Diplomats in the Foxhole: The Evolution of the State Department During Irregular Conflicts

: This monograph identifies the process of organizational change demonstrated by the Department of State (DOS) when supporting U.S. efforts in an irregular warfare environment where there is a large Department of Defense (DOD) general purpose force present. To successfully conduct operations abroad, United States Government (USG) interagency cooperation is necessary to achieve unity of effort towards a common aim. Although this seems obvious in theory, case studies analyzing Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq demonstrate that this is tremendously difficult to achieve in practice. This research shows that to adapt to this environment the DOS (1) creates ad hoc organizations, (2) establishes a unified command structure with the DOD and (3) uses local solutions to solve local problems. This monograph is intended to improve the U.S. Army professional understanding of the DOS so interagency cooperation in future political-military operations can be improved.