How to be an SCO/SAO--great article from fellow FAO

Having arrived in country a few months ago to a location that did not previously have a dedicated Office of Security Cooperation, I can say that the task of starting one is at times overwhelming, frightening, exciting, and bewildering (often all in one day).  

A few days ago I came across an amazing article in the DISAM Journal by a fellow OSC Chief.  It was so good I knew I needed to share it in its entirety here.  Incidentally, you should add the DISAM journal to your RSS feed--a lot of useful articles in there: http://www.disamjournal.org

  

Reflections of a Security Assistance/Security Cooperation Officer by LTC Michael McCullough, USA

While waiting in the office of my Senior Defense Official (SDO) I came across a hardcover copy of the DISAM Annual, Vol 2.  In it there was an article on security cooperation programs which caused me to reflect on my 2 tours as a Chief of Security Cooperation and motivated me to write this article. Below are some thoughts, advice and observations that I hope may help newly minted Security Assistance Officers (SAOs) and or cause the many professional SAOs with knowledge in this field to add their own experiences.

“Six Principles for Effective Military Cooperation”

#1: Create a program that is “Simple, Predictable and Nimble.”  This has been my guiding principle through two SAO assignments and as the operations officer in the USAREUR G3 Multinational Training Division (MNTD).

• Keeping it simple does not allude to making things basic.  I suggest that a program that is easily understandable by your staff, the Country Team (CT) and most importantly the Partner Nation (PN) is extremely important.  You can lose valuable time trying to explain the intricacies of budgets, plans and policies when you should be executing engagements. An SAO (note: now referred to as a SCO- Security Cooperation Office/Officer) should be able to explain a vision, goals and objectives in easily understandable sound bites/bullet comments.
• Predictable. Developing an annual plan and distributing it to the Embassy and to the Partner Nation facilitates organization and alignment of resources. You will inevitably receive calls of short notice changes or opportunities.  It will be your job to manage this.  Don’t put your country in a position of declining unplanned events. This will create unnecessary friction and hardships. Do what you can to 
• keep the training providers on a timeline in accordance with YOUR plan.
• Technique: Construct an “Activities List” that captures every event, seminar, training opportunity and IMET course that your program offers.  Review that with your PN primary contacts regularly.  This list will become invaluable to your staff, the multiple desk officers and country team as it lays out the significant amount of investment that the US/DoD is contributing to military cooperation.
• It’s okay to say “no”. It is better to execute a clear and well organized plan than to take every last minute offer. Because of vetting requirements, logistics and country team clearance last minute opportunities can be more destructive than productive as your staff, the PN and the CT will likely suffer ripple effects for something that was not originally planned.
• Nimble. Partnership implies that there are at least two sides to a relationship. Try and incorporate your PN goals into the CT and numerous country engagement plans. Military Cooperation is meant to be a win-win situation for both the US and PN.

#2: Develop A Plan…Put it in Writing

• One of your first priorities as an incoming SAO should be to review all plans (State, DoD, USAID, US Embassy, Component, and State Partnership Program) related to your country. You should find overlapping priorities and gaps in these documents.  This is where YOUR plan can re-enforce overlapping objectives and fill critical gaps.
• Everything should have a strategic objective and be linked in your plan. To include International Military Education and Training (IMET) funded events, Foreign Military Financing (FMF), Humanitarian assistance (HA) etc.  Showing linkages will also facilitate obtaining greater funding because you will be able to communicate why it is that you are conducting a particular program or project.
• Many US organizations will not have written plans or current plans on your country - Do not let this hold you back.  By making a plan you help others write or adjust theirs.  You may become a catalyst for a deeper discussion on policy/engagement for your country.
• Time Management. Having a plan will also help you manage your time.  Your plan should outline short, medium and long term goals.  By monitoring your milestones you can evaluate which elements of your program are successful and which areas need improvement. This can also help drive your budget process as well.

#3: Communication. This is traditionally a weakness in engagement programs.  It takes extra effort but will pay off if you are tenacious and consistent.

• Partner Nation.  Nothing beats regular communication with your PN. If you do not have regularly scheduled meetings - establish them.  This facilitates “predictability.”  Eventually, your conversations can lead to a PN improvement on planning and providing you valuable feedback.
• Desk Officers.  You should know every desk officer from DoD, State, COCOM and Component Commands that touch your country/program.  They should be receiving regular activity updates (or an activities list) from you.  By pushing information engagement becomes proactive and not reactive.
• Technique: Write your plan and have all the desk officers provide feedback on the drafts.  You may or may not receive anything but if you do it will help you see engagement from another angle and make you a better Chief of OSC. It will also keep your plan in alignment.
• Country Team. In addition to disseminating information among the different offices in an Embassy, be particularly mindful of Public Diplomacy (PD). PD serves many functions but they can help you get the “story” out into the press.  Regular press (Television, radio and print) coverage helps ensure your efforts are communicated to the public and to key PN politicians.  This will elevate your influence along with the US Embassy.
• Technique: Invite the press to all closing ceremonies.  If there are exercises or skill application lanes and or maneuvers then have them attend and record.
• In the Congo, PD facilitated a “Face Book campaign” during a month long exercise that OSC developed.  This was a huge success.
• SDO/Attaches. Much like getting the press to cover your activities so should you encourage observation by your Attaché colleagues both US and international.  Rarely are there any secrets surrounding SAO engagement activities.  Why not invite foreign Attaches to your events?  They may reciprocate which would be beneficial to both the SAO and DAO.  Remember, more than likely there is an SAO in that foreign Attaché’s country. Military cooperation is about dialogue and networking.  You can really make a difference by being inclusive.
• Miscellaneous: Write about your experience.  In AFRICOM we have the Africa Defense Forum (ADF) Journal.   There are also trade related journals (medical, engineering and international publications (print and online) that are always looking for new material.  Your experience living and engaging with another government and culture should not be underestimated.  Get the information out.  You have firsthand access and knowledge. The more you do it the easier it will become.  Our leaders make decisions based on information…it is all of our duty to push the information out.
• By communicating frequently, you will foster an air of transparency which will lead to trust.  The US is often the source of negative communications and conspiracy theories.  You can be a piece of the solution by communicating often.

#4: Marketing

• You are a salesperson whether you like it or not. First off, you are selling US partnership. Depending on your program, you may be advocating US defense contracts or participation in engagement.  As a salesperson you need to have regular positive contact with your partner nation.  Always dress and present yourself in a professional matter.  Never let them see you get agitated (unless you do it with an intent). Personality drives everything and your conduct will have long term effects on those around you.
•  Travel.  Salesmanship requires travel. You need to get to all of the key Headquarters in your country.  The more you travel the more likely the US message will be heard.  Travel is not only in the PN though.  It is very important to take advantage of any opportunity to visit your desk officers in person.  Always carry your plan with you and distribute it.  You should also have a briefing that covers the basics of your country.  Carrying your message wherever you go will lead to open doors and expanding opportunities for your office and your PN.

#5: Maximize Your Resources

• Don’t let a single dollar go to waste.  Your budget should be absolutely synched with your plan. You will inevitably be encouraged to take on an engagement event that falls outside the “plan”.  Ask the hard questions about why it should be executed.  If it does not fit try and have it swapped/traded with another country.
• Technique: In an attempt to maximize Military to Military (M2M) events I convinced component commands and State Department funded training program managers to concentrate all activities during one month to facilitate a “capstone” like event.  By consolidating M2M events we ended up with what appeared to be a month long exercise.  The combined nature of the event made planning with the PN less difficult, it was dynamic in nature due to the variety of topics and created a significant PAO/PD venue. I highly recommend attempting this in your country.

#6: Don’t Be Stingy.

• As a US military officer you will more than likely be paid much better than your PN equivalent.  Though SAOs do not have representational funds, make the effort to host PN officials at your home or a restaurant.  The same goes for your Locally Engaged Staff (LES). This will create camaraderie that will be very useful during your tour.
• Develop a coin. Some may say it is cheesy, but almost everyone appreciates them or wants one.  As an SAO you will likely manage millions of dollars yet you have no gifts.  This is a fluke in our system that can be easily remedied.  What you gain in return from presenting a coin will far outweigh the minor costs associated with the design and production.
• Technique: Try to include your LESs into the design phase.  They are your best advocate and this will build a more cohesive team.  Make sure they all get one.
• Take the time to put your LESs in for an award. If you have a solid plan and are proactive then your LESs should be very busy.  They will earn the awards. Conversely, if they are not up to par then counsel them.  If they do not change, fire them.  Regardless of country there are bright, motivated people who would work well in your program.  The US generally pays the best salaries.  There is absolutely no reason to settle for mediocre performance in your office.

I know there are many great military cooperation programs around the world and I do not claim to have the sole solution for success.  The “Principles” written above are a result of several years of working with partner nations in three AORs. I hope this creates a dialogue between the more experienced SAOs and the junior SAOs in order to foster collegiality and help kick start some new ideas in the field.

A Poem for my daughters about Madiba: I want you to know

I wanted to include a poem I wrote for daughters on the passing on Madiba (i.e., Nelson Mandela).   I maintain a family blog with my wife that captures our experiences while living in Madagascar.  I am shifting to post more personal things there now and leave blog posts here for the more general.

The passing of such a giant, though, elevates above all categories and deserves widest recognition, rememberance and celebration.

Here is the original post:
 http://kruzoo.blogspot.com/2013/12/Nelsonmandela.madiba.deathandizindisaquala.poem.daughters.fao.html

I Want You To Know--A Poem On the Passing of Madiba

I want you to know sweet daughters

That a man lived, loved, sacrificed and forgave for his people.

I want you to know these words

Ndiwelimilambo enamagama

Let these foreign syllables roll in your mouth like marbles

Know that this saying was embodied by a man:

I have crossed famous rivers.

I want you to know that the world you see was not always this way

Just when our country had defeated the evils of the Nazi Germany

Another hateful plague descended that we did not stop

From the streets of Johannesburg to the rolling countryside of the Transkei

African, Coloured, Indians and white were set apart

—separated

Men, women, and babies

graded and annotated like animals on

pieces of paper according to the shade of their skin.

No my sweet daughters,

This did not happen 150 years ago

but 60 years ago. 

I want you to know that this evil was defeated

Not by armies, guns or atomic bombs—

But by bludgeoned bloody sacrifice

By generations

                                    of gut-wrenching perseverance

And finally dealt its death blow by a forgiveness so

deep                                                                              and                                                                                                  wide

that it baptized an entire nation.

My sweet daughters,

I want you to know the story a man called

Madiba (his clan name),

and Tatomkhulu (grandfather),

Rolihlahla (the troublemaker),

(Nelson was just an English name his teacher gave him because she couldn’t pronounce his African one)

who walked this earth for 95 years.

Of those years, eighteen he endured breaking limestone

rocks on Robben Island

his eyes burned out

hollowed by the sun’s fired reflection.

It is not enough, though, to simply observe and remember

That he spent twenty-seven long years imprisoned.

My sweet daughters, we must count the years together out LOUD

For I want you to feel the weight of those decades on your tongues:

One year

Two years

Three years

Four years

Five years

Six years

Seven years

Eight Years

Nine Years

Ten Years

Eleven Years

Twelve years

Thirteen years

Fourteen years

Fifteen years

Sixteen years

Seventeen years

Eighteen years

Nineteen years

Twenty years

Twenty one years

Twenty two years

Twenty three years

Twenty four years

Twenty five years

Twenty six years

Twenty

Seven

Years.

As those years wore on him like so many boulders

As the goliath death beckoned and demanded him

Madiba struck back and answered with the call of his proud father

Andizi, ndisaquala: I will not come, I am still girding for battle.

I want you to know,

That this man walked out of that prison

And left his hatred with his chains

I want you to know sweet girls

That the grace of love is more powerful than hate

But far more costly

And I want you to know

the most incredible thing:

Madiba’s long walk to freedom

was not just for those shackled but also for the oppressor.

His sacrifice liberated a nation

I want you to know this:

Forgiveness trumps evil and trounces hatred

In the end it was forgiveness that tore down apartheid

and built up a nation.

Finally my dear sweet Macee and Betty

I want you to know that on the 5^th of December 2013

A mountain of man’s battle ended

And Madiba lay down his weapons

and crossed one last famous river.

On the Value of FAOs--A Report by IDA

On the Value of FAOs--A Report by IDA

A new report out on the Strategic Value of Foreign Area Officers.

On the fallacies of the $2 a day argument: 90% of Madagascar lives on $2 day

On the fallacies of the $2 a day argument: 90% of Madagascar lives on $2 day

There' a dearth of well-written academic articles on Madagascar so I am always eager to pass on any that I find.  This post includes two such articles.  The first one talks about the source of Madagascar's economic woes and references the second article--actually a paper--about the influence of census efforts (or lack of efforts) in Madagascar on the political and economic landscape.  The second one is written in French (and posted below)--once I write out the translation I will post it here.

   Anyway, the title of the article "90% of Madagascar Lives on Less Than Two Dollars a Day" is a little misleading because that's not really the point of the article.  The Global Voices Online Website publishes has a great bullpen of independent writers and they also have people who translate articles into other languages.  In this case, the title of the original French article was called "The Causes of Economic Decline in Madagascar."

    This whole idea of measuring and evaluating a country's economy by how many dollars a day its people live on is deeply flawed--namely when it comes to evaluating states whose populations are largely subsistence farmers.  A subsistence farmers $2 a day is much better off (in reality) than a country with a large urban population.

     But that point is just an aside--a pet peeve of mine.  The article itself is great look at some possible causes for Madagascar economic lethargy and struggles--although I wish it delved deeper into the deleterious effects of the revolutionary socialist policies under Ratsiraka.  The best part about the article, though, was that I found a Madagascar research facebook group through reading the article!  This has turned out to be a cool academic resource and you should check it out!  The article also has some links to some other useful sources.

LINKS:
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/09/19/90-of-madagascar-lives-less-than-two-dollars-a-day-why/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/158712627482575/

Ma Maison a l'avenir

Amazigh-State Relations in Morocco and Algeria

Amazigh-State Relations in Morocco and Algeria

Finally getting around to posting my thesis.  I've posted it as PDF below.

ABSTRACT:

As some of North Africa’s original inhabitants, the indigenous Amazigh population in

Morocco and Algeria has withstood waves of invaders to retain a distinct cultural and

linguistic identity that has persisted within—and despite—nearly fourteen centuries of

Arab rule. The emergence of Morocco and Algeria as modern nation-states following

their independence marked the beginning of an ongoing tension between each state and

its ethnic Amazigh minorities. With one state (i.e., Morocco) more inclusive and

progressive and the other more repressive and exclusionary (i.e., Algeria), what are the

factors that explain the different outcomes in both states?

This study compares the two movements in Algeria and Morocco by investigating

the relative salience of two central variables—that of each state’s institutions and the

behavior of its movements—on the outcomes for the Amazigh community. The major

finding is that state institutions stand as the most potent variable due to their ability to

channel movement strategies towards either militancy or accommodation. This power is

largely illustrated through Morocco’s reliance on cooptation as an initial response to

expressions of grievance that has produced a milder form of activism. In contrast, Algeria

has defaulted to a more repressive approach (to any dissent) that has produced a strident

activism with radical offshoots. Movement behavior continues to play a secondary role

that largely hinges on its ability to use globalization as an amplifying and mobilizing

instrument for international pressure.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4BE1_xKfeEUTDlQc2c5UHRkVmc/edit?usp=sharing

Happy Birthday to My Love! (a new stanza)

You, My Love

I.

You inhabit me my love

Grow deep and young inside me

Like a sapling

You sink your roots

They wander

and wonderfully

entangle me my love.

You transfuse me my love

My blood is no longer my blood

For you are present even there

Flowing

Ebbing

Beating

Searching out

my innermost places my love.

You have taken up residence my love

In the furthest reaches

Of the slumber of my sleep

You run with me

Your hand in mine

In impossible places

In surreal dimensions

of my dreams my love.

You come to me my love

A smile that creases my face

An echo of your joy

Surprising me

In the midst of my day

Memories of you

Flash and burn

Images of you

flickering and searing

across my mind my love.

II.

You, like a spirit my love

Like the inside of my soul

That I never knew

Before you

Who pulses now always

Inside of me my love.

You, embodiment of answered prayers

my love

Extension of grace

Shining down upon me

Soaking into me

Seeping into my every thought

The crown upon my head my love.

III.

You are there in the morning light

my love

In my waking moments

I reach for you

I am drawn by the immeasurable gravity

Of your love my love

Against you

Amaranthine rock my love.

You infuse laughter in my life

my love

You peal

And beckon me

Your song dances

Your voice

Clarion

Notes floating

And leaping

Whirling

And washing over me my love.

You abide restlessly in my heart my love

Always increasing

Pushing me further

Multiplying passion

Never ceasing

Insatiable hunter

Of my heart my love.

Always always always my love

You will remain the lover of my youth

As we grow old and everything around us

decays and rusts

For you and I my love—nothing alters

For you my love

Are Beauty, eternally defined

Tattooed kisses accumulating

overlapping everlasting

Across the story of my life my love.

IV.

You: the radiant carrier of life my love

Your belly swollen and growing

Your face beaming and golden

You, emerging and evolving

Into an even higher form of beauty

Me, falling deeper and deeper into you

You, Possessor of generations, my love.

You: succor, nourisher and protector,

Our babies cling to you

Like vines they surround and grow to you.

Pillar of strength and zenith of grace

Your love refuses to ebb and only grows

Washing over, sustaining, and imbuing protection

You are the sun and your gravity immense

Pulling us deeper into the chasms—of your love,

Mother and lover of our children my love.

You: a beauty infinitely transcendent.

With the dawn of each day

I open my eyes to see:

Your eyes sparkling

Ever richer and deeper sapphires and emeralds.

A smile that launches my heart aloft

A kiss that arrests my very soul

Fingertips whose winding paths

Smolder and singe and ignite

My lover, my wife, my muse

for whom my love today eclipses yesterday’s

but which falls immeasurable short,

of my love with each day’s dawn.

You my love

Are me

And I

am you.

We.

my love.

We.