Report on Inter-Agency Transformation of U.S. Southern Command
House Armed Services Committee Report 110-652 on the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act included a requirement for the Secretary of Defense to submit a written response to eight concerns the Committee had on the efforts of SOUTHCOM to transform itself. This report was due by July 31, 2008, yet we were just able to get a copy of it (PDF). Congress was concerned with the possibility that Southern Command's effort to reorganize itself as an "inter-agency platform" for U.S. policy in the region would cause the military body to expand its mission into the civilian realm. The eight issues the House Armed Services Committee asked SOUTHCOM to address in the report were: (1) The concept for how the four new, mission-centric directorates that are planned for SOUTHCOM will interface laterally with other COCOMs [combatant commands] that maintain traditional joint directorate structures and vertically with the Joint Staff at the Pentagon; (2) The duties and responsibilities of the two proposed deputy commanders for SOUTHCOM; (3) A description of the warfighting chain of command, as required under Title 10, United States Code, from the commander of SOUTHCOM down to the proposed joint operations center of the security and intelligence directorate, as well as the coordination of this center with the proposed stability directorate and the inter-agency partnering directorate; (4) SOUTHCOM's plan to manage and evaluate its internal transformation, including measures of progress; (5) The role of the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and other foreign assistance agencies in the delivery of assistance by SOUTHCOM and other COCOMs; (6) The appropriateness of including the economic welfare of a region, in this case Central and South America and the Caribbean, within the core of the COCOM's mission; (7) The role the Department of Defense generally, and the COCOMs more particularly, should have in establishing foreign assistance policy as part of the foreign assistance process at the Department of State or as part of the inter-agency process led by the National Security Council; and (8) The Department's plan to incorporate lessons learned from SOUTHCOM's inter-agency transformation into other COCOMs aside from United States African Command. You can read each responses in the report (download the PDF). The response that stuck out to us the most, though, was to concern #6, "The appropriateness of including the economic welfare of a region, in this case Central and South America and the Caribbean, within the core of the COCOM's mission." This response is copied below.
Response #6: While not a "core mission,"we believe the appropriateness of including regional economic issues in US Southern Command's mission analysis of the security environment stems from the linkages between security and stability of all nations in the region. The potential for force-on-force military conflict between two or more nations in the region is relatively low and is projected to remain so through 2018. USSOUTHCOM remains postured nonetheless to respond to any change in the prospects for conventional cross-border conflict. The region faces many other challenges that threaten security and stability across the hemisphere. The foundation of society rests upon the ability of a nation to provide security and stability for its people, Today, widespread poverty and inequality combined with social exclusion leave many searching for the means for simple survival. A lack of employment opportunity and competition for scarce resources contribute to an increase in crime and provide opportunities for gangs and terrorists to flourish. These conditions threaten the security and stability of the entire region- which relates directly to the mission of USSOUTHCOM. While it is certainly not the mission of USSOUTHCOM to lead U.S. efforts to advance economic welfare within the region, we recognize a region of stable and economically prosperous countries helps ensure regional and hemispheric security and stability. USSOUTHCOM believes that the underlying challenges to security within Central and South America and the Caribbean in the 21st century relate primarily to the high incidence of poverty and other economic inequities at the family, community, and national level. Through its historical and ongoing programs that provide humanitarian and disaster assistance, promote respect for human rights and uniformed codes of military justice, and fight terrorism through improved military capabilities, USSOUTHCOM already plays a limited role in helping reduce the contributing causes of economic hardship. Clearly, other USG agencies, primarily State and USAID, have the mandate to lead our national effort in providing economic assistance to partner nations. That said, increased collaboration between these agencies and USSOUTHCOM helps ensure that all U.S. government efforts are fully coordinated and mutually reinforcing. It is in USSOUTHCOM's interest to ensure our activities mesh with programs carried out by other agencies to avoid duplication and waste in a resource-constrained environment.