CONCLUSIONES

3-22. A tactical unit conducting COIN operations can expect to work with a wide range of agencies and will be expected to track, manage, support, and coordinate with all of these agencies, some of whose agendas or desired outcomes may or may not coincide with the overall COIN effort. Commanders at all levels will have to overcome many challenges and work to integrate all the agencies organizations present in the AO, so that everyone works towards a common end state.

3-23. Challenges to the integration of military and civilian agencies include different organizational cultures, capabilities and structures. Some civilian organizations may not be trained and equipped to operate in austere, unsecured environments or they may not be able to sustain themselves in remote areas. Some organizations may be averse to assuming risk, which may hinder the overall COIN effort. Military and governmental organizations are heavily dependent on establishing and implementing their internal operating procedures and they are often reluctant to adapt or change those procedures to accommodate the addition of new actors. Different expectations amongst the organizations can also serve to further heighten tensions and create friction among agencies.

3-24. US government and civilian agencies provide capabilities critical to the successful accomplishment of the counterinsurgency mission. Most agencies have their own budgets, and often will have more robust financial capabilities than military units. An effective interagency effort can use all of the organizations’ budgets in a complementary way to facilitate stability and development efforts. Civilian agencies can also provide links to strategic resources that may not be available to tactical units. They may also have access to information, resources and enablers that can help military units develop a comprehensive understanding of the operational environment.

3-25. Military forces have several complementary characteristics that can be of value to other agencies. The most obvious is the ability to provide security and transportation assets. Military forces also have the ability to provide an accurate assessment of whether an area is ready for or capable of supporting essential services and economic development projects. Once these indicators become apparent, counterinsurgent forces have the ability to provide logistical support, security, and expertise to a project.

teams can conduct concurrent operations to capitalize on gains made through security operations. In Afghanistan on 2002, USAID representatives embedded with units were able to render immediate aid to returning families whose homes were damaged during combat operations.

F

S

O

3-27. FM 3-0 states that Army forces conduct full-spectrum operations outside the United States by executing offensive, defensive, and stability operations as part of integrated joint, interagency, and multinational teams. Full spectrum operations entail simultaneous and continuous combinations of offensive, defensive, and stability or civil support operations. Based on the mission, one type of operation may predominate. Commanders shift the predominant type of operation based on the current situation and their assessment as they shape the operational environment and set the conditions to achieve the end-state (Figure 3-1).

Joint Campaigns (Overseas)

Defense Offense Offense Defense Stability Offense Stability Defense Stability

Figure 3-1. Full-spectrum operations.

3-28. Like any Army operation, at the tactical level, counterinsurgency operations are a combination of offensive, defensive, and stability operations. Counterinsurgent offensive operations focus on eliminating the insurgents. Counterinsurgent defensive operations focus on protecting the populace and infrastructure from insurgent attacks. Stability operations focus on addressing the root causes that allowed to insurgency to come into existence. Determining the combination is not easy, since it varies depending on the situation, the mission, and the commander’s desired end-state. All three of these operations may be ongoing within different parts of the area of operations at the same time.

O

O

3-29. These are combat operations conducted to defeat and destroy enemy forces and seize terrain, resources and population centers. They impose the commander’s will on the enemy. This active imposition of land power potentially makes the offense the decisive type of military operation, whether undertaken against irregular forces or the armed forces of a nation-state supporting the insurgency. The physical presence of land forces also enhances stability operations through the threat of offensive action in areas they occupy. During an insurgency, offensive operations aim at destroying the guerrilla, underground or leader in order to establish a secure environment for the establishment or the re-establishment of the rule of law, legitimate government, and economic development. The successful counterinsurgent unit designs their offensive operations to complement their other defensive and stability operations. Chapter 5 further discusses offensive operations.

D

O

3-30. These are combat operations conducted to defeat an enemy attack, gain time, economize forces, and develop conditions favorable for offensive or stability operations. They defeat attacks, destroying as many attackers as necessary. The defense preserves physical dominance over land, resources, and populations. Defensive operations retain terrain, as well as protecting the HN population and key resources. Defensive operations during an insurgency aim at securing the population, protecting

counterinsurgent forces, securing key sites, and securing key personnel. The successful counterinsurgent unit designs its defensive operations to complement its other offensive and stability operations. Chapter 6 further discusses defensive operations.

S

O

3-31. These encompass various military missions, tasks, and activities conducted outside the United States in coordination with other instruments of national power to maintain or reestablish a safe and secure environment, provide essential government, services, emergency infrastructure, reconstruction, and humanitarian relief. Most stability operations are both multiagency and multinational. Forces engaged in stability operations may have to conduct offensive and defensive operations to defend themselves or destroy forces seeking to undermine the effectiveness or credibility of the stability mission.

3-32. Stability operations consist of five primary tasks—establish civil security, establish civil control, support to governance, restore essential services, and support to economic and infrastructure development. At the tactical level, the primary stability tasks may serve as lines of effort or simply as guideposts to ensure broader unity of effort. In this manual, they become the nucleus for the seven COIN lines of effort.

3-33. The degree to which Army forces engage in stability operations is dependent on the specific circumstances of any given operation. In some operations, the Host Nation can carry out most security operations and Army forces are engaged in stability operations to offset any negative impact of military presence on the populace. In other operations, Army forces within a failed state may be responsible for the well-being of the local population, to include providing basic civil functions, while working with other agencies to restore essential services to the area or region. An example of this was Operation Restore Hope in Somalia in 1992 and 1993. Chapter 7 further discusses stability operations.