From Maneuver Warfare To Maneuver Welfare

[slapout9]

After finally reading the original Lind book on Maneuver Warfare I started a thread on it see how it would apply to the War On Terror or whatever we are calling it these days. The link to the PDF below is by a Retired USMC Colonel copied from the SWJ blog. Anyway he also adapted the Maneuver Warfare Theory to the Operation in Haiti he is calling it Maneuver Welfare. Fantastic article and it does seem that Maneuver Warfare can be applied to all situations including Maneuver Welfare. Really short good article with Recon Pull (aka Surfaces and Gaps) just some really good stuff........If you can't tell I liked it....alot It is short and written in English and based some real life experiences.

One slight beef.......yes you can drop food and water by pallets and not kill alot of people........now it is true Marines may not be able to but the Homeboys (aka 82ND Airborne) sure can!

http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/jou...0-anderson.pdf

[M-A Lagrange]

Col Anderson article is just good sense and should be a bible for all marines going in Haiti.

Bare this in mind :
Humanitarian/welfare operations are complexe and results oriented. More I work with military and more I see how we are the same.
NGOs have develpped a military like operational process:

1) collecting data from open sources and accessible individuals to know where you are going, how to go there and what to expect
2) needs assessment when you are on the spot
3) identification and classification (per priority) of the response
4) logistic requierements to cover the identified needs
5) installation on the spot or in the closest location with the best access
6) coordination and/or advocacy to other agencies to cover uncovered needs
7) delivery of the response
8) response assessment

The logistic revolution induced by MSF (doctors without borders) allows some NGOs to deploy hospital, water, food, shelter... in less than 36 hours. Most of international NGOs have specialised teams ready to go in less than 48h in any place of the world on a simple phone call.

A civil copy cat of military capacity in deed. But humanitarian and relief workers have also their culture (not so far from the military one, some competitions between my war was worst than yours are hilarious), their communication links, they are trained and experimented...

And NGO do not only depend on military to get security. They have their way to get security. Sometime knowing the local drug lord is more usefull than being protected by soldiers. But it has its limits...

There is may be something to learn from them this time. Or at least, a path way to be found.

[Surferbeetle]

From FP, Development in the 21st Century, The prepared text of U.S. of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's speech, delivered to the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C., JANUARY 6, 2010

One approach is that of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which focuses on countries that have met rigorous criteria, from upholding political rights and the rule of law to controlling inflation and investing in girls' education. Under MCC compacts, we provide funding and technical support; the country provides the plan and leads the way toward achieving it. Early indications of the program are promising. We're using our resources to help countries cultivate their ability to build their own future.

This approach points to the difference between aid and investment. Through aid, we supply what is needed to the people who need it -- be it sacks of rice, cartons of medicines, or millions of dollars to fill a budget shortfall. But through investment, we seek to break the cycle of dependence that aid can create by helping countries build their own institutions and their own capacity to deliver essential services. Aid chases need; investment chases opportunity.

This is not to say that the United States is abandoning aid. It is still a vital tool, especially as an emergency response. But through strategic investments in programs like the Millennium Challenge Corporation, we hope to one day put ourselves out of the aid business, because countries will no longer need this kind of help.

Jeffrey Sachs in his book The End of Poverty has a "Checklist for Making a Differential Diagnosis" on page 84 that might be of interest. Here are the headings for the checklist

1. Poverty Trap
2. Economic Policy Framework
3. Fiscal Framework and Fiscal Trap
4. Physical Geography
5. Governance Patterns and Failures
6. Cultural Barriers
7. Geopolitics

Here is a longer version of the checklist which is covered in depth in his book.

The engineering approach gives us:

Given (Gather all facts, references, and assumptions and detail/state them up front)
Find (Define the problem to be solved)
Solution (Show all work taken to solve the problem)

Check your Work
Peer Review

Cost Estimate (uses a Work Breakdown Structure)
Schedule
Design
QA/QC