Originally Posted by
Mike in Hilo
Mountain Runner's quote has reminded me of the one USAID program that really did support COIN efforts very directly-worldwide- until its (congressionally-mandated, as I recall) termination in 1973, viz., the USAID Public Safety Program, aka the police advisers. In VN, for example, most USAID activities proceeded outside the CORDS enclosure. For example, by the time I arrived in 1971, even the Land Reform advisers were in the USAID chain of command rather than CORDS. The highly appropriate exception was the USAID police advisers, who were members of each CORDS Province Team. Otherwise, USAID's relation to CORDS was mainly as a hiring hall for CORDS civilians, and analysts are still scratching their heads over this one, since CIA would seemingly have been a more appropriate institutional housing. Anyway, to fill civlian CORDS slots, USAID hired freshly retired army field grade officers for mid-level and senior positions, former company grade oficers with VN experience and former peace corps volunteers for the junior positions. Others were seconded from State. We were advised that when CORDS ended, we'd be let go. And we did not do USAID work. For example, the former colonel who was a Province Senior Adviser (PSA), if he did his job properly, would likely be found beside his counterpart, the province chief cum sector commander, grease pencil in hand, before a map with that acetate overlay, refining the plan for the upcoming batalion-size RF operation.
Cheers,
Mike.
Bookmarks