Galrahn's take from today

POST: Joint Warfighting Conference 2009 Day 2 Thoughts, By Galrahn, USNI Blog, May 13, 2009

Here's the lead:

A theme is taking shape at the USNI/AFCEA Joint Warfighter Conference 2009, at least in my view, and the theme would be something along the lines of "Fighting Organizational Inertia" or the ugly operational work of cooperation in government, and across governments. Building off the discussions yesterday begun by USMC General James Mattis, the current and future warfighting environment is developing a narrative of security challenges, not defense challenges. No one is willing to give up the biggest gun, but the questions regarding where to aim the gun, when to load the gun, and when to fire the gun continue to dominate the narratives of the speakers and panel. On one end, a perception of this violent world is being shaped to suggest the DoD is in for a long haul of military action, while on the other is this reality where in the vast majority of the world, special operators can just as easily buy plane tickets to their destinations rather than be inserted by submarine.

Here's what Galrahn wrote about Tom:

Today began with a keynote morning address from Dr. Thomas Barnett, who if you have never seen live are missing one of the better presentations on global strategy available. Dr. Barnett runs through his message in a linear way that aligns itself to his books, moving from system to states to leaders. In the end, the theme of the Department of Everything Else (DoEE) comes up on top, with Dr. Barnett concluding the Q&A session in the end that he believes the DoD is building the DoEE today and that within the next decade, it will be broken off from the DoD and merged with some of the poorly funded and organized critical elements of the State Department, including USAID, which will elevate those organizations to the priority they need. I'll discuss Dr. Barnett's presentation in more detail later.

And here are two more grafs for flavor:

The panel this morning was "Beyond the Military: How Do We Foster and Employ a More Comprehensive Approach in the Future Security Environment?" Moderated by retired General Anthony Zinni, the panel consisted of Dr. Heather Hanson, Director of Public Affairs for Mercy Corps, Mr. Len Hawley, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, MajGen Chris Miller, Director of Plans, Policy and Strategy, NORTHCOM, and Ambassador Mary Yates, Deputy to the Commander, Civil-Military Activities AFRICOM. It was one of the most insightful discussions of comprehensive approaches to national security challenges I've sit in.

Front and center was Dr. Hanson, who in the spirit of a maverick opened by suggesting that Whole of Government approach may not be a good thing, while the others on the panel were naturally touting the Whole of Government approach. Dr. Hanson's concern is legitimate, noting that the specific priorities of the individual non-government groups that have track records of successful work that contributes to the whole can get lost when they must concede to priorities of the Whole of Government approach. As MajGen Miller states, the term "Whole of Government" can take on a whole new meaning when you drop the "W" from the first word, and that isn't a good thing.

Read the rest over at USNI.