Civilian Surge: Key to Complex Operation

Publisher Marketing: This lexicon is inten ded as a tool to he lp strip aw ay one source of the endem ic miscommunication and friction that now plagues both soldiers and civilians, governm ent and non-government, who plan, coordinate, and execute the complex set of overlapping civil-military activities and tasks th at have come to charact erize armed conflicts and their afterm ath. Collectively known as complex operations1, they demand, but too often lack, a sense of common purpose and m utual understanding be tween a wide array of planne rs and practitioners, all of whom bring with them different organizati onal cultures, world visions, and operational approaches. These disconnects can, and too often do, create conf usion, at tim es with tragic results, both on the ground and among policy-m akers. Part of that confusion stem s from the widely varied vocabulary used by these m any actors. Each organization possesses their own unique terminology, perfectly clear to them, but foggy to others. Even when words look and sound familiar they often have quite different and sometimes alien meanings. Anyone who has attended an acronym and jargon -laced coordination meeting of m ilitary, civilian government, and NGO representatives knows the frustration of trying to interpret what is meant by words that have many different connotations. It is in hopes of lessening this confusion that this lexicon has been compiled. Contributor Bio:  Binnendijk, Hans Hans Binnendijk holds the Roosevelt Chair of National Security Policy at the National Defense University and is Director of the Center for Technology and National Security Policy. He previously served on the National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Defense Policy and Arms Control (1999-2001). From 1994 to 1999, Dr. Binnendijk was Director of the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. Prior to that he was Principal Deputy Director of the State Department Policy Planning Staff (1993-1994). Richard L. Kugler is a Distinguished Research Professor at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy, where he performs analyses. His specialty is U. S. defense strategy, global security affairs, and NATO. He advises senior echelons of the Office of Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, and the interagency community. He has been an analyst and senior executive in the Office of Secretary of Defense for Program Analysis and Evaluation (1975-1984), Director of DOD Strategic Concepts and Development Center (1984-1988), and Research Leader at RAND (1988-1997). He is author of multiple books, journal articles, and official studies on U. S. defense strategy and programs as well as NATO and global security affairs.