U.S. May Fill Afghan Civilian Posts With Military Personnel
From todays NYT:
"The officials predicted that the requirement for the “civilian surge” would eventually include hundreds of people with experience in areas that include small-business management, legal affairs, veterinary medicine, public sanitation, counternarcotics efforts and air traffic control.
In addition, officials said, the number of diplomatic positions at the American Embassy in Kabul and at provincial reconstruction outposts could increase by several hundred more. Some officials supplied details of the plan on the condition of anonymity because the decisions were not final.
….
(DOD U/S Flournoy said that ) the government was still “playing a game of catch-up” after years of not setting aside money to create this civilian expertise, and she described the reliance on reservists as part of “a whole host of stopgap measures” necessary until teams of civilian experts could be created."
This fits very closely with what I said in some earlier posts. The diplomacy, Public Diplomacy, refugee coordination, governance jobs, etc, can be filled by DOS. Much of the rest will simply have to come from elsewhere. The reserves are not the best answer, but they have many of the skills. The problem is that the civilian agencies (USDA, DOC, EPA) are neither configured nor functionally capable of compelling people to deploy.
A significant chunk of the specific civilian surge will likely fall to contractors.
Regarding some previous posts:
A couple of thoughts. Steve the Planner makes some great points. As an FSO with gray hair (what little I have of it), I have a good sense of the strengths and limitations of DOS skill sets. There is a definite role for the right FSO, but it seems that, in Iraq, quantity often trumped quality.
As for no thanks for the service or outbrief. I agree. I got neither myself.
RE: "120mm" Based on 2.5 months somewhere in Afghanistan, 120 MM states:
"Gee, I've rolled around in Afghanistan in an unarmored Ford pickup for the last 2.5 months. ANA/ANP make excellent security. And that's in a role where people have a huge self-interest in killing me/us. It's just not that risky, here. But that's my mind-set vs. the typical guy in a tie."
Well, based on my year in Afghanistan, there are DOS people (Helmand, Kandahar, Kunar, Nuristan) where you simply can't drive around in an "unarmored ford." In Helmand, the DOS rep (who has been there for nearly two years) would have been dead a long time back.
Sure, up in Mazar and Kunduz, Bamiyan, Panjshir, you can ride around in the open. Herat as well. Not in the Pech river valley or on the road to Musa Qala.
As to language skills? Do we all have them? No. Right now all except one or two of the DOS people heading out this summer are finishing their 44 week high intensity language course. As for previous DOS people, I won't give her name, but, for one example, we had a Pashto speaker working near the Pak border for over a year. She had specific death threats against her. If she had ridden for "2.5 months" in an unarmored ford pickup, she would be dead as well.
"But I get the impression that State wants to grow their own from fellow Ivy Leaguers and Biff's tennis buddies and is actually frightened by people with real experience."
I've got 24 years as an FSO. I graduated from a California State College. Not many Ivy Leaguers at State. This is a sterotype from 50 years ago, maybe. I'm one of many FSOs with more than one war under my belt. And no, we don't wear ties out at PRTs. Sorry.
Although I was ready to be surprised, I'm not
This is the DoS press release that explains that the State Department is going to use military reservists because it can't fill the 250 slots it has in Afghanistan. It says it is "essential" to have a civilian increase, but reservists will be the "most effective way" to fill the slots. 21,000 Soldiers, 250 civilians, but we'll use Soldiers to fill the civilian slots because the civilians can't. Guess that qualifies as "extraordinary steps."
CM
* President Obama has made clear that a significant increase in
civilian personnel in Afghanistan is an essential component of our
strategy to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda and its safe havens
in Pakistan, and to prevent their return to Pakistan or Afghanistan.
* We welcome the participation of military reservists in a
civilian plan if that is the most effective way to reach our plan
levels.
* The United States is taking a "whole of government" approach to
meeting this critical need for civilian expertise. The process for
identifying and hiring civilians has already begun, and in close
coordination with our international partners and the Afghan government,
we are determining the right mix of civilian expertise required to meet
our shared strategic goal.
* We will be using all authorities, including extraordinary steps
such as term appointments and curtailments of current assignments, to
fill the positions required for this mission. We intend to fill the
civilian positions on schedule. The civilian plan is totally integrated
with the military plan and will move seamlessly behind counterinsurgency
efforts.
Slow but steady forward progress...
From this morning's Army news by Gary Sheftick Deploying brigade to test 'advise and assist' concept
Quote:
The "advise and assist" brigades will assist Provincial Reconstruction Teams in their missions, will work directly with Military Transition Teams to train Iraqi Army units and with the teams that train the Iraqi Border Patrol and police. The brigades will also work closely with the State Department, U.S. Aid and other government agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations in their area.
Newell's brigade underwent 10 months of unique pre-deployment training as the first "advise and assist" BCT.
State Department officials embedded with his brigade during its rotation at the National Training Center in California's Mohave desert during January.
"We were actually fortunate to have what I call the collective brain trust of the State Department's Iraqi Stabilization Desk ... all embedded in the rotation," Newell said.
Under the new concept, provincial reconstruction teams - civil affairs servicemembers and State Department officials -- will team up with brigades going through their mission readiness exercises at NTC and other combat training centers, Newell said. The MiTT teams will also train with the brigades, he said.
After NTC, the brigade sent a core group of about 60 junior NCOs and officers to Fort Bragg for two weeks of civil affairs training. "And then that core group went into downtown El Paso, working with a number of the industries to actually do assessments and practice some of the tasks that they'd actually assist the provincial reconstruction teams in performing," Newell said.
About 20 of his Soldiers attended a city manager's course in Austin, Texas. The El Paso city manager's office also worked with the troops to help them understand essential city services