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Achievement happens when people reach high levels of intercultural sensitivity. Lessons learned from recent military operations show that coping with a crisis requires a Comprehensive Approach that combines political, civil, and military instruments. Military means, while essential, are not sufficient to meet the many complex challenges to security nowadays. Within the CA framework, cultural competence is essential for the success of the operation when working side by side with allies, partners, and peers with different institutional cultures . As the Art of War continues to evolve, so must the techniques and methods in which military personnel prepare for armed conflict and war.

According to Senehi, all religions treasure many texts and narratives about good and evil, which also makes them a great resource in efforts to resolve the conflict . These are places that allow another country’s military forces to come in and conduct operations. Think of these countries as friendly ones who want the military there to protect their citizens or work with their military.

The informational environment encompasses “individuals, organizations, and systems that collect, process, disseminate, or act on information.” The military also uses this variable to look at the weather and natural disasters, two factors that can also play a significant role in some businesses. This time, the political element relates to foreign trade for a business and the aspects of doing so successfully. In this variable, they look at the total political power within the OE.

Interpreters are frequently a compulsory support to face this problem. Furthermore, if professionally trained, briefed, and assessed, they can be a priceless assistant, because their knowledge not only about the language but also of the local culture. However, military personnel must be aware about the subculture, religion, language, etc. of the interpreter. Those factors might become an obstacle to interact with other people and groups in the area.

Media and other ‘Influencers’ – activities of populations will be influenced by information actors within and exterior to the conflict zone. Identify and better understand the root causes of instability by analysing and understanding the causes and multipliers of conflict related to gender dynamics. About the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan , Michael Howard, NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Operations, noted that providing cultural awareness to troops is necessary, but not sufficient. According to him, it is necessary to consider the cultural norms of Afghanistan, the way in which an Afghan-style society is organized . PMESII ViewA system-of-systems perspective of the OE offers a picture of the most significant relationships and interdependencies among the main the elements of the relevant systems and subsystems.

Understanding the Operational Environment: the Human Dimension

Information is a driving factor within an operating environment. Each of the different domains has defined functions, designed to accomplish tasks that support the commander’s mission intent. Each of the various functions has specialists that have their own perspective of the OE.

definition of operational environment

UHE enables the overall understanding of a crisis by emphasising a ‘population-centric’ view, focusing on the population’s perception regarding the safety and security of their environment, including what they perceive as threats. This could include, for example, a population threat assessment versus the traditional threat assessment , as well as assessments of the population’s vulnerabilities, strengths, and resiliencies. MH, FABN, and C-SASE can be used as thematic lenses to support the development of overall UHE in providing comprehensive situational awareness, in addition to traditional planning and assessment of operations.

For NIST publications, an email is usually found within the document. From the fires perspective , the environment is influenced by the needs of those maneuvering or moving and the information they provide. From the top, command and control exercise authority and direction by assigning and controlling resources to accomplish tasks given in missions throughout the different functional areas. In the military, this relates to the landscape and climate; in business, it can relate to the retail environment or the factory and corporate office environment. This is a direct hit with business and looks at all aspects of the economy in which a company operates and where it does business.

LeBaron asserts that culture affects the way we define, generate, approach, and attempt to resolve conflict. The very existence of the conflict would be a cultural question . The type of environment in which the checklist is intended to be applied. Types of operational environments are Standalone, Managed, and Custom (including Specialized Security-Limited Functionality, Legacy, and United States Government).

More Definitions of Operating Environment

Local Authorities – including their ability to protect the population. Recognize and mitigate risks from policies, programs or other interventions that may exacerbate the gender dimensions of the conflict or damage the post-conflict solution. Cultures also vary in the meaning they assign to personal space, distance, physical contact, and territory . A short distance between interlocutors and close personal contact between them can be a problematic factor for some cultures, which may consider it invasive of their privacy and even threatening. Likewise, a too wide distance between interlocutors and the absence of personal contact can be considered as a sign of coldness and lack of interest and respect in other cultures. “Any organization that wants to build a water well in a village in Afghanistan can learn from our experience carrying out a similar project and the lessons we identified during its implementation.

Additionally, HE emphasises a ‘population-centric’ perspective, while CE is often done from a ‘military-centric’ perspective . Although cultural awareness cannot guarantee victory in current and future conflicts, the lack of it certainly results in unintended repercussions. It is a capacity that significantly increases the combat power of a force and, consequently, increases the probability of a successful mission completion. Some characteristics are vital to the cross-cultural sensitivity of military personnel and must be learned and practiced. Currently, only a small number of soldiers receive intensive language and cultural training in their respective countries and most of the curricula of military education institutions still focus on «traditional» military education, such as engineering, mathematics, or chemistry.

  • Difficulties in understanding tribal, ethnic, religious, and political relationships and dynamics have been a serious challenge and an obstacle in military operations in the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, among many others .
  • The understanding of the social dynamics of the AoO, its mechanisms and balances of power, is critical when it comes to achieving military objectives, both tactical, operational, and strategic (Moore et al., 2014).
  • Software designed to control the hardware of a specific data-processing system in order to allow users and programs to make use of the system.
  • Hazardous Waste Management Facility means, as defined in NCGS 130A, Article 9, a facility for the collection, storage, processing, treatment, recycling, recovery, or disposal of hazardous waste.
  • Their acts and their effects, as well as their possible responses to a military operation.
  • UHE is the necessary first step for the successful integration of PoC considerations into the planning and conduct of NATO and NATO-led operations, missions, and other mandated activities.

Cultural identity refers to identity shared by a group or culture, which generally includes common history, religion, language, values, beliefs, and behaviours. Identity also defines the belonging of an individual to a group or cultural system. Culture creates the identity of a group and helps to maintain it. To integrate a gender perspective into military https://globalcloudteam.com/ operations, the commander’s support and the overall responsibility of all personnel should be clear. It is necessary to integrate the gender perspective into the main body of the planning document and it is vital to interpret the gender perspective from the top to any lower level, reviewing and re-evaluating existing plans with a gender perspective.

Step 1 — Define the Operational Environment

Drilling a well in the centre of a small town, to avoid local women a long walk to a fountain that was several kilometres away, we realized that the works were destroyed every night. After interviewing various members of the community, we learned that it was not the Taliban or another insurgent group that were destroying our jobs. For them, the trip to the well on the outskirts of the town was the only opportunity to socialize and enjoy a certain moment of freedom. Something that would totally change after the completion of our project. That is why they attacked the works of our project every night” .

definition of operational environment

Within crisis response operations, this also includes identifying the sources of instability and drivers of conflict. UHE is the necessary first step for the successful integration of PoC considerations into the planning and conduct of NATO and NATO-led operations, missions, and other mandated activities. Cultural competence will also be essential in a hybrid warfare environment.

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An operational environment is the analysis of how factors within a setting can affect an organization’s conduct. Recognized as a “whole of government” doctrinal reference standard by military, national security and government professionals around the world, SMARTbooks comprise a comprehensive professional library. SMARTbooks can be used as quick reference guides during definition of operational environment operations, as study guides at education and professional development courses, and as lesson plans and checklists in support of training. Browse our collection of Military Reference SMARTbooks to learn more. Vulnerability is context driven and will vary from one operation to another. In some conflict areas, the most vulnerable group could be military aged males.

definition of operational environment

It’s one of the critical tools of the United States military in its strategic pursuits. Think of it as a review of how controlled or open the media is within a region. It can mean what a government shares or what a company tells its employees. It can be the official military or terrorists, rebels, and all the rest of it. Knowing which groups are working together and which are unstable can obviously lead to the success or failure of a mission. You want to make sure your company is the right fit for the region and for the people who live there as well as the ones who will be working there.

Modern militaries and technologically advanced countries are also engaged in cyber environments that can be categorized similarly. Maneuver units are what are typically thought of as operational forces or the fighting elements. Modern militaries rely on cyberspace for information exchange and situation building. This reliance makes cyberspace part of the operational environment because the information travels to and from all of the physical domains through cyberspace. The timing and duration of activities within an operational environment are critical to the operation. What’s interesting is that while time is a constant, the way it’s seen isn’t.

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This group also comprises ‘Spoilers’ who use violence to undermine local authorities and hinder conflict settlement. Thus, PoC must be considered in the planning for all operations and at every stage of the planning process, although different considerations will have to be made depending on the phase considered. PoC is relevant to NATO’s Three Core Tasks – Collective Defence, Crisis Management, and Cooperative Security – and is applicable to all NATO and NATO-led operations and missions. Build gender equality and peace by ensuring that assistance in conflict and post-conflict situations does not rebuild a gender-discriminatory society that contains the seeds of future violence . Choose the best form of response through a deeper understanding of the specific needs, capacities and experiences of women, men, boys, girls, and sexual and gender minorities.

How to properly pronounce operational environment?

According to this model, these multiple identities are not mutually exclusive, nor they are static or immutable. The individual self-concept is based on a wide variety of identities, both individual and collective. The multiple identities of an individual are ingrained, manifest with different degrees of intensity, and have different importance for that person. Evaluate the relationships between the elements of each system and subsystem.

The Operational Environment is “a set of conditions, circumstances and influences that affects the use of capabilities and effects the decisions of the military commander” (U.S., 2009). The OE has evolved to become an extraordinarily complex, dynamic, and adaptive system in which new actors, both state and non-state, interact (SHAPE and HQ SACT, 2008.). During the last two decades NATO military forces have been involved in overly intricate operations due to the diversity of the actors involved that make up a complex EO . Historically wars involved direct conflict between two military forces. However, the conflicts of the second half of the 20th century involved much more than military activities and operations. In today’s armed conflicts, economic, political, and social factors have become as important as purely military capabilities.

Translations for operating environment

Other actors, such as socio-cultural factors within the operational environment, are generally outside of military forces’ control unless the force can win them over. Of course, invasions aren’t the only military operations, but this gives you an idea of how an operational environment can dictate how a military branch operates in one place versus another. We’ll further break down the PMESII-PT later, so you have a thorough understanding of the elements involved. In recent decades, NATO had to shift its focus from preparing for a conventional war in Europe to crisis resolution missions (including humanitarian, peacekeeping, and peace-making tasks) in distant and culturally different locations.