IDEA: Diplomatic Special Forces
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Foreign Policy, Ideas, MilitaryWhat do you get when you mix Peace Corps volunteers with the United States Military?
Tom Brokaw (yes, him) thinks he has the solution to our PR woes overseas, and I think he’s on to something.
The Special Forces concept — unconventional warriors chosen for their intelligence, stamina, adaptability and range of skills — has worked well for the military. Why couldn’t it work as well for the Foreign Service?This entry was posted on Monday, August 15th, 2005 and is filed under Foreign Policy, Ideas, Military. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.The State Department could recruit young men and women who want an adventurous life and train them as the Diplomatic Special Forces, a kind of Peace Corps plus. Put them through crash courses in local dialects and skills relevant to the areas where they will be assigned. Place them in military outposts in remote areas, an arrangement that would have the added benefit of forging bonds between the military and the diplomatic corps. Give them extra pay and set the bar high so they have the same elite status as the Pentagon’s Special Forces.
My guess is that it would be an appealing prospect for members of the younger generation who want to serve their country but not necessarily in military uniform.
August 15th, 2005 at 4:58 pm
This is an interesting idea. Upon reading about a “Diplomatic Special Forces” I immediately thought of Army and Marine Civil Affairs units. They are “Peace Corps plus.” Maybe we should tranfer these units to the State Dept. and increase their size.
These units will still need security if they are in areas where safety is an issue. That means they themselves will have to be armed or accompanied by people who are.
August 15th, 2005 at 5:30 pm
I see a fairly major disconnect between this idea and the existing culture within the State Department….
August 15th, 2005 at 5:41 pm
Striped pants wearing a holstered weapon? Hmm.
The House of Saud has, so far, constructed 30,000 madrassas in the world (on a national budget that requires oil prices at $17 a barrel–today, it’s over $60 a barrel), and each madrassa teaches sacred doctrines to several hundred students into their teenage, bomb-throwing years. Into this milieu are we to throw our solo idealists, who venture forth like Arthur’s knights to do individual battle with evil?
Mr. Brokaw is starry-eyed myth-building, not pragmatic nation-building.
August 6th, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Good job.