Multinational staff effectiveness in UN peace operations: The case of the U.S. army and UNMIH, 1994-1995

Abstract

This article draws upon the past analysis of Allan R. Millett, Williamson Murray, and Kenneth H. Watman concerning military organizational effectiveness. Those scholars examined wartime activities, but this discussion argues that military organizational effectiveness is fully as important in military operations other than war as it is during armed conflict. In the wake of the tragedy of October 1993 in Somalia, the U.S. Army exerted some effort to improve the effectiveness of future United Nations peace operations. The United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) serves as a case study through which to explore a U.S. Army-developed and UN-sanctioned multinational staff training program over the winter of 1994-1995. Analysis describes a U.S. Army-led international training contingent that used a team-building session prior to mission assumption in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to increase staff skills within a diverse group. The training team assisted staff officers in overcoming language obstacles, divergent cultural approaches, and varying knowledge levels to actualize group cohesion. Upon mission execution, the UNMIH headquarters showed a dramatic improvement in organizational effectiveness over previous UN deployments.