Stability and Support Operations, Intervening Armed Forces and the Population They Serve

Due to the recent increase in Stability And Support Operations within the framework of Military Operations Other Than War, the local population has been increasingly viewed as a key factor in the success of those operations except in specific cases, such as, noncombatant evacuation operations. In fact, missions designed to enforce or keep peace and to help the population cannot be carried out without the population's support. As a result, both legitimacy and feasibility of the operation depend on the local population. The primary means to achieve success is the relationship established between the local population and the armed forces executing the mission. Failure here leads more or less directly to the overall failure of the mission. The armed forces of the countries often involved in Stability and Support Operations, for example the United States and France, have considered the need to build effective relationships with the local population. However, two shortfalls are evident: there is no overarching vision regarding how to deal with this relationship and the domains addressed such as Civil Affairs, Information Operation and Public Affairs do not encompass all the means to build an effective relationship. This monograph will study those relationships between the population and the armed forces, based on American and French experiences. Its purpose is to assess the real and perceived importance of the population in Stability and Support Operations. It evaluate if the creation of a completed body of doctrine in this area is justified and whether it might enable an armed force to take coherent action in regards to its relationship with the local population to successfully fulfill the mission. This monograph concludes that the local population is an essential actor in the context of Stability and Support Operations. From the first victim of conflict, the population assumes the status of Center of Gravity of the operations in Stability and Support Operations within