Art of the Transition

The transition is one of the most important, but most overlooked, parts of any campaign. The United States concluded Operation New Dawn in December 2011. The U.S. is also converging towards Operation Enduring Freedom's conclusion in 2014. In both cases, the U.S. desires stable and secure environments that lead to enduring civilian-led diplomatic relationships. Many military professionals and academics present different approaches to facilitate effective conclusion to conflict, but they are ambiguous on how they support the transition from military-led operations to civilian-led diplomatic relationships. Many propose interagency cooperation and independent agencies as solutions on how to set conditions for the transition. However, early planning, iterative engagements between military planners and civilian officials, and continuous refinements establish the conditions to successfully transition operations to a civilian-led diplomatic relationship.