For example, a major PACOM objective is to strengthen U.S. regional alliances. The ongoing USACE effort to assist the four nations in the Mekong River Commission – including Vietnam – in close cooperation with the Chinese Water Ministry in conducting humanitarian assistance projects, is a major example of how USACE often gives the United States entry to nations and areas in which DoD otherwise may not be able to go.
“There is a deliberate effort to align our capabilities with each COCOM’s objectives – and those differ by region,” IIS Deputy Chief Lindy Wolner added. “So having our liaison officers co-located on site gives us a visibility and vision to help us align our efforts where appropriate, including understanding the GCC’s needs and requirements and helping them succeed.”
USACE has seen tremendous growth in the demand for such services since 9/11, especially as the COCOMs themselves have become more “interagency,” with representatives from the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other federal agencies also embedded in their headquarters. That daily interagency interaction has enhanced the ability of USACE to meet one organization’s needs – such as building cyclone shelters that double as schools in Bangladesh for USAID – in ways that also help the regional (and sometimes functional) COCOM meet its goals and objectives in the area.
(From right in foreground) John Curtis, deputy chief for the USACE Europe District’s Engineering and Construction Branch, and John Gerlach, a resident engineer and acting chief of the district’s Caucasus Project Office, meet with customers and contractors in Tbilisi, Georgia, Oct. 28, 2010, at the Akhalkalaki Hospital. The project, funded by USAID and managed by USACE, will renovate the Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda hospitals. Renovations include installing a heating system, which will not only comfort the staff and patients, but also mean treatment can be administered without delays during the country’s inhospitable winters. USACE photo by Jennifer Aldridge
Supplemental budgets, which have become a major component of U.S. investment in Southwest Asia during the past decade, have also provided needed funding to place USACE liaison functions with the COCOMs. More important, that new, closer working relationship has expanded COCOM understanding and appreciation for what USACE has to offer.
“That has helped those commanders and their staffs see the value of adding the Corps to discussions of their plans and the value of small-footprint programs we can accomplish in their AORs [areas of responsibility],” Balocki explained. “We will transition those functions into the base budget in coming years because it is so important to keep them there. So since 9/11, there has been an increasing recognition by the COCOMs and their staffs that the Corps is an important actor in achieving security objectives in a given theater.”
As the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Southwest Asia continues – accompanied by a drawdown in the size of the military services and an anticipated decade of sharply declining budgets – USACE is anticipating an increase, rather than decrease, in demand for its services from all the COCOMs.
“The general feeling here is that we are seeing less work in Iraq, but maybe a bit more in Afghanistan – although that may be because there was so much going on in Iraq for so long,” Balocki said, noting USACE has continued work in Iraq even after the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops. “There still is a lot of work being done – and to do – in Afghanistan, but I can’t really say there has been an increase in work being done in surrounding nations.
“Surprisingly, we are seeing an uptick in the projects and kind of work we are doing in PACOM, AFRICOM, and SOUTHCOM. These are not spare resources – and it is not dramatic – but there has been a general trend toward a little more work in those regions. Working on behalf of the State Department in each country, the assistance we provide tends to be humanitarian, capacity development, and technical advice, with most requests coming from the COCOMs, but also some from State and USAID. Everything we do really is so closely coordinated with each it sometimes is almost lost on us who the original requestor was. That is another outgrowth of post-9/11 – greater coordination in these projects between all elements of government,” Balocki said.
Because of USACE’s primary relationship with the COCOMs, any project proposed by another agency seeking USACE help is vetted to ensure it is consistent with that GCC’s goals and objectives and does not interfere with nor compromise another project. That includes any requests that may be made by host-nation governments, which must go through diplomatic channels, beginning with the local U.S. embassy.
Despite the uncertainty of future funding and possible changes in foreign and military policy, the recent past may be a template for future USACE growth around the world, in projects and in new approaches to international cooperation.
“One example would be Brazil, which started in 2007 with the establishment of an annual exchange of our chiefs of engineering. That has expanded into USACE engaging with a number of other Brazilian agencies,” Wolner said. “In 2011, we signed an agreement to assist Brazil with development of the Sao Francisco River Agency, which basically is a water basin resources organization. Brazil is paying USACE to put engineers in their offices to [assist them with] this development. That is the result of a military-to-military engagement some years ago that expanded into a civilian agency effort.
“That supports SOUTHCOM objectives for Brazil. It is a reimbursed arrangement. It is coordinated through the COCOM and embassy and reflects USACE support to the COCOM and to an important partner in this hemisphere. The same is true for the Lower Mekong Initiative in PACOM, which we were able to do because, in 2009, the Corps Mississippi River Commission signed an agreement with the Mekong River Commission to share information on those two major rivers.”
In both cases, USACE has been able to use previous agreements to bring its water resources expertise to support State and COCOM goals in two regions of long-standing – and still growing – importance to the United States.
“That has led to a number of workshops, study tours, and other ongoing activities that have direct support to the COCOM and to a major foreign policy goal in the region,” Wolner added. “Those are just examples of growing USACE support in recent years to the various COCOMs.”
Balocki sees USACE’s role in a post-Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom world as one of expansion, even if some or all of their partners experience contraction.
“I’m personally engaging with COCOM leaders, as are other USACE leaders, including the chief of engineers. You don’t know what you don’t know. So if you don’t know USACE can provide water resource assistance or that another nation needs that capacity, you have no way to connect the dots. But by informing the COCOMs of what we can offer and receiving information on what they need, we can engage more deeply globally. Science and technology, infrastructure, the ability to do disaster recovery – all fit, along with water, into a broad suite of solutions and capabilities we can offer,” he concluded.
“I would expect demands [on USACE] to continue to grow as we provide an awareness and examples of the solution sets we can provide. Large training exercises may not be affordable due to budget constraints, but civilian-to-civilian or civilian-to-military contact, where the Corps might be an element, is something we might see growing. It goes back to our agreements, authorities, and presence, which provide a synergy with the COCOMs, the diplomats, and so on.”
This article originally appeared in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Building Strong®, Serving the Nation and the Armed Forces 2012-2013 Edition.