Umkay.
I was invited here by one the Combined Arms Center's Counterinsurgency experts as a subject matter expert on religious leader engagements in counterinsurgency operations.
I respect the members of the SWJ Council and their rights to argue pro/con on this and any other issue that the moderators deem fair game.
However, there is just too much data that forcefully makes the case that religious support teams have been, are and will be contributors to the Joint Force's counterinsurgency efforts. Moreover, my own extensive experience in this arena as well as the hundreds of interviews I have conducted in researching this issue will not allow me to concede to arguments like that quoted above.
While deployed in southern Baghdad my unit encountered issues like
this one too many times. This is my unit featured in the article.
Here is another scholarly treatment of the subject matter from USIP.
I have probably said all that I can say here. Not sure who the readership of SWJ actually comprises, but I know my boss appears here from time to time. He is a big proponent of STRATCOMs (telling our story) but I'm not sure about the value of debating whether or not something is a viable operational tack when its actually already been done and is ongoing.
Thanks to all who have dignified my posts with a response.
Bookmarks