, to teach the 39 blocks of instruction.

The ASCPC has taken on increased importance since the mandated reforms in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act that include a requirement to professionalize the security cooperation workforce. To that end, the ASCPC is an Army Training Requirements & Resources System (ATRRS) recognized course and will fulfill the newly commissioned Defense Security Cooperation University’s workforce professionalization basic skills training requirement.

For more information on the Army Security Cooperation Planners Course contact:

Peacekeeping & Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI)
Upton Hall, Bldg 22
22 Ashburn Drive
Carlisle, PA 17013

Phone: 717.245.3722

DSN: 242.7322

Email: usarmy.carlisle.awc.list.pksoi-operations@mail.mil

This Strategic Planning for Peacekeeping and Stability Operations (PSO) Lessons Learned Report supports the release of Army Doctrine Publication ADP 3-07, Stability in July, 2019. As stated in ADP 1 The Army “organizes, trains, and equips the force to conduct offensive, defensive, and stability operations . . .” (ADP 3-07, p. v) overseas as part of, unified land operations, the Army’s contribution to the conduct of joint operations, or Unified Action. “Stability is the set of conditions in which a local populace regards its governance institutions as legitimate and its living situation as acceptable and predictable.” (ADP 3-07, p. 1-1)

To read or download the full report please click on the following links.

The Sea Service Leadership Association (SSLA), 32^nd Annual Joint Women’s Leadership Symposium (JWLS) and Department of the Army Leadership Academia Day Forum commenced 21-23 August 2019 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC.

The Symposium is a “professional development and networking event for military women that provides military members and civilian employees of the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard with access to mentorship and professional development assets. The conference aims to enhance diversity, recruitment and retention through presentation, discussions and training on leadership and professional growth within the Department of Defense (DoD).”[i]

The symposium theme was “Building Bridges, Changing Cultures” and highlighted “Diversity is the Force, Equality is the Goal, and Inclusion is the Way.” Day One offered education on programs and tools available to women veterans and those preparing career transition into the civilian sector. Day Two hosted Joint and International participants. Day Three events were separated by each service. Each day included presentations, panel discussions and Q&A. Vendors and women authors supported the event.    

COL Veronica G. Oswald-Hrutkay, PKSOI’s Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Army Lead attended along with over 1000 other participants from across the services that included international military women from South Korea, Sweden, Australia and Denmark. Her attendance was timely following the publication of the U.S. Strategy on WPS in June of 2019 in which the Department of Defense is working to complete a WPS Strategy and Implementation Plan. This new Strategy aims to “emphasize the need for DoD to look both inward at our talent management and force capacity building to increase joint readiness and outward as we work with partner nations to promote women and girl’s safety, equality, and meaningful participation around the world.”[ii] Doing so further supports the Department in building a more lethal force, strengthening alliances and attracting new partners, and reforming the department for greater performance and affordability.[iii]

The Symposium sought to create an atmosphere to inspire, motivate, mentor and educate military women in attendance. Joint service General Officers, senior enlisted, and junior grades spoke during individual leader presentations and within panel discussion activities. Centered within this were three broad agendas related to Policies, Programs and Processes of increasing integration of women in the military. Topics such as the existing maternity and paternity leave policies, promotion of leadership and development programs, and the need for improved institutional measurement and follow-up mechanisms were highlighted.

The importance of gender equality and identifying how to keep talent by first recognizing talent was stressed. The symposium provided tones, challenges and potentials women experience integrating across the U.S. military. Providing these valuable insights (perspectives) encourages women to seek out how they can make the difference within the military by leveraging the talents within them. As a way forward in preparation for the proposed June 2020 women’s symposium planned in the National Capital Region, Women, Peace, and Security looks to be a potential topic for discussion.

[i] Joint Women’s Leadership Symposium participant syllabus (August 2019)

[ii] United States Department of Defense Women, Peace, and Security Strategy and Implementation Plan (Shared Draft/Pre-decisional as of 15 August 2019).

[iii] Ibid.

Army Doctrine Publication (ADP) 3-07 is the Army’s doctrine for stability tasks. ADP 3-07 presents overarching doctrinal guidance and direction for conducting these operations, setting the foundation for developing other fundamentals and tactics, techniques, and procedures detailed in subordinate doctrinal publications. To view and download ADP 3-07 Stability please click on the link or the download button below.

This Conflict Prevention Lessons Learned Report uses a unique organizational approach. Rather than a conventional chronological or topical style, we’ve opted to present a lead lesson based on a study by the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) entitled “Preventing Extremism in Fragile States: A New Ap-proach.” Supported by the analysis and recommendations presented in the study, a bipartisan group of Congress members recently introduced the Global Fragility Act of 2019 bill that requires the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Department of Defense to coordinate on a global initiative aimed at stabilizing conflict affected areas and preventing the violence and fragility that allow terrorists, criminal networks, and war lords to take hold in the first place. It provides for Congressionally-mandated funding and executive branch organization to prevent conflict in much the same way 1986’s Goldwater-Nichols Act helped the Department of Defense focus its Joint warfighting capability. Thirty-three years after Goldwater-Nichols, the U.S. arguably possesses the most integrated, powerful military force in the world. The Global Fragility Act similarly promises to provide Congressional and Executive Branch support for a holistic approach based on the principle of unity of effort to stopping terrorist conflict before it even starts.

To read the full report please click on the link below.

Foreign Humanitarian Assistance (FHA) consists of DOD activities conducted outside the US and its territories to directly relieve or reduce human suffering, disease, hunger, or privation. These operations are different from other DOD HA operations or activities primarily because they may occur on short notice as a contingency operation to provide aid in specific crises or similar events and also because they are exclusively performed by US military forces. FHA is intended to supplement or complement efforts of host nation (HN) civil authorities or agencies with the primary responsibility for providing assistance. FHA includes foreign disaster relief (FDR) operations and other activities that directly address a humanitarian need and may also be conducted concurrently with other DOD support missions and activities such as dislocated civilian support; security operations; and international chemical, biological, radiological, and unclear (CBRN) response. Click link below to view JP3-29.

To read JP 3-29 Foreign Humanitarian Assistance on JDEIS (CAC required) Click Here

The Institute of Security Studies (ISS) and the Challenges Forum International Secretariat (CFIS) organized a workshop to report back and discuss the revised chapter texts of the forthcoming review of the Considerations for Mission Leadership in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (2010) in Pretoria on 6-7 March 2019. Dr. Finkenbinder and COL Wolfgram participated in the Workshop as the Task Force leads for Chapter 4 & 5 by presenting their recommendations for inclusion to the updated Considerations Study 2.0. This new document will integrate recent field and HQ experiences and developments in the area of peace operations from the past nine years.

By Curt Keester 15 April 2019

CARLISLE, Pa. (April 9, 2019) – Peace and stability operations experts from the Department of Defense, Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development discussed plans for future activities in complex operating environments during a three-day workshop at the Army War College.

The Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute hosted its annual Peace and Stability Operations Training and Education Workshop in Root Hall, April 3-5, 2019. Throughout the three days, trainers, educators and planners from military, civilian, governmental and non-governmental organizations, stability centers and institutions shared best practices, worked through challenges and shared methodologies.

This year’s theme focused on “Forecasting Peacekeeping and Stability Requirements in a Changing World.” The civilian and military practitioners took part in theme-related working groups that focused on stability planning, integrated campaigning, defense institution building and institutional capacity building, transitional public security application, women, peace and security, and defense support to stabilization.

The working group discussions provided insights, assessments, and recommendations on education, training, and leadership development within the peace and stability operations community. Afterward, the groups presented findings to a senior leader panel.

“We’re talking about training and education of security cooperation practitioners for institutional capacity building,” said John Sannar, the coordinator for Defense Institution Building at U.S. Africa Command. “Institutional capacity building is a new and dynamic area within security cooperation, and so talking about training and education of security cooperation professionals in this area is a timely topic for us.” Sannar facilitated the “Training and Education Security Cooperation Practitioners for Institutional Capacity Building” working group discussion.

The goal was to produce products to train and educate the joint force and international partners on peace and stability operations, provide a forum that addresses the equities of the community of practice and its activities, and to foster collaboration between the joint professional military education and academic communities.

“This year’s PSOTEW was an extremely successful event, due to the efforts of the working group leads,” said Col. Jim Lowe, Deputy Director of PKSOI. “Each year the event gets better from the participation of a wide community of interest and stakeholders. With their participation and feedback, we make progress across the whole of government as well as international partners.”

To read more Click Here

This case study examines conditions and situations faced by several United Nations peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions in East Timor with the goal of applying the lessons learned from their responses to similar dilemmas in future peacekeeping operations (PKOs). East Timor provides a unique setting for the application of theory to practice, as the successive UN missions (UNAMET, INTERFET, and UNTAET) each took different approaches in their attempts to overcome obstacles on the ground. By studying and critically examining specific operational decisions and the subsequent repercussions, readers will gain a better understanding of the debates surrounding the integration of local personnel into PKOs, security vs. civil society in the first stages of peacekeeping missions, and the use of Whole of Government vs. Whole of Society approaches to peacebuilding.

To read more click on the link below.