April 13, 2012

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert visited USIP April 12 to discuss the India-Pakistan relationship, security sector governance and North Korea and the Pacific Rim.

Greenert was briefed by John Park, USIP's senior program officer for northeast Asia, Moeed Yusuf, senior adviser on Pakistan, Robert Perito, director of USIP's security sector governance center, and Beth Cole, a dean for the Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding.

The group, including USIP President Richard Solomon, talked about a range of issues as well as the relationship between the Navy and USIP.

"Our partnership has complemented each other well over the years, especially during humanitarian and disaster relief challenges," Greenert said after the visit. "We often find ourselves working toward the same interests, such as preventing conflicts – our work fostering partnerships and engaging with our friends overseas is directly related to what USIP does."

Greenert said he had a "very informative visit" about what USIP is doing around the world. "I feel very confident that we will become more efficient and effective at facing tomorrow's challenges together by building on each other's efforts and using innovative methods."

USIP has been a long-time partner with the Defense Department as the Pentagon plans responses to today's conflicts and humanitarian crises around the world – all of which takes planning that goes beyond the capacity of any single organization, in government or out.  USIP helps military and civilian personnel prepare to work together in unstable environments in which things can change quickly.

In addition to Greenert, USIP has hosted a number of senior commanders, including Adm. James Stavridis, supreme allied commander Europe and head of U.S. European Command. Earlier this spring, the Institute hosted Army Maj. Gen. Ralph Baker for a briefing on Africa before he  deploys to Djibouti in May as commander of the Combined Joint Task Force for the Horn of Africa. The visit was organized by USIP's Marcia Wong, head of the Institute's Intergovernmental Affairs office.

Peacebuilding is a complex endeavor that requires a certain set of skill sets in negotiation and mediation, among others, says USIP's Cole. The Institute, she said, is uniquely suited to help governmental agencies such as the Navy to prepare to tackle those kinds of problems.

"This is rocket science," she said. "These are very complex environments that require skilled actors, and I don't think there is any way to get around that. It requires actors with skills, so you need to prepare them for that."

USIP's Academy offers a number of programs in negotiation and mediation that prepare individuals from the "whole-of-community" before they deploy to areas of instability.  One course, the Ministry of Defense Advisers program, or MODA, helps individuals prepare to be embedded within Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense.

"As we wind down operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the training increasingly becomes the venue to bring together these whole-of-community actors before they go out on missions," Cole says.