Through the Joint, Interagency, and Multinational Lens: Challenges in a Fiscally Constrained Environment

Book excerpt: The new anthology from CGSC's Department of Joint, Interagency, and Multinational Operations includes discussions on developing strategy at the national level, current challenges in Asia and Africa, and how to lead joint, interagency, and multinational teams.The government shutdown of January 2019 demonstrated the challenges of managing a nation's budget. A wall? Universal health care? Debt relief for student loans? Collective security of our Allies? These are all concerns that continue to face our nation. Questions of sovereignty and security versus diplomacy and humanitarian concerns are real. To be a successful nation, all of these issues must be addressed. How should the executive and legislative branches accomplish everything? How should domestic agencies respond? Where do defense priorities fall? There are risks with inaction, but there are additional risks in putting limited resources into actions that will not achieve the strategic ends desired for the country. Volume 3 addresses different challenges the United States faces when confronted with fiscal constraint. Department of Joint, Interagency, and Multinational Operations faculty once again apply their experiences in the chapters of this compendium to present well-researched recommendations on a variety of challenges faced in planning the use of vital resources during fiscal constraint.The underlying theme of this volume is to address global security challenges in a fiscally constrained environment. In that vein, John H. Modinger's article examines how the United States can effectively deal with China's increasingly assertive (some would say belligerent) behavior from a military perspective, amidst growing financial constraints. In Chapter 5, David A. Anderson writes about the role that investment plays in Africa's stability and economic development. His article also addresses the particular challenge of enticing foreign investment during times of fiscal constraint. In Chapter 6, Jeff D. Vordermark expands on his work from previous volumes to emphasize the importance of preparing for water scarcity when planning to provide security around the world. In Chapter 7, I seek to create an understanding that more money and education may be necessary to prepare leaders against the insider threat within their organizations. Even in a fiscally constrained environment, leaders cannot afford to be complacent against these threats. William J. Davis Jr. concludes Volume 3 with a compelling discussion about the adaptive leadership required in the joint, interagency, interorganizational, and multinational (JIIM) environment. These chapters consider national security interests while recognizing that funding is limited. Priorities must be made in how to educate, organize, train, and plan within this fiscally constrained environment. There are many topics on fiscal priorities that could be studied; the goal of this compendium is to provoke thought regarding some of the key issues that impact military planners.