Guardians of Peace and Knowledge

To gush some more, the time I recently spent in the Navy's MMOWGLI 'game' was rewarding.  I got to absorb how other folks, some quite knowledgable, percieve the modern problems of pirates, terrorism, and profiteering.  Here's a 'for instance.'

A new problem the US military faces in the new kind of war they fight today is a lack of local support.  Local politicians, holy men, even neighborhood citizens don't want to call attention to themselves by dealing with Americans unless it can benefit them or their community.  Even if they take the risk, the soldier they work with will be gone in a few months and the new guy will be clueless.

Solution: A new program designed to create and maintain long term relations with local contacts.   Build an elite unit from career-oriented volunteer servicemembers, require long-term commitment.  They would work in 5-man teams, assigned to exclusively cover an important area of operations.  They would learn everything possible about local leaders, criminals, land ownership, all the details warfighters can't take the time to learn. 

At need, one team member would be detailed to liason duties for units operating in their area.  The agent accompanies important patrols, dealing with locals, making new contacts, gathering information. 

Another team member would be attached to local military intelligence as the handler for the agent in the field.  This handler agent processes the field agent's reports and schedules, allowing the field agent remain focused.  He would also insure that information from both directions was handed off to who needs it. 

Every three months the agent in the field rotates back to the States for R&R, the handler rotates to the field, and another team member takes over as handler.  This keeps local contacts and awareness intact, and keeps the agents fresh and motivated - six months overseas, then six months at home.

The three agents not in the field use the incoming intelligence from the agents in the field to update databases, remaining abreast of changes.  They also pursue a continued academic education program of language, psychology, history, economics, and business administration.

To highlight this focus on education, units would be based at military academies.  This presents several advantages:  1) agents would be an educational resource, even act as instructors, 2) continued education would not remove agents from assignment, 3) academy cadets could intern with the unit, perhaps OJT for a dedicated training program.

Personal qualifications would focus not just on warfighting skills, but also on tact, finesse, and ability to mediate high intensity social conflict.  The program would need to recruit and operate across military branches.  Recruitment should also come from post-graduate schools to reach people who know how to plan and reach for future goals.

The immediate result should be fewer surprise roadside bombs.  In the future these agents could make organized terrorism extremely difficult, quell modern piracy, and defuse problems before the rest of us know there are any.

Too bad I didn't get this written in the time I spent in MMOWGLI.  8)