Military Review English Edition November-December 2013 | Page 72

Education is vital to the success of COIN operations. Local governments must provide a safe environment, free of intimidation, for victims or potential
victims of insurgent intimidation. Without that guarantee, they will continue to act in survival mode with
self-preservation being their only goal. Only after
they feel comfortable with the security of their new
situation will they embrace the government.
Train the indigenous government and security
forces to conduct effective COIN operations independently. In Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan,
Seth G. Jones explores the importance of how the
local government and its security forces ultimately
determine the success of an insurgent group. “Counterinsurgency requires not only the capability of the
United States to conduct unconventional war, but,
most importantly, the ability to shape the capacity of the indigenous government and its security
forces. Most COIN campaigns are not won or lost by
external forces, but by indigenous forces.”18 He concluded, “successful COIN requires an understanding
of the nature of the local conflict and the ability to
shape the capacity of indigenous actors to conduct an
effective counterinsurgency campaign.”19 The quality
and competency of the host nation government and
security forces left behind after U.S. and coalition
forces have departed will determine the success of
COIN operations.

Using the Principles of COIN
to Combat Sexual Harassment/
Assault

“Sexual assault is a crime that has no place in the
Department of Defense (DOD). It is an attack on
the values we defend and on the cohesion our units
demand, and forever changes the lives of victims
and their families.”20 The Annual Report on Sexual
Assault in the Military, Fiscal Year 2012 assesses the
prevalence of sexual assault and sexual harassment
in the active duty force. The survey distinguishes
between three categories of sexu al offenses:
• Unwanted sexual contact (i.e., rape, or any
unwanted sexual physical contact).
• Unwanted gender-related behaviors (i.e., sexual
harassment and sexist behaviors).
• Gender discriminatory behaviors and sex discrimination.21
While the severity of a crime might vary, there is
no room for any form of sexual misconduct within
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the Armed Forces. Recent events brought to light
some problems that were festering beneath the
surface of our organizations, and resulted in leaders
taking these issues seriously. SHARP is becoming
the primary mission of the Armed Forces as we
begin to transition from a decade of counterinsurgency operations.
Principles of COIN applied to SHARP. As the
United States is working to improve COIN, starting in Iraq and continuing to Afghanistan, certain
principles emerge that may apply to the war to
eradicate sexual predators from within our ranks.
The principles of COIN directly correlate to the
fight to prevent sexual assault in the military, and
apply at the lowest levels of command.
Identify sexual predators’ motivation and
depth of commitment. As with any insurgency,
understanding what drives your enemy to act is
vital. With a clear understanding of what drives
them to act, coupled with effective preventative
measures, some potential perpetrators can be convinced to adjust their lifestyle in ways that would
ultimately prevent them from committing these
terrible acts. Of course this may not apply to the
most violent and deviant sexual predators who are
devoted to committing these crimes, leaving a trail
of lives in ruin along the way. We can, however,
implement effective policies and regulations that
have the potential to influence the lives of many
service members.
Identify likely predators’ weapons and tactics. Like any hunter, sexual predators utilize the
most effective weapons available to attack their
prey. The substance most widely used to assist in
these criminal undertakings is alcohol. There are
362 references to alcohol in the first volume of
the DOD Report. The second volume states that
for active duty personnel, “overall, 6.1 percent
of women and 1.2 percent of men indicated they
experienced unwanted sexual contact in 2012.”22
The term “unwanted sexual contact” means intentional sexual contact that was against a person’s
will or which occurred when the person did not or
could not consent. This also includes completed or
attempted sexual intercourse, sodomy, penetration
by an object, and the unwanted touching of genitalia
and other sexually-related areas of the body.23 The
report states that of the 6.1 percent of women who
indicated experiencing unwanted sexual contact,
November-December 2013

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