Developing An Assessment Framework For U S Air Force Building Partnerships Programs

Working with allies to build their defense capacity, acquire access to their territories for potential operations, and strengthen relationships with their air forces, is an important U.S. Air Force activity. To determine the value of this activity, the authors outline an assessment framework that planners, strategists, and policymakers can use to see whether Air Force security cooperation activities are achieving the desired effects.

The U.S. Air Force has a long history of working with allies and partners in a security cooperation context to build the defense capacities of these nations, acquire and maintain access to foreign territories for operational purposes, and strengthen relationships with partner air forces for mutual benefit. However, it is often difficult to determine whether or how these activities have contributed to the goals and objectives of U.S. national security, DoD, COCOMs, and the services. As is the case throughout DoD, the Air Force currently does not have a comprehensive framework in place by which it can assess the effectiveness of its security cooperation efforts with partner air forces in a deliberate and consistent way. This monograph outlines an assessment framework that can enhance the Air Force's security cooperation efforts in a way that reflects U.S. national security interests, DoD guidance, COCOM requirements, and Air Force global priorities. The document identifies relevant Air Force security cooperation authorities, programs, and key stakeholders for those programs. The proposed assessment framework will allow Air Force planners, strategists, and key policy-makers to see specifically whether Air Force security cooperation programs and activities are achieving the desired effects as defined in the guidance documents.

It is often challenging to determine whether security cooperation activities conducted by the Defense Department have contributed to U.S. objectives. This monograph, based on themes that emerged from a May 2008 assessment workshop held at RAND, lays out a framework for security program assessment and stresses the need for injecting a greater level of objectivity into the assessment process.

The U.S. Air Force works to build strong and enduring partnerships with allies and friendly nations, to reinforce their capacity to defend themselves and to work in coalitions, and to ensure U.S. access to foreign territories. This volume evaluates existing Air Force capacity to conduct assessments of its security cooperation programs and describes a framework for improving assessment efforts.

The Air Force faces a challenging environment as it devises an approach to managing security cooperation with partner countries. The important mission of countering terrorist and insurgent groups abroad requires working closely with allies and partner countries to strengthen security. Accordingly, current U.S. defense strategy emphasizes that the U.S. armed forces should do more to work "by, with, and through partners" to accomplish missions.

The USAF, along with other DoD elements, has worked for many years with allies and friendly nations to build strong and enduring partnerships, reinforce other nations' capacity both to defend themselves and to work in coalitions, and ensure U.S. access to foreign territories for operational purposes. The activities conducted by the Air Force range from the very visible-training, equipping, and exercising with others-to those that are less obvious, such as holding bilateral talks, workshops, and conferences and providing education. Since 2006, DoD has placed a higher priority on these security cooperation activities, which collectively are viewed as being central to U.S. efforts to shape international relations in ways that are favorable to U.S. interests and equities.1 As the demand for security forces continues to outpace the supply, the United States needs partners to improve their own capabilities and be better prepared to confront both internal and external security challenges. As a result, U.S. efforts to build partnerships with foreign countries have evolved from the "nice to do" category to the "necessary" one.