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The Civilian Response Corps

USPHS Scientific and Training Symposium San Diego, CA - May 2010

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The National Security Challenge

According to Foreign Policy’s 2009 Index, there are 38 failed or failing

states.

Through an institutionalized and whole-of-government approach, the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction & Stabilization (S/CRS) was established in 2004 to build a capability that can address a wide spectrum of these emerging threats.

S/CRS works to prevent budding conflicts and respond to countries and regions at risk of, in, and/or emerging from instability.

Adequately addressing the risks emanating from weak and failing states and ungoverned spaces is crucial to protecting U.S. national security interests.

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S/CRS Engagements in 2009

Smart Power in Action

17 Countries on 4 Continents

17 Post-Conflict Operations Since the Cold War

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Strong

Weak

Large Scale Intervention

Drivers of Conflict

Lead passed to local actors

Goal

Conflict Transformation

Local Instit

utional C

apacity

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Building a State-of-the-Art Conflict Capability

S/CRS is building and deploying a state of the art conflict capability and a systemized approach to crisis prevention

and response

Prevention Package

Liberia Ecuador Yemen

Sudan Afghanistan

DRC

Response Package

One Comprehensive Capability

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Conflict Prevention and Response

ICAF Whole of Government Planning 1207 Funding

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Civilian Response Corps

Whole-of-Government We draw from a wide range of U.S.

government resources to establish the best team for each mission.

Expeditionary Our members are specially selected,

trained, and equipped to deploy and operate in hazardous and austere environments with little or no notice.

Innovative We leverage specific skill sets, expertise,

and robust experience working effectively with military and international actors.

Preventive Systematizing conflict prevention -

changing the mindsets of decision makers.

Essential Characteristics

Preventive

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Whole-of-Government

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Developing Global R&S Partners

Ensuring that the U.S. and key partners are able to operate together on the ground– S/CRS works closely with UK and Canada to ensure civilian interoperability

– Corps member serves as Kandahar PRT U.S. Chief of Staff integrating U.S. and Canadian civilian efforts

Ensuring that the U.S. and key partners can plan, assess, and train together– S/CRS and UK’s Stabilization Unit completed the Malakand Plan in Pakistan in 2009

– Corps members attend UK and Canadian training and vice versa

– US and Australia will sign an MOU to promote joint field operations and collaborative training and planning

Increasing U.S. government secondments into critical UN and multilateral missions– Corps member serving as the first USG Security Sector expert in MONUC

– Potential Corps embeds into UNAMID and AEC peacekeeping operations in Sudan

Growing new partners every day– S/CRS leads the U.S. in the International Stabilization and Peacebuilding Initiative – an informal network of governments and

international organizations committed to building new capacity for joint civilian missions

S/CRS works constantly with over 18 international

partners and emerging counterparts

to enhance interoperability and ensure cooperative

mission success.

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Hire 264 Identify 2000

Full Spectrum Skill Sets

Standing civilian capacity that is trained, ready, and quickly deployable with the

common operating picture and equipment necessary for a sustained presence in austere

environments

Federal U.S. government civilian agency employees who have regular ongoing job responsibilities, but are trained and available to deploy when needed.

105 Full-Time Members

887 Stand-by Members

264 Full-Time Members

1000 Stand-by Members

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Rule of Law:

policing, legal administration, justice systems, and corrections programs design and management

Innovative

Economic Recovery:

agriculture, rural development, commerce, taxes, monetary policy, and business/financial services

Essential Services:

public health, public infrastructure, and education and labor assessment

Diplomacy/Governance:

political reporting, civil administration, democracy and good governance, civil society/ media development, and security sector reform

Diplomatic Security:

support to U.S. Embassies in assessing and planning for security/force protection requirements in support of broader contingency and field operations

Strategic Planning, Management and Operations:

Assessment, planning, base set-up, operations management, and strategic communications

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Rule of Law:

policing, legal administration, justice systems, and corrections programs design and management

Innovative

Economic Recovery:

agriculture, rural development, commerce, taxes, monetary policy, and business/financial services

Essential Services:

public health, public infrastructure, and education and labor assessment

Diplomacy/Governance:

political reporting, civil administration, democracy and good governance, civil society/ media development, and security sector reform

Diplomatic Security:

support to U.S. Embassies in assessing and planning for security/force protection requirements in support of broader contingency and field operations

Strategic Planning, Management and Operations:

Assessment, planning, base set-up, operations management, and strategic communications

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Training for R&S Success

Current Readiness Status of the Corps Active

Component

Training Requirements:– Civilian Response Corps-

Active members are required to take a minimum of 8 weeks of training a year.

– Civilian Response Corps-Standby members must take a minimum of two weeks a year.

S/CRS prepares Civilian Response Corps members for deployment months before their departure -- from a rigorous training program, developed with

USAID and DOD, all the way through to vaccination and visa processing right before their flight.

As first responders, Active Corps members are always either preparing for deployment, deployed, or returning from deployment and incorporating

their lessons learned into their continued training.

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Readiness Training Pipelines

CRC-Active

FoundationsFSI

2 Weeks

Level I PlannersNDU

3 Weeks

Security for Non-Traditional Operating

EnvironmentsDS

Operational Readiness: able to respond to countries at risk of, in, or emerging from crises.

3 Weeks

CRC-Standby Operational Readiness

FoundationsFSI

2 Weeks

Operational Readiness

Pre-deployment Briefing and

Country Specific Briefing

CDC

Pre-deployment and Country Specific BriefingCDC

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Creating the Muscle Memory

Exercises and experiments provide Corps members with hands-on, practical experience with interagency, military, and multinational partners

Exercises with geographic combatant commands integrate civilian planners with military stability operations planning

- Austere Challenge (EUCOM), Judicious Response (AFRICOM), Arcade Fusion

(NATO), Blue Advance (SOUTHCOM)

Interagency civilian exercises prepare Corps members for deployment

- Civilian Deployment Center (CDC) tabletop exercises, Department of

Commerce TTX

Way Forward

- Continue civilian-military exercise planning, expanding into new commands

- Develop interagency, civilian exercises and experiments

- Exercise with international partners

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Civilian Response Corps Deployment Process

DAM process initiated, verified

and approved

Personnel processed

and briefed at Civilian

Deployment Center

Lodging and logistics

coordinated

Deployable personnel paperwork finalizedDeployment

Authorization Memo (DAM)

prepared

S/CRS support requested

Deployable personnel contactedDeployable

personnel identified

Deployed team

arrives

Completed 7 Days from Support Request

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Deployment Readiness

Managed by USAID, the Civilian Deployment Center is utilized by civilian agencies across the U.S. government.

48-hour processing timeline– Dining facilities

– Physical fitness equipment

– Team building facilities

Clearances and requirements– Security

– Medical

– Visa Processes

– Travel specifications

– Training

Issuing equipment – Reintroduce members to the gear

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Africa: Past, Current & Potential Activities

SUDAN: - Whole-of-Government Planning- Darfur Field Deployments- Technical Assistance to Embassy & Consulate- Support to S/USSES contingency planning

LIBERIA: - Support to SSR Activities- 1207 programming- ICAF

CHAD: - Conflict Assessment- Field deployments to eastern Chad- Staffing support to Embassy N’djamena

SOMALIA (HORN): -1207 programming (regional)- Interagency CRC deployments for Somalia SSR assessmentUGANDA:

- ICAF-1207

DRC: - ICAF- 1207 assessments and programming- Interagency sectoral assessment deployments- Sectoral planning effort- SSR Liaison to MONUC

CAR: - Potential planning effort

INCREASED DEPLOYMENT

CAPACITY

2006:2 engagements•Darfur•Chad

2010: 7 engagements•Chad•Sudan•Somalia•Uganda•DRC•Liberia•CAR

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Democratic Republic of Congo

Background• November 2008 Scoping Mission to Kinshasa and Goma• $11.9 M in 1207 funding in FY08 and FY09; FY10 1207 funding recipient• Interagency Conflict Assessment of DRC in 2008

Current Initiative: Follow up to Secretary Clinton’s August 2009 trip to DRC• Assemble, Coordinate, Train, Fund and Deploy 5 USG Interagency Assessment

Teams:1. Economic Governance2. Anticorruption3. Sexual- and Gender-based Violence4. Security Sector Reform (SSR)5. Food Security and Agriculture

• 33 individuals involved in field assessments; 12 CRC-A; 6 Federal Agencies• DS Support, Kinshasa Coordinator and DC-Based Reach-back Team• 2-person planning team to support MSRP integration effort

MONUC: 1 CRC-A Member embedded with MONUC to Liaise on SSR

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Democratic Republic of Congo

Background• November 2008 Scoping Mission to Kinshasa and Goma• $11.9 M in 1207 funding in FY08 and FY09; FY10 1207 funding recipient• Interagency Conflict Assessment of DRC in 2008

Current Initiative: Follow up to Secretary Clinton’s August 2009 trip to DRC• Assemble, Coordinate, Train, Fund and Deploy 5 USG Interagency Assessment

Teams:1. Economic Governance2. Anticorruption3. Sexual- and Gender-based Violence4. Security Sector Reform (SSR)5. Food Security and Agriculture

• 33 individuals involved in field assessments; 12 CRC-A; 6 Federal Agencies• DS Support, Kinshasa Coordinator and DC-Based Reach-back Team• 2-person planning team to support MSRP integration effort

MONUC: 1 CRC-A Member embedded with MONUC to Liaise on SSR

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Concluding Remarks