Book Description
The process of relationship building called engagements by military practitioners is defined by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) as "those interactions with foreign defense establishments that include any and all that (1) build defense relationships to promote specific US security interests, (2) develop allied and friendly military capabilities for self-defense and coalition operations, and (3) provide US forces with peacetime and contingency access and enroute structure." The following are two examples of the indicators that suggest our engagement process with Middle Eastern coalition partners needs improvement. Within United States Central Command's (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR) there is no systematic or standardized program of interaction and information flow between the different players: the State Department, DOD, and the engagement agencies of USCENTCOM. Additionally, and specific to United States Central Command Air Forces (USCENTAF), action officers report a need to improve the transfer of information and agreements between the command staff and the action officers responsible for implementation/action.