"I have learned from experience, in numerous military operations, that Civil Affairs forces are critical to success. They are the nation's only deployable force trained to understand societal issues and to coordinate with civilian agencies in order to ensure seamless cooperation in achieving our strategic objectives. This book has big ideas to employ them more effectively. It is a must read for all commanders." —General Anthony C. Zinni, US Marine Corps (ret.)

"This is a must-read. Technological innovation is reaching new heights with weapons and systems of war. But technology will not save us if we do not understand humanity, both to prevent wars and to prevail in them. Civil Affairs marines and soldiers are the long-underappreciated people-to-people capability, who will be key to success on any future battlefield." —Brigadier General Valerie Jackson, Deputy Commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa

"The need to consolidate battlefield gains remains. Despite changes to the character of war and conflict, we will always need practitioners on the ground to make sense of the environment to inform better decisions and to secure victory. Warrior Diplomats is a masterful work combining academic scholarship and accounts from the field.” —Dr. Nadia Schadlow, author of War and the Art of Governance

“This book about specialized forces operating as both warriors and diplomats around the globe is enlightening.” —Doug Mitchell, Producer of Mad Max: Fury Road and Happy Feet

"The book seeks to diagnose and rectify the problems civil affairs operations faced during the Global War on Terror, as well as reasserting its value to all military operations. ... filled with examples of how the multifaceted nature of civil affairs, and addressing the complex challenges of conflict zones, requires a broad and nuanced approach. Nothing in the book suggests there are simple solutions, but it rejects the fallacy that because counter-insurgency operations are difficult, that we should give up in our attempts. ... Warrior Diplomats is both a practical guide to the theory and practice of integrating civil affairs into operations, and a reminder of the importance of this to all types of operations, including conventional combat." —The British Army Review

ABOUT THE EDITORS

Arnel P. David is a colonel in the US Army and a PhD student at King’s College London. He has a mix of conventional and special operations assignments with six combat tours of duty in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Pacific. He holds masters’ degrees from the University of Oklahoma and the US Army Command and General Staff College Local Dynamics of War Scholar Program. He is coauthor of Military Strategy in the 21st Century.

Nicholas Krohley (PhD, King’s College London) is the Principal of FrontLine Advisory and a specialist in civil reconnaissance. He is an advisor on the human domain of conflict and competition, working with the US government and its allies worldwide. Dr. Krohley has published widely in military journals and is the author of The Death of the Mehdi Army: The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Iraq’s Most Powerful Militia.

Sean Acosta is a senior noncommissioned officer in the US Army. He has deployed multiple times to Southwest Asia, the Caribbean, and Africa in support of special operations missions. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Norwich University. He was a founding member and co-editor-in-chief of the Eunomia Journal, a publication focused on the human domain and the military forces operating within it.

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

Dave Allen is a lieutenant colonel in the British Army. He is a unit commander and a PhD Candidate at Cranfield University with masters’ degrees from Cranfield and King’s College London.

Kyle Atwell is a US Army Officer, a cofounder of the Irregular Warfare Initiative, an instructor at the US Military Academy at West Point, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. He has operational experience in West Africa, South Korea, Germany, and Afghanistan.

Guy A. Berry, Jr. is an active-duty Civil Affairs non-commissioned officer. He has been deployed twice to the Middle East and three times to East Africa. He holds a BS in Management from Excelsior College.

Rob Boudreau is a major in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and has served as a Civil Affairs Officer and a Judge Advocate. He holds a JD from Boston University and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from SUNY Albany.

Kevin Chapla is a US Army major, serving as a Middle East and North Africa Foreign Area Officer, with experience in Africa and the Indo-Pacific. He holds an MA in Security Studies from Georgetown University.

Dan Collini is a retired Civil Affairs officer with operational experience in Afghanistan and Africa. He served as a Joint Chiefs of Staff Fellow and contributed to cybersecurity policy at the National Security Council. He has a master’s degree from Georgetown University and executive certificates from Harvard University and Cornell University.

Susan Gannon is a US Army colonel and the commander of the 36oth Civil Affairs Brigade. She was an Army War College Fellow at Tufts University and holds an MA from Webster University and a BA from the University of Pittsburgh.

Christopher Holshek, a retired US Army civil affairs colonel, is vice president for programs and events of the Civil Affairs Association. A distinguished member of the Civil Affairs Corps, he edits the annual Civil Affairs Issue Papers. His experience encompasses four decades of US, NATO, and UN civil-military engagement and conceptual development.

James P. Micciche is a US Army strategist with operational and deployment experience in the Middle East, Africa, Afghanistan, Europe, and Indo-Pacific He holds degrees from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and Troy University.

Diana X. Moga is a major in the US Marine Corps Reserves. She is an associate at J.P. Morgan and holds a BS from the United States Naval Academy.

Aleksandra Nesic is Senior Social Scientist at Valka-Mir Human Security and Visiting Professor at the Joint Special Operations University. Her research focus is cognitive warfare and violent extremism. She holds a PhD in political psychology and conflict analysis.

Albert Oh is an active-duty Foreign Area Officer. He has served at the JFK Special Warfare Center & School and 98th Civil Affairs Battalion. He holds an MIPP from Johns Hopkins University and a BS from the US Military Academy at West Point.

Assad Raza is a retired US Army Civil Affairs Officer. He holds an MMAS from the US Army Command & General Staff College, an MA from Norwich University, and a BA from the University of Tampa.

Kyle Staron is a Presidential Management Fellow at the Department of State, overseeing security cooperation in east Africa. He is also a civil affairs officer with deployments to Afghanistan, Bahrain, and Niger. He holds an MA from Columbia University and a BS from the US Military Academy at West Point.

Lucas Vaughan is a staff sergeant in the US Army. He is the enlisted lead of the Civil Knowledge Integration Section at the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion and holds a bachelor’s degree from Lubbock Christian University.

List of Figures

Introduction: Shall the Nation Again Find Herself Unprepared (Arnel P. David, Sean A. Acosta, and Nicholas Krohley)

Chapter 1: The Strategic Environment and the New Great Game (James Micciche, Kyle Staron, and Kevin Chapla)

Chapter 2: Thriving in the Gray Zone: Competition in the Space Between Peace and War (David Allen)

Chapter 3: The Human Domain (Aleks Nesic, Daniel Collini, and Arnel P. David)

Chapter 4: Civil Reconnaissance: Understanding the Playing Field (Albert Oh, Guy Berry, Lucas Vaughan, and Sean Acosta)

Chapter 5: Cancelling the Crosswalk: Re-framing Civil Considerations (Nicholas Krohley)

Chapter 6: Networks of Influence and Action: Collaboration in the Lake Chad Basin (Dan Collini and Kyle Atwell)

Chapter 7: Three Tribes to One: Integrating Civil Affairs (Assad Raza and Susan Gannon)

Chapter 8: Joint Information Fusion and Synergy: Opportunities for Collaboration with United States Marine Corps Civil Affairs (Diana X. Moga and Robert Boudreau)

Chapter 9: Building a Global Civil-Military Network (Christopher Holshek)

Conclusion (Nicholas Krohley, Sean Acosta, and Arnel David)

References

Index