INTRODUCTION
During and immediately following armed conflict, the Army, as part of the Joint Force,
must be prepared to conduct transitional public security tasks and may be responsible for
public order in place of the host nation. The Army must execute Transitional Public Security
(TPS), as a subset of Establish Civil Security, when the rule of law has broken down, is
nonexistent, or when directed by the JTFHQ. The purpose of Establish Civil Security is to:
consolidate friendly gains during and after armed conflict 1
prevent adversaries from re-igniting conflict or re-imposing their will
set conditions for transition to other competent authority
Transitional Public Security is a military-led effort to restore civil security, protect the
civilian population, and maintain public order until the Joint Force is able to transfer that
responsibility to a competent authority. Key tasks during TPS include:
Establish civil security 2 and public order
Conduct interim detention
Conduct interim adjudication
TPS tasks, by their nature, are usually or best performed by police; however, because of
the conditions and/or required capacity to conduct them, will likely be performed by combat
forces.
As civil security improves, efforts to establish civil control will increase. TPS enables this
process. TPS does not establish civil control 3 nor lead foreign humanitarian assistance,
economic stabilization, rule of law, or governance and participation efforts. These stability
activities are civ-mil efforts and are outside the scope of TPS. 4
Although not a doctrinal term in the past (“Transitional Public Security”), numerous past
operations offer noteworthy lessons for the TPS concept. This SOLLIMS Sampler therefore
highlights key lessons from:
Operations Just Cause and Promote Liberty [Panama]
Operation Uphold Democracy [Haiti]
Operation Joint Endeavor [Bosnia-Herzegovina]
Operation Enduring Freedom [Afghanistan]
Operation Iraqi Freedom [Iraq]
Recommendations from these lessons are summarized in the Conclusion section of this
publication, and additional reference material is provided at Annex B.
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1 HQDA, ADP 3-0 Operations (Washington, DC: The Pentagon, October 2017), 7. Consolidate Gains are the “activities
that set the conditions for a stable environment.”
2 HQDA, FM 3-07 Stability (Washington, DC: The Pentagon, June 2014), p 1-2. Civil Security is the provision of security
for state entities and the population, including protection from internal and external threats (para 1-7).
3 Civil control fosters the rule of law. It is based on a society ensuring individuals and groups adhere to the rule of law and
that society embraces the rule of law to provide equal access to a legal system consistent with international human rights
principles. It is a long-term process guided by civilian entities.
4 “Appendix B: Transitional Public Security,” pp. 63-65, from Stephen Marr’s PKSOI paper, “Stability in Multi-Domain Battle.”
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