Optimizing Unity of Effort During Humanitarian Assistance Operations: Civil-Military Operations Centers Inside and Outside the Wire""

Abstract

Abstract : Since 1991, the U.S. military has participated in Humanitarian Assistance (HA) operations in Iraq, Somalia, Bangladesh, Rwanda, Haiti, and Bosnia. As a result, U.S. Armed Forces have become increasingly involved in working with a plethora of independent non-military actors during humanitarian relief operations. The unique nature of this relationship is recognized in the Military Operations Other Than War principle of unity of effort. For the Joint Task Force Commander (JFC) , unity of effort acknowledges the fact that coordination and cooperation replace command and control as guiding principles during HA operations. To Support the JFC conducting humanitarian relief operations, doctrine has been developed identifying the Civil-Military Operations Center (CMOC) as the engine that drives the coordination process. However, current doctrine is incomplete. While focusing on the who, what, when, why, and how of CMOC operations, guidance discussing where is conspicuously absent. To optimize unity of effort, standardized doctrine must be developed and instituted identifying where to physically locate the CMOC during HA operations. Based on the divergent cultures of the participating military and non-military actors, parallel civil-military operations centers located inside and outside the wire offer the best opportunity for optimizing unity of effort between the Joint Task Force and Humanitarian Belief Organizations supporting HA operations.