Understanding Contemporary Foreign Internal Defense and Military Advisement

This monograph examines the effects of changes in the current operating environment and current operations in Iraq on the application of Foreign Internal Defense (FID) operations conducted by Special Operations Forces (SOF). This study identifies the forms and logic behind the function of Nation Assistance (NA), in order to determine if FID operations conducted by SOF and conventionally conducted foreign military advisory efforts should remain separate missions. This study first examines the evolution of FID from its roots in the Nixon Doctrine and inception in military doctrine. Within this analysis, a list of doctrinally based FID prerequisites is presented to use as a common analysis tool for a historical, a contemporary, and any future FID operation. The civil war in El Salvador is used for the historical analysis of FID operations and concluded as an excellent example of a FID operation conducted by SOF. Next, a contemporary FID operation with the 36th Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC) is analyzed and the consequences of not meeting certain FID prerequisites exposed. Finally, the same prerequisites are presented for a predictive analysis of the future using the Africa Command (AFRICOM) area of responsibility (AOR) as an impetus behind reviewing current military advisory doctrine. This paper introduces Security Forces Assistance (SFA) as emerging doctrine because of the contemporary requirement for large parts of the U.S. military to conduct military advisement. SFA is presented as an alternate advisory operation that is predicated on a large scale logic, performs the function of such an enterprise endeavor as building an army from virtually nothing, and is totally separate from the FID task. Ultimately, this monograph recommends that Foreign Internal Defense Operations conducted by Special Operations Forces and conventionally conducted foreign military advisory efforts must remain separate missions.