U.S. Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute
U.S. Army War College
22 Ashburn Drive, Upton Hall
Carlisle Barracks, PA 17013
1 November 2016
SUBJECT: Strategic Communication / Messaging in Peace & Stability
Operations
1. GENERAL
Strategic communication / messaging has proven to be a key enabler for the
conduct of peace and stability operations. Recent operations that have borne
this out include: Operation Atlantic Resolve (Eastern Europe), Operation Iraqi
Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) (Afghanistan), Operation
Enduring Freedom-Philippines (OEF-P), Operation Joint Endeavor (BosniaHerzegovina), the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Liberia (UNMIL),
Operations Odyssey Dawn and Unified Protector (OOD/OUP) (Libya), and
Operation United Assistance (OUA) (West Africa).
This lesson report provides lessons from those operations – covering a range of
issues, such as planning, execution, coordination, evaluation, tracking, and
partnering.
2. LESSONS
a. TOPIC. Setting the Stage for a Successful Communication
Strategy – Operation Atlantic Resolve (Lesson #2489)
Observation.
USAREUR’s coupling of the strategic maneuver/force positioning (UJTL ST 1.3)
end-state and the information operations (UJTL ST 5.5) end-state offers a model
for applying communication strategy in future stability operations.
[NOTE: UJTL ST = Universal Joint Task List, Strategic Theater, task #]
Discussion.
The USAREUR Order for Operation Atlantic Resolve, issued 18 April 2014,
included end-states for strategic maneuver/force positioning and for information
operations – owing to the efforts of the USAREUR public affairs personnel
involved in the planning process. They insisted that the information operations
end-state be included in the order, coupled with the maneuver/force positioning
end-state, and the USAREUR Commander fully supported that concept. (Note
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