Still, it takes a team to craft a plan and that's why the branch maintains a seasoned staff of civil, foreign and military service employees. The staff also takes its direction, in part, from the Department's regional bureau responsible for foreign policy in that part of the world. Mr. Ladnier asks rhetorically about a plan's foundation. Regional bureau officials can best provide those answers, he said, because they're closest to the region's issues and events. Overall planning, however, is based on a 1997 Clinton Administration directive that offers guidelines on managing complex contingency operations.
Plans are more than just a way to handle a crisis.
They state a position and sometimes that's what's needed to rally an international coalition. Some nations are reluctant to propose a plan or they may be seeking direction from a major power, Mr. Ladnier explained. The bureau's cadre of international specialists, political strategists, military officers and administrators negotiates where U.S. forces are deployed overseas and defines the ground rules for peace operations and arms sales. It coordinates with the Department of Defense if military support is needed when responding to a humanitarian crisis. The effort begins right here at home.