One easily overlooked detail in the whole how-fly-is-too-fly-no-fly-zone-to-intervene-or-not-too-intervene question is the issue of humanitarian efforts and their relationship with the military. If a massive humanitarian relief effort is required into an unstable dangerous environment, it will require NGO to military cooperation.
In such an operation the military is necessary to stabilize the environment. This means (among many things) setting up lines of communication and safe zones from which to stage and operate. Ideally the military involvement should only be a short and temporary one (no more than 2 weeks let's say). Once the environment is stabilized, we default to the acknowledged expertise and turn over control to the NGO community. All this may seem elementary but let me assure you it is not. While Haiti was a fairly good example of NGO-MIL cooperation, it was by no means a perfect. The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) is one of the best organizations in the field today and this link talks about their efforts in Haiti.
It behooves the Department of Defense to reach out now (before the humanitarian situation becomes a dire one) to the NGO community (and vice versa) and come up with a plan, working through USAID of course. If I was a DOD FAO with a NGO subspecialty code (which I think would be a great idea to have several of in each AOR) I would start with InterAction (http://www.interaction.org/) and connect with other NGOs through them as necessary. First and foremost on my list of items to discuss would be an exit strategy for military assets. Central to this discussion would be building a timeline with parallel tripwires which would scale back the military involvement incrementally. Having a set timeline and tripwires acknowledge by all involved parties prior to the crisis is the key to success because it alleviates worries in the NGO community of a protracted military presence and it gives military commanders coordinating efforts on the ground guidance!
Curious who the InterAction members are responding to the crisis in Libya? Check out this link:
http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/interaction-members-respond-crisis-libya It appears that Tawana Jacobs (tjacobs@interaction.org) is the media point of contact. Were I someone for whom writing these articles was a full time job, I would start with her to ask these questions. And were I looking for further insight (and probably a good quote or tagline) into the NGO-MIL relationship in past crises I would start with Dr. VanRooyen of HHI; he is one of the smartest people involved and thinking about these types of issues today. The NGO community is essential in responding to these types of crises. A robust NGO-MIL relationship today saves lives tomorrow.
Good idea of the day: Were I commanding one of these assets that could be involved, I would ensure that all of my bright young officers and seasoned senior enlisted had an electronic copy of this:
Nongovernmental Organizations for the Military: A primer for the military about private, voluntary, and nongovernmental organizations operating in humanitarian emergencies globally.
NOTE: All this said, I acknowledge and applaud the numerous NGOs and Relief Organizations that have been on the ground since the onset!
In such an operation the military is necessary to stabilize the environment. This means (among many things) setting up lines of communication and safe zones from which to stage and operate. Ideally the military involvement should only be a short and temporary one (no more than 2 weeks let's say). Once the environment is stabilized, we default to the acknowledged expertise and turn over control to the NGO community. All this may seem elementary but let me assure you it is not. While Haiti was a fairly good example of NGO-MIL cooperation, it was by no means a perfect. The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) is one of the best organizations in the field today and this link talks about their efforts in Haiti.
It behooves the Department of Defense to reach out now (before the humanitarian situation becomes a dire one) to the NGO community (and vice versa) and come up with a plan, working through USAID of course. If I was a DOD FAO with a NGO subspecialty code (which I think would be a great idea to have several of in each AOR) I would start with InterAction (http://www.interaction.org/) and connect with other NGOs through them as necessary. First and foremost on my list of items to discuss would be an exit strategy for military assets. Central to this discussion would be building a timeline with parallel tripwires which would scale back the military involvement incrementally. Having a set timeline and tripwires acknowledge by all involved parties prior to the crisis is the key to success because it alleviates worries in the NGO community of a protracted military presence and it gives military commanders coordinating efforts on the ground guidance!
Curious who the InterAction members are responding to the crisis in Libya? Check out this link:
http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/interaction-members-respond-crisis-libya It appears that Tawana Jacobs (tjacobs@interaction.org) is the media point of contact. Were I someone for whom writing these articles was a full time job, I would start with her to ask these questions. And were I looking for further insight (and probably a good quote or tagline) into the NGO-MIL relationship in past crises I would start with Dr. VanRooyen of HHI; he is one of the smartest people involved and thinking about these types of issues today. The NGO community is essential in responding to these types of crises. A robust NGO-MIL relationship today saves lives tomorrow.
Good idea of the day: Were I commanding one of these assets that could be involved, I would ensure that all of my bright young officers and seasoned senior enlisted had an electronic copy of this:
Nongovernmental Organizations for the Military: A primer for the military about private, voluntary, and nongovernmental organizations operating in humanitarian emergencies globally.
NOTE: All this said, I acknowledge and applaud the numerous NGOs and Relief Organizations that have been on the ground since the onset!
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