U.S. Military and NGOS: Breaking Down the Barriers

摘要

The United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) achieved great success during the response to the 2004 Pacific Tsunami and at the same time, identified a need to improve Military-Non Governmental Organization (NGO) relationships. After the disaster, military and civilian organizations pledged to improve working relationships by conducting combined disaster relief exercises. The disaster response lessons, however, were not translated into adjustments in the overall Theatre Security Cooperation Plan (TSCP) exercise program. Exercise planners continue to focus scenarios on major combat operations. The 2004 tsunami, along with numerous other natural disasters in the Pacific region, has clearly demonstrated that crisis response in the USPACOM Area of Responsibility, is more likely to involve a response to a complex natural disaster than that of a major combat operation. However, the current USPACOM exercise program is not fully meeting the security cooperation needs of the command because it does not focus commanders on the likely threat of a natural disaster. Furthermore, the exercise program does little to incorporate NGOs into the design or execution of exercises. This paper addresses the importance of aligning the USPACOM Commander's TSCP with a multinational disaster relief exercise that fully incorporates NGOs in planning and execution.