Multinational staff effectiveness in UN peace operations: The case of the U.S. army and UNMIH, 1994-1995

Armed Forces and Society

Volumn 29, Issue 3, 2003, Pages

  Kretchik, Walter E ^a  

^a BILKENT UNIVERSITY   (Turkey)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 30244456469     PISSN: 0095327X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0095327X0302900305     Document Type: Article

References (67)

1. Francis Henn, "UN Peacekeeping: The Mirror Should Be Polished." Contemporary Review (June 1994): 281-288. "Level" is a theoretical construct for how U.S. military forces group activities. The operational level is where multiservice and/or multinational forces combine their efforts to devise and execute operations. The tactical level is subordinate to the operational level, where a single service fights battles or executes missions using small units.
2. Department of the Army, Operation Restore Hope After Action Report (Fort Leavenworth, KS: Center For Army Lessons Learned, 1993), secs. III-1 through III-9. This particular report addresses UN staff procedures in Somalia. For a personal view, see S. L. Arnold, "Somalia: An Operation Other Than War," Military Review, 9 December 1993): 26-35. Arnold commanded U.S. forces in Somalia.
3. Department of the Army, Operation Restore Hope After Action Report (Fort Leavenworth, KS: Center For Army Lessons Learned, 1993), secs. III-1 through III-9. This particular report addresses UN staff procedures in Somalia. For a personal view, see S. L. Arnold, "Somalia: An Operation Other Than War," Military Review, 9 December 1993): 26-35. Arnold commanded U.S. forces in Somalia.
4. Allan R. Millett, Williamson Murray, and Kenneth H. Watman, "The Effectiveness of Military Organizations." International Security (Summer 1986): 37-71.
5. Ibid., 70-71.
6. See Eileen M. Flanigan and Jon Scott, Process Improvement: How to Change Your Organization's Effectiveness (Menlo Park, CA: Crisp Publications, Inc., 1995).
7. Robert B. Burns, Introduction To Research Methods. (London: SAGE Publications, 2000), 461. Robert Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 2d ed. (Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. 1994).
8. Robert B. Burns, Introduction To Research Methods. (London: SAGE Publications, 2000), 461. Robert Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 2d ed. (Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. 1994).
9. United Nations, Guidelines For Governments Contributing Military Personnel to UNMIH (New York: The United Nations, 19 September 1994). Battle Command Training Program Archives, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas [henceforth called BCTP archives].
10. United Nations, Guidelines, D-1 to D-3. The multinational headquarters staff reflected a typical military organization with a Chief of Staff heading the subordinate staff sections of Military Assistant, Military Personnel and Administration (G1), Operations Branch (G3), and Logistics Branch (G4).
11. Interview with Lieutenant Colonel Kevin C. Benson by author, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 20 January 1998. Benson was the Executive Officer for U.S. forces in Haiti during the UNMIH mission and observed UN personnel firsthand. Interview with Lieutenant General Joseph W. Kinzer by author, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, 28 June 1998. As a Major General, Kinzer had commanded UNMIH for one year during 1995-1996.
12. Within the Department of Defense security structure, various U.S. multiservice headquarters have regional responsibilities for crises and contingencies around the world. At the time, the U.S. Atlantic Command was accountable for actions in the Caribbean.
13. Undated BCTP Report, "Proposed Training For UNMIH Staff." BCTP archives.
14. Sullivan was deeply troubled over the loss of American lives in Somalia. Other U.S. government officials also felt the strain, given the subsequent resignation of U.S. Secretary of Defense Les Aspin.
15. Department of the Army, memorandum from General Gordon R. Sullivan to Lieutenant General Paul Blackwell, 21 September 1994, "Subject: UNMIH Staff Training." BCTP archives.
16. The Battle Command Training Program, a grouping of four mobile training teams consisting of military officers who are expert in various areas of military doctrine, is organized into four teams. Team Delta, the organization responsible for training U.S. Army units in multiservice and multinational operations, was thus the logical choice to form the core of subject matter experts for training the UNMIH staff.
17. Department of the Army, letter from Paul E. Blackwell to Wesley K. Clark, 22 September 1994, subject unspecified. Department of the Army, information paper from Department of the Army Training Management Office to BCTP, 22 September 1994, "Subject: Training of UN force for Peacekeeping Operations in Haiti." BCTP archives.
18. Department of the Army, letter from General Gordon R. Sullivan to General John M. Shalikashvili, 24 September 1994, "Subject: UNMIH Staff Training." BCTP archives.
19. Department of Defense, unpublished briefing slides, "Presidential Decision Directive-56: Managing Complex Contingency Operations," Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Strategic Requirements. The briefing references PDD-25 as the framework for establishing the armed services to examine the factors necessary to use U.S. military forces in peace operations. BCTP archives.
20. Department of the Army, "Sullivan letter to Shalikashvili," enclosure 3. BCTP archives.
21. Author unknown, "Meeting Notes, 28 September 1994." BCTP archives. The notes probably belonged to Ward. Attending the meeting were representatives from various locations, including the JCS, the U.S. Atlantic Command, the U.S. Army War College Peacekeeping Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, the Department of Joint and Combined Operations, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, and BCTP.
22. Interview with Lieutenant Colonel Tom Adams by author, 16 November 1995, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
23. United States Atlantic Command, "Untitled USACOM Briefing Slides," UNMIH Staff Training Conference, Norfolk, Virginia, 28 September 1998. BCTP archives. Interview with Lieutenant Colonel George Steuber by author, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, April 1998. Steuber was the operations officer for U.S. forces in Somalia during UNISOM II and has abundant experience working with UN staffs.
24. Adams interview.
25. Adams interview.
26. Adams interview.
27. Adams interview.
28. Adams interview.
29. The United States National Security Strategy calls for dividing the majority of the world into regions placed under the watchful eye of four-star level military commanders. Called Commanders-in-Chief, CinCs, or Combatant Commanders, the general officers are responsible for monitoring events within their areas of responsibilities and advising the President and the Secretary of Defense concerning the use of military force in times of crisis. See Armed Forces Staff College Publication 1, The Joint Staff Officers Guide, 1998. Norfolk, VA: Armed Forces Staff College, 1998.
30. Department of the Army, letter from Lieutenant General Paul E. Blackwell to Admiral Paul D. Miller, 29 September 1994, subject unspecified. Note from Admiral Paul D. Miller to Lieutenant General Paul E. Blackwell, undated, subject unspecified. BCTP archives.
31. Battle Command Training Program, Memorandum from Lieutenant Colonel Bill Wamsley to Colonel Moore, undated, "Training Proposal." BCTP archives.
32. BCTP Memorandum, "Training Proposal." The seven staff sections included personnel, information, current operations/plans, logistics, future operations, communications, and civil affairs operations.
33. Department of the Army, BCTP Training Support Briefing Slides, 1 October 1994, untitled. BCTP archives.
34. Headquarters U.S. Atlantic Command, Facsimile Message to BCTP Team Delta, 11 October 1994 "Subject: UNMIH Personnel Roster." BCTP archives.
35. United Nations Mission in Haiti Briefing Slides, 22 October 1994, untitled. BCTP archives.
36. Transition Day was the date established by mutual agreement to begin the process of shifting the mission from the U.S. to the UN.
37. Battle Command Training Program, Operations Group Delta message, 16 November 1994. "Subject: Projected UNMIH Staff Training Cost Estimates." BCTP archives.
38. Headquarters U.S. Atlantic Command, message, 3 December 1994, "Subject: Proposed Public Affairs Press Release Announcing 25th ID Deployment." BCTP archives.
39. Headquarters U.S. Atlantic Command, Training Briefing Slides, 8 December 1994, untitled. BCTP archives. Adams interview.
40. Lieutenant Colonel Gary Hovatter, unpublished memorandum for record, 14 December 1994, "Subject: BCTP Training Support for UNMIH Staff." BCTP archives.
41. Dr. Bryant C. Freeman, unpublished letter to Lieutenant Colonel Tom Adams, 21 December 1994, "Position Proposal." BCTP archives. The $10,000 consulting fee was considered a bargain due to Freeman's expertise, as LTC Adams told me in April 1995. Yet several members of the U.S. Atlantic Command staff thought that the fee was exorbitant and believed that it was Freeman's patriotic duty to work for free. Adams retorted that Freeman was indeed a patriot but even a patriot needs to eat.
42. Colonel William Fulton interview by Dr. Robert F. Baumann, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, January 1996.
43. BCTP briefing slides, 19-22 December 1994, "Subject: UNMIH Training Site Survey." BCTP archives.
44. Interview with Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Ward by author, May 1995, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
45. Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Ward, unpublished memorandum, 11 January 1995, "Subject: Concept for Training a Multinational Task Force," 1. BCTP archives.
46. Ward, "Concept for Training," 2.
47. U.S. Mission to the United Nations, electronic message number RUCNDT #0368 0302335, 30 January, 1995, "Subject: UNMIH Staff Training Program." BCTP archives.
48. United Nations, UN Security Council Resolution 975, 30 January 1995.
49. Battle Command Training Program, unpublished manuscript, undated, "UNMIH training personnel roster." BCTP archives.
50. Battle Command Training Program, unpublished manuscript, 27 February 1995, "UNMIH Facilitator Training." BCTP archives.
51. Ward interview.
52. Battle Command Training Program, unpublished manuscript, 5 March 1995, "UNMIH Training Schedule." BCTP archives.
53. BCTP, "UNMIH Training Schedule," 7.
54. Adams interview. Dr. Bryant C. Freeman comments to author, October 1996, Montrais, Haiti. The argument revealed much about conflicting cultures between academia and the military. Freeman was a subject matter expert, something that the military intelligence officers fancied themselves as well. Freeman's knowledge was more in-depth, reflective, and based upon experience and study. The intelligence officers had vast, practical experience but only limited time to reflect upon what they knew. The two views, academic and practitioner, obviously clashed in this instance.
55. Adams interview. According to Adams, Freeman talked for two hours and covered Haitian geography, environmental concerns, the political climate and social strata, and Haitian history. He also lectured upon Haitian views of morality, the nation's birth and death rates, the local attitudes regarding foreigners and each natives, economics, and issues concerning everyday life in Haiti.
56. Kinzer interview.
57. Battle Command Training Program, unpublished manuscript, 6 March, 1995, "Revised UNMIH Training Schedule." BCTP archives.
58. BCTP, "Revised UNMIH Training Schedule." Students were told that they could either stay where they crashed and await rescue or attempt to reach a military outpost about a four-day walk away. To assist them in making a decision, they had fourteen pieces of scavenged equipment, such as rations and water for three days, a broken radio and signal mirror, a flare gun, a small tarp, a can opener, and other items, to use as and how they saw fit. Moreover, they not only had to determine how to use the equipment but had only forty minutes to come up with a feasible plan either to stay or move on before a murderous sand storm arrived at their location.
59. Unidentified Canadian lieutenant colonel, BCTP unpublished manuscript, 18 March, 1995, "UNMIH After Action Report." BCTP archives.
60. A typical exercise day began with a thirty-minute shift-change briefing as one half of the staff handed over duties to the oncoming shift. The UNMIH commander then received a morning update briefing regarding significant activities in the past twelve hours, a schedule for the current day, and a list of critical events that were expected within the next few weeks. Adams interview.
61. Fulton interview.
62. Kinzer interview.
63. Fulton interview.
64. Steuber interview. Ward interview. Ward related comments received by various multinational officers, including written feedback concerning their training and the assessment of their duties during the operation.
65. PDD-25 was released 22 February 1996 and included eleven steps to strengthen UN management of peace operations and to direct U.S. support for strengthening the UN's planning, logistics, information and command and control capabilities. See "Presidential Decision Directive 25" [report online], accessed 18 March 2002, Clinton Administration Policy on Reforming Multilateral Peace Operations (PDD 25). Released on the WWW by the Bureau of International Organizational Affairs, U.S. Department of State, February 22, 1996; available from http://www.mikenew.com/pdd25.html
66. For additional views, see Walter E. Kretchik, Robert F. Baumann, and John T. Fishel, Invasion, Intervention, "Intervasion": A Concise History of the U.S. Army in Operation Uphold Democracy (Fort Leavenworth, KS: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Press, 1998), and Karin von Hippel, Democracy by Force: US Military Intervention in the Post-Cold War World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).
67. For additional views, see Walter E. Kretchik, Robert F. Baumann, and John T. Fishel, Invasion, Intervention, "Intervasion": A Concise History of the U.S. Army in Operation Uphold Democracy (Fort Leavenworth, KS: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Press, 1998), and Karin von Hippel, Democracy by Force: US Military Intervention in the Post-Cold War World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).