Counterinsurgency Advisory and Assistance Team (CAAT) Special Report
Download the Full Report: Partnering: A Counterinsurgency Imperative
As statements from the U.S. Secretary of Defense and Commander, International Security Assistance Force (COMISAF) make clear, partnering is an essential skill for Coalition Forces (CF). The ISAF Partnering Directive, dated 29 August 2009, provides clear guidance for the practice:
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) faces two daunting tasks: protecting the Afghan population and defeating the insurgency that challenges its sovereignty. ISAF's mission is to assist GIRoA in accomplishing these tasks. ISAF will use embedded partnering—a trust-based, habitual and enduring relationship with the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) - as the method to assist GIRoA in overcoming these challenges.
However, while this directive defines what partnering is—and tells us what we must do—it does not tell us how to accomplish it. And make no mistake: effective partnering is hard, complex work. Units in the field continue to struggle to figure out just how to make partnering work on the ground. Fortunately, many effective practices have emerged from the laboratories of small unit improvisation and innovation. The best of these have been incorporated into the recently COIN Collective Tasks for company and platoon level operations, and are also summarized below. But before delving into the critical "how's" of partnering, it is useful to consider more fully the factors that combine to make effective partnering such a powerful COIN tool.
Download the Full Report: Partnering: A Counterinsurgency Imperative
The CAAT observes, assesses, and reports on counterinsurgency activities; identifies best and worst practices; advises and assists commanders at all levels to enable effective, integrated counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan.
