兰德-Pacific-Engagement_-Forging-Tighter-Connections-Between-Tactical-Security-Cooperation-Activities-and-US-Strategic-Goals-in-the-Asia_143页_875kb

Pacific Engagement Summary

Core Content

This report, authored by Stephen Watts, Christopher M. Schnaubelt, Sean Mann, Angela O'Mahony, and Michael Schwille, analyzes the U.S. Army's security cooperation (SC) processes within the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) area of responsibility (AOR), with a focus on U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) and I Corps. The study aims to improve the alignment between tactical-level activities and strategic goals by enhancing planning, coordination, and evaluation procedures.

Main Goals

The report outlines several key objectives:

• Develop a framework to link tactical and operational SC activities with strategic goals.
• Identify information requirements for units executing SC activities.
• Identify ways to improve evaluations.
• Propose options for improving the quality, timeliness, and effectiveness of information flows between strategic and tactical levels.

Research Methods

The research was conducted using a mixed-methods approach:

• Review of DoD and Army doctrine to understand the strategic and operational foundations of SC.
• Analysis of military orders and guidance for SC activities in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Review of after-action reports (AARs) and other documents to assess SC effectiveness.
• Interviews with military personnel across various echelons involved in SC activities.
• All data was collected by January 2016.

Key Findings

Planning

• Coordination is essential in SC planning and execution, involving USARPAC, I Corps, and executing units.
• The current coordination system relies on formal orders chains, multiechelon planning conferences, and direct communications, which generally function well but have challenges.
• Personnel turnover and shortfalls in staffing and resources can hinder effective planning.
• Orders are often issued sufficiently early to allow tactical-level planning, but in some cases, especially with short-notice events, this is not the case.
• Strategic context is often missing from orders, which can lead to misinterpretation of event objectives by tactical planners.

Evaluation

• Evaluation through AARs is critical for determining mission success and learning from SC events.
• Unit-level AARs frequently lack critical information, and even when present, the information is not easily accessible.
• Strategic evaluation is based on three main components: professional judgment from line of effort (LOE) managers, country environmental assessments using the PMESII framework, and assessments using the SMS framework.
• The SMS framework is underutilized due to concerns about the quality of information.
• Theories of change and impact evaluations could improve strategic clarity and effectiveness of SC activities.

Key Recommendations

For USARPAC

• Adopt theories of change to improve conceptual clarity and link SC activities to strategic objectives.
• Better incorporate tactical-level information into strategic evaluation.
• Create accessible country folders with logistics and other relevant details.
• Request a State Department waiver for issuing official passports without a travel manifest.
• Clarify the prioritization and interrelationship between unit readiness and SC objectives.

For USARPAC and I Corps

• Improve access to cultural information for subordinate units.
• Provide additional strategic guidance to help translate strategic objectives into tactical actions.
• Sustain multiechelon involvement in planning conferences and operational teams.
• Create standardized portals with logistics and business practice guidance for each partner nation.
• Prioritize staffing for major subordinate commands when resources allow.

For Tactical-Level Evaluation

• Enhance AAR quality by ensuring they provide relevant information for planners and evaluators.
• Work with partner-nation forces to establish a baseline of knowledge for each unit.
• Adopt AAR templates designed to elicit critical information from SC event participants.

Conclusion

The report emphasizes the need for better integration between strategic and tactical levels in SC planning and evaluation. It suggests that improving knowledge management, information flow, and planning coordination will help achieve U.S. strategic goals in the Asia-Pacific region more effectively. The recommendations are aimed at ensuring that SC activities are not only well-planned and executed but also strategically aligned and evaluated with greater precision.

Key Information

• The report was produced as part of a project titled "Meeting Engagement Demands with Army Forces," cosponsored by I Corps and USARPAC.
• The study involved reviewing 59 AARs and conducting 57 interviews.
• The research team identified 10 key recommendations to improve SC processes.
• The PUIC for the project is HQD156912.
• The report was conducted by the RAND Arroyo Center under the Strategy, Doctrine, and Resources Program.
• It complies with Federal-Wide Assurance (FWA00003425) and the Common Rule (45 CFR 46).

Structure

The report is organized into:

• Preface
• Figures and Tables
• Summary
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Four main chapters: Introduction, USARPAC and I Corps roles in SC planning, USARPAC strategic and tactical evaluation of SC activities, and Conclusion and Recommendations.
• Appendixes with additional tools such as AAR coding schemes, templates, and a training scorecard.