Stronger Together – Lt. Col. Linnaeus Clinton De Zilva, Singapore

The Coalition Coordination Center strengthens international military relationships

LT. COL. LINNAEUS CLINTON DE ZILVA, SENIOR NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE, SINGAPORE ARMED FORCES

U.S. Central Command’s Coalition Coordination Center (CCC) is a melting pot of some of the world’s best military minds, all working together to solve shared security challenges and achieve joint goals.

Since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom, the responsibility to integrate the coalition with U.S. forces has rested with the CCC. Located at command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, the center was created after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Construction began September 21, 2001, and was completed by November the same year, with coalition officers deployed in temporary trailers in a parking lot next to the command headquarters. Today, the center’s offices are housed in two new buildings.

Relevance of the Coalition
Besides delivering operational value to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) mission, coalition members have formed a tightly knit community — commonly known as Coalition Village — despite cultural, religious and political differences. With 120 coalition personnel from 54 countries, the CCC functions as the primary coordination office between the American and coalition militaries.

It is through the involvement and integration of coalition members that CENTCOM achieves greater operational and organizational growth. “The kind of war we face — terrorism and insurgency — it’s impossible to win it alone,” explained Lt. Col. Vinciane Sablon, the senior national representative from Belgium.

Sustained peace requires more than weaponry. It also requires building relationships and trust to solve problems at their roots. “We need to apply a holistic approach with everyone,” Sablon said. “That is why the coalition is very important.”

This sentiment is also reflected in the minds of her counterparts from other countries.

“As the world gets smaller and we get closer to a globalized world, the need for a coalition is more significant,” said Afghan Maj. Ahmad Murid Partaw. Like his fellow senior national representatives at Coalition Village, Partaw aims to build strong relationships to increase understanding and interoperability. “It’s important to see all these countries working together for a shared cause, a common cause,” Partaw said. “It’s a testimony of the joint mission.”

From the standpoint of the National Security Strategy of the United States, coalition building remains a priority, exemplified in the phrase: “No nation can build a safer, better world alone.”

Sustained Value
Consistent with business management strategies, the concept of military coalitions, as in the case of the CCC, represents a comparative advantage over unilateral or ad hoc solutions. Coalitions come with ready-made organizational structures, encourage pooling and harmonization of human capital and physical resources, confer greater legitimacy and lessen the burden on each member state. At CENTCOM, a critical success factor lies in continued multinational participation, equitable distribution of member states in the CCC structure and the CCC’s value to the CENTCOM leadership. To date, the existing information sharing and working groups within CCC have been useful.

In a concerted effort to expand the reach and richness of information sharing, new working groups have been instituted. “The coalition provides comprehensive situational awareness for the area of responsibility,” said Lt. Col. Mohamed Farah of Djibouti. “The quality of the information also enables you to learn and grow professionally.”

As of mid-2013, the CCC had 11 information sharing and working groups. Meetings and focus-group discussions are held routinely, involving coalition members and their American counterparts, to disseminate information and discuss issues of interests to the Middle East and South and Central Asia. Despite these successes, there is certainly scope to push the envelope further.

Integration and Utility
The overall success of the CCC coalition depends, to a large extent, on the ability of the U.S. and coalition members to integrate and work effectively as a team. Given the paradoxical era of the information age, it invariably means the ability to harmonize efforts and share information transparently to achieve comprehensive situational awareness. Integration, in its broadest sense, entails two fundamental facets: the ability to synergize as an organization and to use software and hardware for seamless information transactions. The CCC has made substantial gains in establishing a richer information exchange with CENTCOM. The participation of the senior national representatives in the Commander’s Update Brief is a watershed and marks a quantum leap in information sharing between the coalition and CENTCOM. This should be seen as a positive step toward a more methodological and mature association.

Senior national representatives in the CCC work in earnest to coordinate their contributions with their U.S. counterparts, ranging from war-fighting contributions to logistics coordination support to help protect forces that are forward-deployed in the Middle East and South and Central Asia.

Building Relationships
Many of the CCC’s contributions are intangible and cannot be quantified. The center has helped to build relationships, both professional and personal. There is also a psychological impact — the CCC offers reassurances that the U.S. is not alone in the fight against global terrorism.

The enduring involvements of senior national representatives in social events organized by the U.S. military and local civilian communities are concrete examples of the contributions that coalition members continue making. Since January 2006, coalition members have participated in more than 90 engagement sessions with the Military Officers Association of America. CCC members also support Operation Helping Hand, a humanitarian project dedicated to providing support to wounded active duty U.S. military patients, with involvement in more than 100 activities since 2006. These activities demonstrate organizational responsibility, partnership and enduring commitment.

Shaping the Future
History offers many lessons on the utility of coalitions. Coalitions have been part of warfare since the earliest times. The Greco-Persian war was fought between the Persian Empire and a coalition of the Greek city-states. In a similar vein, the Battle of Tong Pass during the Chinese Han Dynasty witnessed a single state battling with coalition forces. The wars of Alexander the Great versus the Persians involved coalitions on both sides. Frederick the Great’s European wars included multiple coalitions. So did the Napoleonic wars. Learning from these episodes, it is clear that CENTCOM cannot function in isolation. To sustain the fight in the war of terrorism and ensure success, the continued partnering with coalition members in the CCC offers the solution and also enables the development of partner capacity.

In sum, the CCC coalition has come a long way since its inception. Past and present members should be proud of their achievements and contributions. The social, economic and psychological value of the coalition in the CCC cannot be measured by cost-cutting strategies driven primarily as a consequence of the lethargic economic growth that nations face today.

Going forward, to remain relevant and further elevate the coalition in the CCC as an effective and purposeful organization, nations need to continue leveraging the work of the coalition. Being aware of CENTCOM plans is important, but helping to shape them is just as important. To this end, it is imperative that coalition members deployed in the CCC remain committed. Perfecting the integration process between coalition partners and their U.S. counterparts is an ongoing endeavor. Information sharing and organizational integration have improved, but much still can be done.

Coalition Coordination Center Countries

Afghanistan
Albania
Armenia
Australia
Bangladesh
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Canada
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Egypt
El Salvador
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Republic of Korea
Kyrgyz Republic
Lithuania
Macedonia
Mongolia
Morocco
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Pakistan
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Tajikistan
Tonga
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Yemen

About the author: Lt. Col. Linnaeus Clinton De Zilva is Singapore’s senior national representative in the Coalition Coordination Center at U.S. Central Command headquarters. His research areas of interest are organizational management, human resource behavior and business statistical analysis. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the National University of Singapore; a Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Australia; a Master of Business Administration with distinction from Queen Margaret University, United Kingdom; and a doctorate in business administration from Southern Cross University, Australia.