American resistance to establishing a standing stability operations force
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Authors
Gardner, Philip R.
Subjects
Advisors
Dombroski, Kenneth R.
Sotomayor, Arturo
Date of Issue
2010-09
Date
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
The United States is currently involved in stability operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and will likely continue this involvement in the future. Currently, general-purpose forces, the majority of which are U.S. Army soldiers, conduct these operations. As of this writing, the U.S. Army has resisted establishing a standing, dedicated, stability operations force. Such a force would, at first glance, seem to be a logical progression of American military force structure, based upon current Department of Defense directives and publicly stated policy. This thesis will explore the reasons behind the lack of this force. It will analyze costs and benefits of a stability operations force with regards to military readiness, domestic politics, and international politics. It will also consider the role of organization inertia. Finally, it will recommend a workable framework for such a stability operations force, using the lessons learned from the analysis within this thesis, making the most of the advantages described and mitigating the costs.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Security Studies
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funding
Format
xii, 63 p. ;
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.