The Perfect Soldier: Special Operations, Commandos, and the Future of Us Warfare by James F. Dunnigan
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Dirty Little Secrets
Sailors and NGOs Collide in Aceh
by James Dunnigan
March 8, 2005
Discussion Board on this DLS topic
The U.S. Navy gained a lot of valuable experience doing disaster relief work
recently in Aceh, Indonesia. For the navy and marine officers involved, it was a
unique experience. Often it was a learning experience. For example, initially,
junior level (O-4, O-5) officers were sent to planning meetings with the UN and
NGOs. These officers were meant as liaison, not decision makers. But it was the
custom for relief organizations to send more senior decision makers to such
meetings. Soon, more senior military officers were attending these meetings, so
they could make decisions on the spot.
At first, the American officers
believed it would be best to work through the Indonesian military. They quickly
discovered what Indonesians have long known, that the Indonesian military is one
of the corrupt organizations in the country. The American officers quickly
looked around and found that the UN, for all its faults, was pretty clean and
efficient when they were doing disaster relief. The troops also had some
problems trying to sort out all the NGOs they encountered. Some of the NGOs
appeared to have a foreign policy (that usually opposed the U.S.), but in most
cases NGOs would leave their politics aside to get the job done. The military
also found out that some of the NGOs, particularly the World Health Organization
(WHO), had a pretty good intelligence network. Makes sense, as WHO is constantly
trying to spot new disease outbreaks, and do something about it, before things
get out of control. The American officers also had to learn to loosen up a bit
when it came to their own intelligence resources. In a disaster zone, there’s no
such thing as “military secrets.” After a few weeks, American intelligence
gathering was being put to good use to measure the extent of the disaster, and
where help was most needed.
The navy and marines also found the
experience an excellent way to learn more about Indonesia, it’s people culture
and geography. The Indonesians appreciated the help, and made it clear that the
good feelings for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps would last a long time.
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