Janine Davidson on Civilian-Military Integration
Just as soon as I finish blogging about how probable-new-Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Janine Davidson is all about smoother civilian-military cooperation, she goes and proves the point at Small Wars Journal by publishing a speech she recently gave to the Combined Arms Center at Ft. Leavenworth, one of the major centers of long-term Army planning. A sampling of Davidson’s thinking:
“„**** Civil-military operations are like a symphony in which each musician has a unique skill and a different instrument. Each learns to play and practice alone; but then comes together to practice for the real performance. Unlike a symphony, however, in stability operations and counterinsurgency, we have had neither the same sheets of music nor a conductor in the field. Thus, it is critical that people from various agencies and organizations are able to practice together before deployment. This does not mean that military and civilian need to have completely shared educational institutions and professional development; but rather that they have the opportunity to come together to learn and train many times throughout their careers – and especially before and after deployment.
Expect a lot more focus on a so-called “whole of government” approach from the Pentagon in the coming years.
