The value of doctrine for a developing organization

Abstract

Border security has become an increasingly public topic since the events of September 11, 2001. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is one of the Department of Homeland Security's largest and most complex components, with a priority mission of keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the United States (U.S.). It also has a responsibility for securing and facilitating trade and travel while enforcing hundreds of U.S. regulations, including immigration and drug laws. When CBP was created, the majority of the existing organization came from two legacy agencies, US Customs and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. CBP continues today, six years after this merger, to have difficulty synergizing its activities. Research has shown that policies have not been amalgamated, strategies are not aligned and missions are not yet integrated. There is evidence to suggest that CBP has a great deal of improvement to make before achieving synergy. This thesis argues that doctrine development would be of great value to the organization, but CBP must first become a learning organization, which includes much more than just doctrine.