Research for Heal

Assessing the effectiveness of an ongoing military Humanitarian Assistance Operation (HAO) is difficult. These operations tend to be less familiar to the military; the operation's objectives are often vague; and the initial available information on a humanitarian crisis is often incomplete or inconsistent. But such an assessment is important to provide insight into what strategies are working; where assets need to be shifted; whether more (or fewer) forces are required for specific tasks or the mission as a whole; and when the end of the operation (end state) has been reached. This paper uses lessons from past operations, exercises, and studies to contribute to the military s understanding of how to assess progress in an HAO. We discuss not only measures of effectiveness, but other measures that are useful. This analysis is provided in connection with a Center for Naval Analyses CNA study intended to help the Marine Corps improve its ability to conduct HAOs. The Marine Corps Combat Development Command and I Marine Expeditionary Force sponsored this study.