Feral Jundi

Friday, February 6, 2009

Publications: Civilian Surge, by Binnendijk and Cronin–What about Incident Command?

Filed under: Publications — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 8:32 PM

   I briefly read through this, as well as went through this summary by SWJ, and the one thing that struck me was that there was no mention of Incident Command? I have written about this in the past, and it still cracks me up that no one out there is catching on.  There is already a framework and model for managing complex operations, that is consistently used with great success every summer during the fire seasons in the US. It was also used at ground zero during 9/11, the Space Shuttle crash back in 2003, and the Katrina Hurricane disaster. It is a system that is remarkably simple, yet scalable and easily understood by all.  It is a command language and system that all the groups mentioned in this paper could easily understand and follow if implemented.  

   The question I have is why was there not one person on the panel of authors and experts, that had some kind of expertise in this department.  A quick call to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho would have yielded some contacts.  Matter of fact, if any of the authors are reading this, I have a point of contact that could help you out.  He teaches the 400 series of Incident Command at NIFC, and was a Type 1 Incident Commander (kind of like a General of fire) and a Forest Management Officer.

     I could be wrong, but it sounds like this think tank kind of missed the boat on this.  Maybe an author could correct the record on why Incident Command wasn’t discussed or mentioned?  Like I said, I want to be wrong on this, so please correct the record for me.   

    In my opinion, if we want to get serious about organizing complex operations, with a unified command that could join military and civilian operations, then this is the system you need.  I have seen it first hand join together contractors, with federal/state resources, with multiple agencies, and with military and law enforcement even–all for fighting a complex fire operation.  For fighting fires, Incident Command is the glue that joins the pieces of that effort, and it can certainly be applied to the current war effort.  It deserves to be studied at the least and there is no need to reinvent the wheel.  Thanks to Small Wars Journal for posting this. –Matt 

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Civilian Surge: Key to Complex Operations

Posted by SWJ Editors on 

February 6, 2009 3:07 PM 

National Defense University’s Center for Technology and National Security Policy has just released an online report – Civilian Surge: Key to Complex Operations – by Hans Binnendijk and Patrick M. Cronin.

The United States needs to develop the capacity to conduct complex operations that require close civil-military planning and cooperation in the field. This study is comprehensive review of this national need and examines how the need can best be met.

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Industry Talk: PMC 2.0, by David Isenberg

Filed under: Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 7:08 PM

   Great little article by David about the evolution of the industry, with a mention of Combat Operator and Eeben’s blog.  I like the PMC 2.0 phrase, and that would be cool to see that as the new buzzword ‘du jour’.  –Matt

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Dogs of War: Private military contractors — mysterious? No.

Published: Feb. 6, 2009 at 3:09 PM

By DAVID ISENBERG

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (UPI) — A common refrain from many who observe the private military contracting industry is that it is opaque, shadowy, veiled, secretive, hidden, non-transparent, etc. Is this true? Yes and no, but mostly no.

When I first started following this industry in the early 1990s, it really was difficult to get information on it. Partly that was because there were relatively few companies to follow. Three companies garnered most of what little coverage existed: Executive Outcomes of South Africa, Sandline of Great Britain and U.S.-based MPRI. And the first two were not particularly eager to answer press inquiries.

MPRI, whose not-so-modest motto back then was “the greatest corporate assemblage of military expertise in the world” because it was founded and run by relatively high-ranking retired U.S. military officers, escaped that pigeonhole thanks to the efforts of one of its vice presidents, whose openness and charm enabled MPRI to gain enormous publicity for its training efforts in the Balkan wars. But it was an anomaly back then.

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Publications: International Bounty Hunters For War Criminals, By Christopher Supernor

Filed under: Law Enforcement,Publications — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 2:02 PM

   Wow, this is an interesting paper and dares to explore a pretty radical concept. Check it out. –Matt 

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International bounty hunters for war criminals: privatizing the enforcement of justice

Air Force Law Review ,  Wntr, 2001   

by Christopher M. Supernor

I. INTRODUCTION

International law is often criticized for lacking any formal means of enforcement. [1] International criminal tribunals are not supported by an international police force. Many of the individuals indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) remain at large, [2] and the Yugoslavian government has systematically refused to arrest indicted war criminals. [3] Even the October 2000 popular uprising that ousted Slobodan Milosevic from Yugoslavia’s presidency has done little to improve Yugoslavia’s level of cooperation with the ICTY. Mr. Vojislav Kostunica, Yugoslavia’s newly elected president, has not permitted Serbs to be extradited to The Hague. [4] Mr. Kostunica has stated that a Yugoslavian national truth commission should address Yugoslav war crimes. [5] The departing president of the ICTY, Gabrielle McDonald, has criticized the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for “doing too little to help bring indicted people to justice.” [6]

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Iraq: Elections Deliver a Victory for US Goals

Filed under: Iraq — Tags: , , — Matt @ 9:50 AM

   Very cool news, and I am impressed by the preliminary results so far. –Matt 

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Iraqi Elections Deliver A Victory for U.S. Goals

By Sudarsan Raghavan and Ernesto Londoño

Washington Post Foreign Service

Thursday, February 5, 2009

BAGHDAD, Feb. 5 — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki posted significant victories in Iraq’s provincial elections, winning Baghdad and eight provinces in Iraq’s Shiite south, according to official preliminary results released Thursday.

In voting for Maliki and his allies, Iraqis appeared to be supporting a strong central government and rewarding the prime minister for sending in government forces to fight Shiite militias in the southern city of Basra and Baghdad’s Sadr City enclave. Maliki’s State of Law coalition won 38 percent of the votes in Baghdad and 37 percent in Basra.

But with the exception of these two provinces, Maliki and his allies won by close margins in the other seven provinces and will need to build coalitions with other parties. At the same time, the slim margins could also allow other parties to come together in opposition to Maliki.

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Thursday, February 5, 2009

Film: Antony Beevor on Films That Rewrite History

Filed under: Film — Tags: , , — Matt @ 2:26 PM

   I want to thank Scott for sending me this link, because it is relevant to our industry and to the military.  There will come a time, when this industry will be represented in film, and the story and message will be in the hands of those film makers.  The question we have to ask is if these individuals care about producing something accurate and fair, or something that suits an agenda of historical revision or politics.  Our industry is old, but to the unknowing public, it is absolutely new and virgin thought territory.  We must engage those individuals that seek to define our industry through film or music or video games, and make sure that they get it right and care to make a good product.  And if they don’t listen, and could care less, then at least we can call them out on it.  

     Or better yet, we can embrace the process and work with them.  If someone was to do a film on Blackwater, would it benefit Blackwater to protest it, or would it benefit Blackwater to work with them and insure that it is accurate and fair?  Shared reality between the two groups, would help out the overall image of the portrayed group in that film.

    Also, if you ever want to watch an interesting show, check out The Unit.  One of the main writers of the show is Eric Haney, a retired CAG officer.  Also, Pete Blaber has contributed to the writing of the show as well.  In essence, the most secretive and best soldiers in the US, are now contributing to a TV show about their unit(Eric wrote the book The Unit, and the show revolves around the book).  Instead of fighting media, they are embracing it, and controlling the quality and content(or at least trying to).  That is a lot better than someone making a show about this incredible group of guys, that have no credibility at all about this subject.   

    Media relations is the one area where PMC/PSC’s really drop the ball on.  Hell, the entire contracting industry as a whole sucks at media relations, and film is one area that we certainly need to be wary of, just for the very reasons that Mr. Beevor discusses in this article. –Matt 

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Antony Beevor on films that rewrite history

From The Sunday Times

January 18, 2009

Open Minds: Films that rewrite history, says Antony Beevor, are fatally warping our sense of reality

Antony Beevor

     In the West, we tend to assume that the greatest threats to democracy and liberty come from outside. We think of the totalitarian systems of the last century or fundamentalist terrorism today, but we fail to recognise the viral strain that has developed out of our own entertainment industries.

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