There is a growing consensus among many national security practitioners and scholars, across the political spectrum to create an interagency "cadre" of national security specialists from all relevant departments and agencies, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The concept is not new, but has been given a new sense of urgency by recent operational experiences at home and abroad — from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the responses to Hurricane Katrina – "which suggested insufficiencies in the abilities of the U.S. government to integrate the various components of its efforts," the report said.
"According to proponents, cadre members, through a long-term career development program that might include education, training, and exchange tours in other agencies, would gain a better understanding of the mandates, capabilities, and cultures of other agencies. They would become better prepared to plan national security missions together in Washington, D.C., and to execute them in the field, and eventually, better able to oversee their own agencies’ efforts from leadership positions," it said.
It noted that DoD has worked to foster such "jointness" among the uniformed military services.
Several committees held hearings this year to encourage closer integration among national security agencies, it added, and the Bush administration’s National Security Professional Development program, aims to foster an interagency cadre of national security practitioners. That program includes a national strategy, an organizational structure, and a pilot educational program, CRS said, "but to date, it has apparently enjoyed very little visibility on the Hill."
