Research

Booz & Co Report on US Stability, Security, Transition and Reconstruction

In late 2005, the United States introduced two key directives, Department of Defense (DoD) Directive 3000.05 and National Security Presidential Directive 44 (NSPD-44). These policy documents mandated fundamental changes to the conduct of civil-military operations to improve capability in Stability, Security, Transition and Reconstruction (SSTR) and placed such operations on equal footing to the conduct of combat operations.

To support the Centre in gaining an enhanced understanding of the steps undertaken by the United States in implementing these directives, Booz & Company has been preparing a report that looks at the progress the United States has made to date to improve its capability in the conduct of SSTR operations and in civil-military cooperation.

ASPI Report on Lessons Learned

The Centre has contracted the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) to provide an independent report on the key civil-military policy lessons learned from 'whole of government' planning and responses to selected disasters and conflicts (specified below).

The report will:

• Inform the Centre of the key lessons learned from selected case studies and provide a baseline for the Centre's work 
• Focus specifically on civil-military lessons learned in relation to 'whole-of- government' policy and planning and operational implementation, and include recommendations for improvement

Case studies to be covered are to include the Australian government civil-military planning effort and response to:

• the 2007 floods in Ori Province PNG resulting from Cyclone Guba;
• the devastation in Aceh, Indonesia, caused by the Asian Tsunami of 26 December 2004, with a focus on civil-military action in Banda Aceh and Nias island;
• the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) from inception in 2003;
• the Australian response to the 2006 Crisis in Timor-Leste; and
• Australia's support to the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, since 2005, focusing on security and development in Oruzgan Province.

All Centre research is aimed at identifying, producing and reporting on:

• Lessons Learned
• Reviews & Reports
• Exercises