The first working group at the 14th annual Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Training and Education Workshop (PSOTEW) developed recommendations for producing an Education and Certification path for the U.S. Stabilization Workforce with strong implications for future civil affairs training and force development. The Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) hosted the PSOTEW at the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, PA from April 3-5 2019.
With the workshop’s theme of “Forecasting Peacekeeping and Stability Requirements in a Changing World,” Working Group #1 on “Stability Planning- Stabilization Workforce Education and Certification” reviewed currently available training and education platforms, outside of as well as within the Professional Military Education to identify gaps and recommend adjustments.
Interestingly, the overwhelming majority of the discussion focused on civil affairs. As at the CA Roundtable that preceded it, there was broad recognition among military and civilian interagency attendees of CA as the Joint and Army force of choice for stabilization at all levels in the competition continuum. The Workgroup, led by OSD Policy Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (SO/LIC) Policy Assistant for Civil Affairs Colonel Calvin Fish, likewise heeded Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability and Humanitarian Affairs Mark Swayne’s guidance at the Roundtable that the SAR and DSS were chief among the policy frameworks for civil affairs operations writ large.
The two-day discussion acknowledged Stabilization Assistance Review (SAR) and new DoDD 3000.05 (Defense Support to Stabilization, or DSS) guidance that "stabilization must be incorporated into planning across all lines of effort for military operations as early as possible to shape operational design and strategic decisions." Because it is an "integrated civilian-military process," developing a stabilization workforce that is educated, certified and tracked throughout the force and at all levels is critical to success.
Among other source references cited were the 2018-19 Civil Affairs Issue Papers.
The key findings of the Workgroup included:
• Standard Core curriculum needed additional work to determine what, if anything was offered at the various institutions, but basic stabilization learning outcomes should be incorporated at all levels.
• Each level would have interagency, multi-national and stabilization concepts included; appropriate for each level.
• Tactical Stabilization Planner: Method would be pre-existing online curriculum compiled and then certified by a proponent (exact organization was not determined).
• Operational Stabilization Planner: This would be a separate course provided during the Intermediate Level Education (O3(P)/O4) with standardized learning outcomes.
• Strategic Stabilization Planner: This would be a separate course provided during the Senior Service College (O5/O6) with standardized learning outcomes.
The results of the discussion were also shared with the Civil Affairs Proponent at USAJFKSWCS at Ft. Bragg, NC.
In addition to Workgroup #1, other PSOTEW workgroups looked at: Integrated Campaigning for Stability in Complex Crises; Defense Institution Building (DIB) / Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) - Training and Educating Security Cooperation Practitioners; Transitional Public Security Application; the DoD Women, Peace and Security Strategy and Implementation Plan; and Defense Support to Stabilization Implementation.
The PSOTEW Executive Summary and Outbrief are available in the new Association online Research Library under “Education & Training.” For additional information, go to: https://pksoi.armywarcollege.edu/conferences/psotew/