Stabilization and Reconstruction Staffing - RAND Corporation

34 Stabilization and Reconstruction Staffing: Developing U.S. Civilian Personneloperations, we find that the major categories (which are binary accordingto whether a billet is coded to indicate a needed characteristic ora person who has that characteristic), besides subject-matter expertiseand experience, include such items as•••••area expertiselanguage skillsU.S. citizenshipU.S. government employeesecurity clearance.Consideration of all the above factors leads us to believe thatHR management (deciding on staffing needs, recruiting and training,ensuring high performance, managing benefits and compensation,keeping accurate records, and establishing appropriate policies) is anessential element of the success of any SSTR operation.The A-Team Concept, RevisitedHaving considered requirements and staffing sources, we shift focusback to the concept of an A-Team to expound on its elements from theperspective of assessing the critical aspects of staffing a long-term effortsuch as a SSTR operation.Continuity. Staff members should deploy for at least one year.Every U.S. official interviewed for this study who addressed this issueindicated that the processes for establishing relationships and buildingtrust with indigenous officials, supplying the continuity needed forestablishing and running offices and programs, and simply ensuringthat excessive time is not spent in transition (or worse, having no transition)require that staff members remain in country for a minimum ofone year. Some interviewees believed that one year was not sufficient,citing the U.S. experience in Vietnam, where, in the words of ColonelJohn Paul Vann, “We don’t have twelve years’ experience in Vietnam.We have one year’s experience twelve times over. . . .” 33 Quoted in D. Michael Shafer, The Legacy: The Vietnam War in the American Imagination,Boston, Mass.: Beacon Press, 1990, p. 100.