Larry Wentz

 

Center for Technology and National Security Policy

National Defense University

June 2006

 

The field of civil-military coordination in humanitarian disasters and post-conflict stabilization environments is characterized by rapid change and a pragmatic orientation toward real-life events—which occur much faster than the life-cycle of any publication. The temptation is to worry that any published attempt to provide a primer for professionals in this field may be overtaken by events as soon as the document goes to press. For that reason, this primer does not claim to be the last word on improving information and communications technologies (ICTs) for civil-military coordination. In fact, it does not even claim to be the last word of this project. Much of this material was developed and refined through a series of workshops cosponsored by the National Defense University (NDU) and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Networks and Information Integration (OSD NII). These workshops, held at NDU during 2005, drew participation and expertise from a wide variety of sources, within and beyond the U.S. government. The sponsors of this primer see no reason why this iterative process should stop, and every reason why it should continue.

 

For that reason, this primer should be considered Version 1.0. It is likely to generate further discussions, which will then be integrated with lessons learned and best practices from additional humanitarian disasters, stabilization and reconstruction (S&R) efforts, and complex emergencies. This is all to the good. As the universe of experience with civil-military coordination expands, further editions are likely. The material generated for this publication should have a home beyond the written page. To allow full interaction with the text, and a fully transparent approach to its further development, an online version of the primer should be implemented, allowing additional postings and refinements by experts in the field. This electronic “living document”— available through a portal or hub website—would serve as the embodiment of the kind of information management best practices that it discusses. We have no doubt that this interactive approach is both necessary and highly desirable.