Searchable Publication List
Advising the Command: Best Practices from the Special Operations Advisory Experience in Afghanistan
Drawing from the NATO Special Operations advisory mission in Afghanistan, the research highlights best practices across the full advisory lifecycle — from pre-deployment training through continuity of operations across rotations.
Enlisting Madison Avenue: The Marketing Approach to Earning Popular Support in Theaters of Operation
Washington Post front page. Introduced private-sector branding and audience segmentation to military strategic communications. Foundational reference for a generation of military IO professionals.
Locals Rule: Historical lessons for Creating Local Defense Forces for Afghanistan and Beyond
This RAND study, created at the best of the senior special operations officer in Afghanistan, applied lessons from the history of local defense forces to support U.S. Village Stability Operations in Afghanistan and the Afghan Local Police.
''People Make the City,'' Executive Summary: Joint Urban Operations Observations and Insights from Afghanistan and Iraq
This RAND study draws on extensive documentary material and interviews with American, British, and Australian military and civilian personnel from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom to identify tools that help militaries conduct urban combat and post-conflict restoration more effectively, on the premise that preserving innocent life and rebuilding what war destroys are now strategic obligations because cities are the keys to nations.
Investing in the Fight: Assessing the Use of the Commander’s Emergency Response Program in Afghanistan
This RAND report finds that CERP in Afghanistan was effective when nested within operations—especially for "softer" outcomes like rapport and local governance—and recommends restricting it to small-dollar projects, building unit-to-unit transition processes, training all relevant personnel, and formalizing a USAID role.