Wirtz, J: Developing Military Interagency Experts: The Next

Developing Military Interagency Experts describes how the Global War on Terror and post-conflict stability and reconstruction operations increasingly require synchronized interagency efforts to be effective. Military officers will increasingly be called upon to wage war alongside other interagency players, and their success will hinge largely on an ability to navigate fluently in the complex interagency environment. Military interagency specialists are needed to close departmental "culture gaps" by maintaining a working knowledge of other departments through experience and by educating agencies outside the Defense Department on military capabilities and limitations. This paper addresses the value of effective interagency operations and examines whether the military needs interagency experts. It also attempts to define the specific role that military interagency specialists need to play. By illustrating the current strategic and operational state of affairs that affects interagency coordination, and by analyzing a successful Joint Interagency Task Force, this paper introduces additional measures to enhance the development of military interagency experts both within the Department of Defense and within the existing national security policy apparatus.