The Foreign Service Journal, October 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2013 29 programing to remote corners of one of the most contested provinces in the country. The project was designed to counter insurgent propaganda, provide much-needed information regarding Afghan govern- ment activities and programs in the province, and assist with extension agricultural education efforts. Later, when asked to explain its success, a lieutenant colonel responded with just three letters: “O-C-R,” referring to the Office of Civilian Response which administers the USAID Civilian Response Corps. “There to Help Win the War” Matt was not alone in that endeavor, of course. A total of 42 people, all current U.S. government agency employees, have served as USAID CRCA specialists around the world, provid- ing direct assistance through hands-on expertise during crises. (The “A” is for the active designation, distinguishing its mem- bers from reserve and standby CRC participants.) Each mem- ber is a “one-stop-shop” project designer, program manager and field implementer, possesses a specific technical skill set, and has been trained to operate in extreme physical and social environments with minimal institutional support. Following the guiding vision of Foreign Service officer John Champagne, who established the USAID component of the Civilian Response Corps, the men and women of the organ- ization are committed to advancing U.S. strategic interests through the mechanisms of social capacity building, economic development and community mobilization. One CRCA partici- pant debriefed by the National Defense University following his mission in Afghanistan (one of 200 accounts now archived at the U.S. Institute of Peace at www.usip.org) reflected that “USAID CRCA was there to help win the war” by promoting national security in a manner that reflected the generosity and empathy of the American people. I am honored to have been a member of the USAID CRCA from July 2009 to October 2011. Beginning with the four-month training regimen, the USAID staff and administrators instilled a set of principles that embody what expeditionary diplomacy is all about. Initially, CRC’s goal was to act decisively, under extreme conditions without significant support, to promote American objectives. Under training manager Tim Sikes, this mission expanded to include the acquisition of the knowledge and skills necessary to make good decisions in the field, taking into account the mission’s value, the probability of success, and a reasonable assumption of risk within the context of a threat The author returns from a dismount patrol to investigate illegal saw mills in an insurgent-controlled valley in Afghanistan’s Kunar province. David Poplack